Headlight bulb problems

I searched around & saw many posts concerning the headlight bulbs burning out and various theories. None of those threads showed any pictures of the actual burnt out bulbs, so I thought that I would show some pictures of my dilemma.

I got the car used with 36k miles about a year ago, had Sylvania bulbs on both sides.

The passenger side burnt out (and deformed/melted the bulb glass some), so I replaced it with a cheap Philips 55W bulb from Advanced Auto so that I could mailorder some better bulbs.

The Philips bulbs were working fine so I left them in for several months until the pass. side burnt out. I then put in Osram OffRoad 65W bulbs and ran them for about 9 months or so before the passenger side bulb also burnt out.

Take a look at the bulbs, the Philips bulb is still clear, but it has an obvious shiny/silver discolored area on the interior of the bulb. The other blackish bulb is the Osram, and the actual glass bulb housing is bulged / deformed and interior is blacked out. I checked the other driver's side Osram bulb, it looks fine and no discoloration or deformation.

I pulled the bulbs and felt just inside the projector to be sure that nothing was making contact with the bulbs causing a localized heat buildup; nothing is in the way & bulbs were mounted properly.

I think that I have a wiring issue on the pass. side that was present even with the orig. bulbs because of the deforming glass bulb surface (happened with them also). That seems to be the only way that it could overheat that much and deform the glass (as in too much current from high wiring resistance) ???

Either way I need to swap bulbs and maybe consider adding a low beam headlight harness w/ relay hooked to the battery to get around any potential wiring issues. Thoughts / suggestions?

Pics attached: blackish bulb is the Osram, clear bulb with dark spot is the Philips

my 05 can't seem to keep a passenger side bulb either..

I've owned the car less than a year and replaced it twice with a halogen, and then lost a bulb with my ddm kit in less than 2 months as well.. drives me nuts

I had a similar bulb issue when I had my '00 Outback. I checked the headlight bulb connectors and they were cooked from heat, causing too much resistance I guess and burning out the bulbs. Replaced the small headlight harness that hooked to the bulbs and the issue was resolved.

The connectors look fine on my LGT, but the wiring looks very oxidized and possibly cooked. I think that this is my main issue. Luckily Subaru used a small 8" or so wiring harness that fits in around the bulb socket assembly and feeds power to both the high & low beam headlights. This small harness should be replaceable, so I sent an email to FredBean's to see if I can get replacements.

Here's a couple of pictures of the harness that I am speaking of (has a grey 3-prong male connector).

Will post back if I can get replacement parts & if this fixes the issue.

one would think if the harness were cooked, increasing resistance, less current would go to the bulb.

What about a short internal to the bulb?

BTW, you're not alone withthe bulging bulb:

http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17386

one would think if the harness were cooked, increasing resistance, less current would go to the bulb.

What about a short internal to the bulb?

BTW, you're not alone withthe bulging bulb:

http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17386

Thanks for the other thread info, at least I am not alone.

If the bulb were shorted, I wouldn't have expected it to be repeatable on multiple bulbs unless it was some sort of wiring or connector issue. Hopefully I can replace the wiring at the bulb and see if history repeats itself.

Guess I better check ours before they burn out.

Do you still have your DRL module in place?

Guess I better check ours before they burn out.

Do you still have your DRL module in place?

DRL are still in place, I might have to reconsider that.

I heard back from the dealer, Subaru only sells the entire front electrical harness ($$$) and not the sub-assemblies (way to go Subaru, make the car non-serviceable!).

I only have an old analog multimeter, so I could spot check voltage at battery & alternator like in the linked thread but I don't think that will tell me much.

Other options as I see it right now:

1. rebuild small wire harness with new wire, hope to reuse stock connectors

2. make a new heavy duty headlight harness w/ relays (12 G wire) and hook power straight to battery with fused connection (reuse stock connectors)

3. Go with HID kit (comes with power harness), although this requires disabling the DRL.

I had the round headlight go out on my one year old Legacy. The dealer said that is a common problem and to expect it every year. He also told me they were easy to change. I told him the tech just told me they will have to remove the battery and a few other things to get to it. I told him that's not easy for the average Joe. The following week the other bulb on the other side go out. At this point they said wow we might have to remove the bumper and grill to get to it. I guess I was the first customer to date to have to change the bulb since they have sold the new model. In the end they were able to get to it from the wheel well.

I'm still under warrantee but not for long. When this happens next year they told me it will probably cost me $100 to change a head light.

3. Go with HID kit (comes with power harness), although this requires disabling the DRL.

DING DING DING!

I was replacing my Osram Rallyes every few months for years until I switched to HID. Those stupid Osrams were expensive too, each set cost almost the same as what my HID kit cost.

I had the round headlight go out on my one year old Legacy. The dealer said that is a common problem and to expect it every year. He also told me they were easy to change. I told him the tech just told me they will have to remove the battery and a few other things to get to it. I told him that's not easy for the average Joe. The following week the other bulb on the other side go out. At this point they said wow we might have to remove the bumper and grill to get to it. I guess I was the first customer to date to have to change the bulb since they have sold the new model. In the end they were able to get to it from the wheel well.

I'm still under warrantee but not for long. When this happens next year they told me it will probably cost me $100 to change a head light.

I've heard about the difficulty in reaching & replacing the headlamp bulbs in the '10 and up cars, sounds like a serious case of poor design

DING DING DING!

 

I was replacing my Osram Rallyes every few months for years until I switched to HID. Those stupid Osrams were expensive too, each set cost almost the same as what my HID kit cost.

I've been running the OSRAM Rallyes for almost two years now with no issues (but I did disable my DRLs), and I'm quite happy with the light output.

Maybe the bulbs are generating too much heat from being underpowered (doesn't make sense, but..) when running under the DRL mode?

__________________

~Scott

'05 Outback 2.5i Wagon

Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic

is it recommended to disable DRL with Osram rallyes lights?

Not specifically, no...

__________________

~Scott

'05 Outback 2.5i Wagon

Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic

My solution was to buy the cheapest bulbs I can find that, are not Silverstar. Depending on where you live, this can be tough as it seems here west of Boston, Sylvania / Silverstar has a monoply.

I've probably just hexed myself and I know watts is watts but, I think cheap bulbs may not actually draw that much current, operate cooler and don't burn out as often.

On a side note, what to do if both headlight bulbs are dead when you are driving at night and still pretty far from home? use high beam?

Absolutely. Don't sacrifice safety because you think you might be bothering oncoming drivers on your way to your destination.

And re: the H7 headlight design:

I've said it before a hundred times but the H7 bulb is an inherently bad design statistically prone to failure far more than other designs like 9004/6/7 or the almighty H4 dual filament.

Subaru chose the H7 as it is a single filament that was small enough to fit inside the compact projector housing they designed. And they went with a separate high beam housing to save on costs.

The H7 is a sucky design and the fact that it's always on when we drive our LGTs (thanks to the DRLs) it makes for a short life span.

I've been running the OSRAM Rallyes for almost two years now with no issues (but I did disable my DRLs), and I'm quite happy with the light output.

My guess is that I just drive far more than you at night.

I see. I ordered those bulbs yesterday. With 700 more lumens than the stock bulb DRL will appear brighter too right?

Yes. Sometimes when I got sick of people flashing me (those 700 lumens make the squirrel finders glare oncoming traffic) I would just switch to DRL...

And they went with a separate high beam housing to save on costs.

Expensive bi-xenon housings is actually what I was writing about.

Subaru has cut costs in comparison to other formerly comparable cars like the A4 G35 and 3-Series.

Yes. Sometimes when I got sick of people flashing me (those 700 lumens make the squirrel finders glare oncoming traffic) I would just switch to DRL...

or just turn on your high beam

anyway, did you fill the squirrle finders?

Expensive bi-xenon housings is actually what I was writing about.

 

Subaru has cut costs in comparison to other formerly comparable cars like the A4 G35 and 3-Series.

Well yeah, not even using HID for lowbeam, let alone bixenon is cost cutting. But then again, that's sort of the theme...compared to all those cars, the Subaru has cheaper interior trim, cheaper paint, low tech engine, less care to suspension tuning...

The only thing the Subaru has going for it is a decent AWD system and reliability. The Legacy is like an Outback with luxury aspirations, whereas those cars are real luxo cars that happen to have optional AWD.

or just turn on your high beam

 

anyway, did you fill the squirrle finders?

The point isn't that it's annoying to be flashed constantly, it's that it creates a dangerous situation for the other driver. So flashing back doesn't really change that.

I filled the squirrel finders when I switched to 55W HIDs. No flashes since.

Yes. Sometimes when I got sick of people flashing me (those 700 lumens make the squirrel finders glare oncoming traffic) I would just switch to DRL...

Squirrel Finders? I thought people usually nicknamed the fog lamps Squirrel finders, not the main headlamps? Am I confused?

At any rate, I may do less night driving than you, but in two years I've racked up plenty of night driving, and I have to say I've had no issues with oncoming driver's flashing me (and my car sits marginally higher being an Outback). Properly installed, the OSRAM Rallye shouldn't create glare where a stock H7 didn't, its the headlamp housing/ filament design and placement that controls the light..

The point isn't that it's annoying to be flashed constantly, it's that it creates a dangerous situation for the other driver. So flashing back doesn't really change that.

 

I filled the squirrel finders when I switched to 55W HIDs. No flashes since.

So you put a 55w HID bulb in an H7 low beam projector housing, and you feel you have reduced glare, and haven't had any issues with oncoming driver's flashing you since? If I am understand this correctly I am truly puzzled, since an HID conversion in a halogen projector is likely to cause far more glare, especially a 55w HID (as opposed to the 35w intended for street use)..

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your descriptions..

__________________

~Scott

'05 Outback 2.5i Wagon

Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic

Squirrel Finders? I thought people usually nicknamed the fog lamps Squirrel finders, not the main headlamps? Am I confused?

 

At any rate, I may do less night driving than you, but in two years I've racked up plenty of night driving, and I have to say I've had no issues with oncoming driver's flashing me (and my car sits marginally higher being an Outback). Properly installed, the OSRAM Rallye shouldn't create glare where a stock H7 didn't, its the headlamp housing/ filament design and placement that controls the light..

The squirrel finders are holes in the cutoff shield that allow a cloud of light above the cutoff. Any light above the cutoff is "glare." At regular H7 bulb lumens, this cloud is too dim to bother most people. When you make that cloud brighter by throwing in brighter bulbs, it bugs people a lot. What I'm saying is, the OEM projector is designed to cause glare, but when used with regular dim H7s, that "glare" is minimal.

Maybe the people where you live are more easy going, I dunno. My headlights have always been aimed exactly 2" down from center at 25'. In fact, as I approached oncoming traffic, I could even SEE that my cutoff was below their windshield!!! And yet they flashed...it was frustrating.

So you put a 55w HID bulb in an H7 low beam projector housing, and you feel you have reduced glare, and haven't had any issues with oncoming driver's flashing you since? If I am understand this correctly I am truly puzzled, since an HID conversion in a halogen projector is likely to cause far more glare, especially a 55w HID (as opposed to the 35w intended for street use)..

Only if you buy into the myth perpetuated by the ill-informed. Unfortunately, this half-truth only applies to reflector-based optics. In projectors, there is a cutoff shield that will always prevent light from shining above the cutoff, regardless of light source. The only caveat is if said cutoff shield has a hole in it, which the Legacy projector does, the squirrel finders we mentioned. That is why it is important to fill the squirrel finders as your light output increases.

As an aside, take the 55W ratings with a grain of salt. Time and time again, no name 55W hid kits, DDM included, have been tested to output less than 55W and also use capsules that are not as efficient as OEM HID capsules, so I wouldn't expect a 55W DDM kit to be brighter than any OEM 35W ballast mated to 85122 capsules. It's more just a value thing, these stupid kits cost barely anything and are warrantied well, and they perform better than any halogen bulb.

The squirrel finders are holes in the cutoff shield that allow a cloud of light above the cutoff. Any light above the cutoff is "glare."

Okay, the cutoff shields, I've never heard them called Squirrel finders before, sorry for the confusion, and its the first time I've heard the theory of the glare cloud above it that you describe..

As an aside, take the 55W ratings with a grain of salt. Time and time again, no name 55W hid kits, DDM included, have been tested to output less than 55W and also use capsules that are not as efficient as OEM HID capsules, so I wouldn't expect a 55W DDM kit to be brighter than any OEM 35W ballast mated to 85122 capsules. It's more just a value thing, these stupid kits cost barely anything and are warrantied well, and they perform better than any halogen bulb.

Okay, trying to understand the logic. It would seem to me that even if the 55w kit you have has no more actual light output than an OEM HID capsule, it is still significantly greater than the OSRAM Rallye (a typical 35w DS2 HID capsule is rated at 3200 lumens, vs. the OSRAM Rallye's 2100 lumens), so I'm confused why putting an HID Capsule with an additional 1,100 lumens of light output into a halogen projector housing would produce less glare than the proper H7 bulb at 1,100 fewer lumens?

_________________

~Scott

'05 Outback 2.5i Wagon

Willow Green Opal/ Moss Green Metallic