fubar

I have a 5th gen Prelude and my right low beam headlight has gone out twice in the past 2 months. I've had the car for about 2 years now and it didn't have this problem until the light burned out a couple of months ago, I replaced it, and now it's out again.

What are some general things I can look for to try and solve this problem?
(And yes, I was very careful not to touch the bulb while installing it)

Thanks in advance

prelude1897

Are they aftermarket bulbs?

BB6racer

aftermarket bulbs tend to burn out quicker on my 5th gen. are you wearing gloves when you install the new bulbs? and moisture from your hands on the bulbs will create hot spots on the bulb.

Kronn 98SH

had the exact same problem with my car....passenger side was burning out every 2 weeks....popped the hood and found that my positive battery cable had corroded through and it was barely connected....this was causing problems elsewhere like my alarm and stereo....fixed it and my aftermarket bulbs have lasted over a year now

LudeyKrus

My first guess would be the one headlight simply burned out, and then you replaced it by using your hands and getting the oils on them. If so, it will continue to burn out quickly until you start using gloves or a clean rag to install the bulb.

knightmarauder

i had a similar problem to Kronn. The previous owner's aftermarkey alarm system was hooked up on the headlight circuit. Carefully removed all the old wiring for the alarm and everything's ok.

Kronn 98SH

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LudeyKrus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My first guess would be the one headlight simply burned out, and then you replaced it by using your hands and getting the oils on them. If so, it will continue to burn out quickly until you start using gloves or a clean rag to install the bulb.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fubar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">(And yes, I was very careful not to touch the bulb while installing it)</TD></TR></TABLE>

that doesn't seem to be the case....it's most likely electrical

LudeyKrus

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kronn 98SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that doesn't seem to be the case....it's most likely electrical</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ah! Good eye, I missed that.

Rad Racing

Check the wiring, it can be common to have some messed up wiring in the area of the headlight.

Lude454

it could jsut be fault bulbs to not sure though
did you try zenons

limpmode

i do not know why either, but it is ALWAYS the pass side bulb for me. so i just went back to sylvanias and they never burn out.

fubar

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kronn 98SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">had the exact same problem with my car....passenger side was burning out every 2 weeks....popped the hood and found that my positive battery cable had corroded through and it was barely connected....this was causing problems elsewhere like my alarm and stereo....fixed it and my aftermarket bulbs have lasted over a year now</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll have to check that out. The car is a 99 with close to 90,000 miles so maybe there could be some corrosion going on.

Sticky Tires

Do a search on it under archives. This topic have been discussed numerous times.

The 5th gen are notorious when it comes to burning out aftermarket bulbs. Even if you installed it properly. I had the same problem when I had my 5th gen. I even had one blow up in my headlight.

The only ones that lasted a while was PIAA's or sylvannia silverstars (sp?) and Solaris.

My suggestion is, stay stock or invest in a HID kit. With all the money spent on burning out aftermarket bulbs, you're better off with an HID kit.

Even with aftermarket bulbs with 55w (stock), it'll still burn out. The 5th gens don't like aftermarket bulbs. I probably spent close to $300 experimenting aftermarket bulbs.

incubus

if u are using xenon bulbs, the problem could come from you turning ur headlites on before starting the car. I have had this problem with my piaa's. The xenon gas in the bulbs burns at a high temperature to get the color of the bulb closer to sunlite. the problem with this is the xenon gas also protects the filament of the bulb. and a power fluctuation (ie. leaving an accessory on while starting the car)could mean lower temps of the gas which results in no protection for the filament, and ultimately a blown filament.
Since I have stopped turning my headlights on first, I have no longer had a problem with blowing bulbs.
Also if u use a colored bulb, they are higher wattage. Which will often times melt H1 harnesses leading to issues with blowing bulbs. I had this issue with my lude when I first got it. All 4 harnesses were melted. Its about $25 a pop to replace them with upgraded ones.
Information straight from the VP of PIAA.

Sticky Tires

You do have a point. I did that for a while. Turn on the headlight after the car has been started and accessories are on. Then turn off the headlights before shutting off the car/accessories.

I got sick of that and bought me a HID kit. Problem solved.

Kronn 98SH

i guess i'm out of the loop....i thought it was common sense to turn the lights on AFTER starting the vehicle