Burned Headlight Socket!

[wyldnwoody44]

So lately I have had a problem with my drivers' side headlight cutting on and off; well I finally decided to take the bulb out of the brown socket and I saw that half of the socket was all burned up and that the light wasnt making a good connection.

I went down to the junkyard and cut off a new socket out of the SVX there and wired it up and threw my bulb back in. Yesterday i noticed that my light was out, so I took the bulb out and saw that the inner part of the socket was all burned up again!!! I didnt change the bulb out when I changed the socket as they are silverstars and one of the prongs of the bulb was a lil messed up but I didnt think that would cause this to happen would it?

Idk if anyone else has had this happen, but right now i just have the bulb ziptied tight into the socket so my drivers side lowbeam wont cut out. Would the bulb being a lil jacked up cause this, or should I look for a short somewhere else. When I wired up the socket it is tight and I used wire nuts and electrical tape, so there shouldnt be a problem there. Any help appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[kwren]

The bad connection in the socket caused heat that also damaged the contact on the bulb.
The bulb needs to be replaced and a new socket is available at any auto parts store for a minimal (cheap) price. Might consider new more often... it might even be cheaper...

Keith

[benebob]

Also be sure to get the correct wattage headlight. Higher wattage=more heat=melted housing. Check the ground real good to it as well as make sure it is greased up real good. Check the other as well.

[Trevor]

The most important element involved in contact resistance is contact pressure, particularly in respect of contact failure. When replacing a component involving a contact fault, follow your nose and check as to why contact pressure had failed; e.g. dirt, rust or whatever, obstructing movement; obstruction causing the connecting lead to prevent contact movement; the cause is usually obvious.

Once a high resistance becomes established, heat develops and any associated spring can become softened so that it is no longer capable of exerting pressure. Any second hand item should be carefully checked and it is always a good idea to stretch or bend things, in order to restore/increase pressure.

I hope that this gives food for thought, regarding what should probably be obvious.

P.S. Ordinary oil and grease as such, is an insulating medium. Its application usually works due to lubrication fixing a friction problem, which has reduced contact pressure. The contact surfaces must be in unobstructed CONTACT, without any insular substance intervening. Special electrical purpose grease takes this into account.

[kwren]

Forget the goggle-goop... "contact resistance is contact pressure, particularly in respect of contact failure"... and simply replace the bulb and the receptacle the bulb plugs into with new parts. A new receptacle is dirt cheep. and the bulb has to be replaced because the heat from the bad connection has compromised it.

Keith

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by benebob

Also be sure to get the correct wattage headlight. Higher wattage=more heat=melted housing. Check the ground real good to it as well as make sure it is greased up real good. Check the other as well.

Part of the problem is the Silver Stars themselves.
Yes they are brighter, but it is a result of higher resistance inside of the bulb created to cause the bulb to burn brighter.
Our 9006 low beams only have 1000 lumins, so technically speaking they suck!
They are listed as 55 watt bulbs and the Silver Stars have 65 watts, as I remember.

A new connection mil spec soldered in and properly insulated is a must first!


PS;
If you installed a set of HIDs, a 5000K, 9006 replacement would use much less power, only 35 watts and give 3000 lumins.
Three times the light output with less energy used, and less heat generated.

[dcarrb]

I had a similar problem in a '90 Legacy. Every now and then the passenger side low-beam bulb would fail, and there was slight melting/charring evident inside the socket, though this never progressed to the point that the socket needed to be replaced (or maybe it did, but I didn't). My father asked around among his aircraft mechanic friends and reached the conclusion that there was some trouble with a ground, somewhere. I sold the car without resolving the trouble.

dcb

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by dcarrb

I had a similar problem in a '90 Legacy. Every now and then the passenger side low-beam bulb would fail, and there was slight melting/charring evident inside the socket, though this never progressed to the point that the socket needed to be replaced (or maybe it did, but I didn't). My father asked around among his aircraft mechanic friends and reached the conclusion that there was some trouble with a ground, somewhere. I sold the car without resolving the trouble.

dcb

There appears to be a universal trend, to always explain hidden faults as being due to a bad ground.

The fault must have been confined to the socket and the exact point where heat was being generated. Resistance at any other point in the circuit could not have been the cause.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

Part of the problem is the Silver Stars themselves.
Yes they are brighter, but it is a result of higher resistance inside of the bulb created to cause the bulb to burn brighter.
Our 9006 low beams only have 1000 lumins, so technically speaking they suck!
They are listed as 55 watt bulbs and the Silver Stars have 65 watts, as I remember.

A new connection mil spec soldered in and properly insulated is a must first!


PS;
If you installed a set of HIDs, a 5000K, 9006 replacement would use much less power, only 35 watts and give 3000 lumins.
Three times the light output with less energy used, and less heat generated.

Technically speaking, not at all correct. The higher the wattage the less the internal resistance of the bulb. Refer Mr. Ohm.

The opening post clearly describes the problem as being confined to the bulb socket and the connection of the bulb. No external connection could have been involved.

Do not mess with tape wrapped solder connections within automotive wiring. A decent insulated screw connector or crimp connector, properly applied will make a simpler and better job on several counts. Significantly there are a huge number involved throughout the car as original. Also stay away from the tap-on type, which cut through insulation and often damage the inner conductor.

Apart from the difficulty involved with application, a solder connection within a joint subject flexing is inferior and bad news. The solder constitutes a hard point at which the conductor can not flex and this creates a breaking point. Within electronic equipment, it can be observed that any solder joint subject to flexing is supported. Hence the thick glue often found fastening small components and the clamps for flexible leads.

[kwren]

Originally Posted by Trevor

There appears to be a universal trend, to always explain hidden faults as being due to a bad ground.

The fault must have been confined to the socket and the exact point where heat was being generated. Resistance at any other point in the circuit could not have been the cause.

Couldn't have said it better myself... Or did I?

Keith

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by kwren

Couldn't have said it better myself... Or did I?

Keith

No, you confine yourself to useless sarcasm.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by kwren

Forget the goggle-goop... "contact resistance is contact pressure, particularly in respect of contact failure"... and simply replace the bulb and the receptacle the bulb plugs into with new parts. A new receptacle is dirt cheep. and the bulb has to be replaced because the heat from the bad connection has compromised it.

Keith

Keith,

When you Copy and past, please do so honestly.

I correctly stated "The most important element involved in contact resistance is contact pressure,"

There are members who have the ability and intellect to carry out simple repairs/adjustments in order to save money. What is more, due to its construction, any possible damage to the bulb is unlikely and in any case will be obvious to anyone other than you.

Only the stupid would replace the bulb for no reason, and in this respect you confirm your own position.

[kwren]

"Only the stupid would replace the bulb for no reason"??

Trevor, if the socket is damaged from the heat generated from lack of pressure, or any other reason, the heated metal contact on the bulb has also been compromised...

Simply replacing the socket and putting it back on a heat damaged bulb would result in a problem down the road.

You, of course, have to already know this.

It is mind boggling how you continually keep pushing a point for the sake of a debate when you have to know that the opposite is correct.

Keith

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by Trevor

Technically speaking, not at all correct. The higher the wattage the less the internal resistance of the bulb. Refer Mr. Ohm.

You are correct Sir.
What I SHOULD have said was that a higher wattage bulb allows more current flow.
And anyone who has been near a 25watt refrigerator bulb, and a 100watt light bulb knows which one produces more heat.

And higher current flow adds to the problem of minimal wiring as supplied by a manufacturer.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by svxfiles

You are correct Sir.
What I SHOULD have said was that a higher wattage bulb allows more current flow.
And anyone who has been near a 25watt refrigerator bulb, and a 100watt light bulb knows which one produces more heat.

And higher current flow adds to the problem of minimal wiring as supplied by a manufacturer.

Not a problem. You fell into a verbal trap already well occupied.