Headlights keep going out

Hey everyone, today, while going through a local drive-thru, I noticed one of my headlights wasn't working. The high beams work on both of them, but this is the third time in about 16 months that I have had to replace one of them. The most recent replacement was last September when I went to the coast. I was told that the humidity can cause it, which is something I've never heard. Each time I replaced both, so I don't remember which one went out each time, but what I am wondering is if it could be due to an electrical short of some sort or simply a defective bulb. Or could be caused by needing to replace the original headlight assembly?

 

When you replaced the bulbs, did you do everything humanly possible to not touch the bulb with your greasy fingers?

 

Also, are you running LEDs or halogens?

 

Yeah I had nitrile gloves on and used lightbulb grease for the connection

 

Halogen

 

Original housings or aftermarket?

 

original

 

Is there moisture/water in your housing at all? After rain/wash? More importantly - what kind of bulbs are you putting in?

 

Aftermarket halogens that put out more light generally don’t last more than a year or two from what I’ve heard. If it’s the same output as the OEM bulbs, I don’t know what could be causing it offhand.

A loose or slightly burned connector could cause the bulb to overheat though.

 

Wouldnt it also cause the high beam to go out as well?

 

no moisture. I think they are Sylvania Silverstar.

 

Silverstars have really decent light output for a traditional halogen. I never got more than 2 years out of a single bulb though. The high beam is a separate filament in these. Give the Co-light mini projectors a try. Way better output and an LED platform.

 

I'd give some colights a shot. halogens are caveman shit. If you've bought 3 pairs of shitter stars you've spent the same amount for some nice output LEDs.

I used to runnnnn through the halogen bulbs in this truck. This is my first set of LED's and I've never had an issue. It's been nearly 6 years

 

See what @KNABORES stated.

 

Notoriously short lifespan. And expensive.

 

thank you I will look into them. looking at their website, what plug type and model will fit?

 

From the "Lighting info ..." section of the megathread, see the 4th bullet point here:

• If replacing your housings, be sure whatever you buy is "CAPA Certified", it's at least baseline not-garbage product. For brands that are higher-quality and will last longer, most offering CAPA certified options, go with Depo, or alternately EagleEyes, TYC, and some say Akkon make good product.
• If swapping to LED headlights or fog lights, the overwhelming majority of people have problems with high beams and fog lights working unless they purchase and add a resistor on at least one headlight so enough load is on the circuit - this may not be necessary if your headlight housings have the extra "teardrop light" in the corner of the housing. Problems have been reported with LED tail lights also, it's not just headlights. Some circuits require resistance that an LED won't deliver.
• Hyperflash problems are common after swapping LEDs into the turn signals. This can be solved installing a Diode Dynamics flashers (avoid the scAmazon knock-offs, buy direct).
• There are H4 mini-projectors available for our trucks, but you'll need to permanently modify the light housing, no oven-baking required, just remove the hat-shaped chrome shroud inside and install the light (detailed instructions). Likewise there are bake-in options for projectors. Check THIS REPLY for common headlight upgrage options, with links.
• For interior LEDs... There's a breakdown of interior light sizes over here. For climate control lighting updates, see here. Dash gauges for earlier 2000-2004 models with replaceable bulbs, check this. The later year model's dash gauges had on-board LEDs and are not replaceable without soldering, color not changeable without sanding the rear of the guage face. REMEMBER: LED lights are polarized. If you install them backwards, they won't light up! If you have one or more not lighting up, try popping out, rotating 180º, and reinstalling.

 

Strangely, I’ve never had to replace the OEM bulbs in the 22 years I’ve owned my truck.

Only had to replace the connectors that burnt out and made me believe I had a bad bulb.

 

Holy smokes. My original bulbs were down to oil lantern output when I swapped them out the first time for silver stars. HUGE difference. Light filaments wear out overtime and the output tanks. Probably worth a new set.

 

I thought that was just the lenses getting dull that reduced the output. Maybe I should.

 

Dull lenses is strike two

 

My ophthalmologist told me I’m starting to develop cataracts, so strike three?

 

Clear the lenses and get some co-light mini projectors

 

Are those the same as @shifty`s?

 

same style, sold under a couple of different branding, but essentially yes. ScAmazon rn has em $69 with a 10% off coupon, so $63. I paid $33 when I bought mine

https://a.co/d/1SKLw47

 

Is the current limiting resistor accessible? It’d be nice to put a potentiometer in its place. I’m concerned about getting pulled over for having my lights too bright.

 

They have an excellent cutoff on them and can be adjusted just like an HID projector. That pic I posted was before the full adjustment was done. Since I leveled the front of my truck and my rear leafs are wore out, mine were aiming at the sky initially. No one has ever flashed their lights at me since I adjusted them.

 

Retrofit all the things!!!!

 

How cringe worthy was pulling the hat out of the lens? I have a feeling when we move rural I'm going to want this upgrade. Oh, and ditch lights for wildlife avoidance (EDIT: or harvesting?).

 

it wasn’t a big deal. I just used my multi-tool to split it, then crushed it and pulled it out. These housings are like $50-100 a pair.