high beam bulbs turning opaque brown?

So has anyone else seen this happen - both of my high-beam bulbs (these are the 9005's which also function as the DRLs) have turned brown - they look as though something was inside the capsule which burnt... it's not a light/clear brown, but is opaque...

I went to the dealer, and after showing them and asking if that was normal, we walked around the lot and a number of used cars of the same age as mine, give or take a little, looked pretty much the same, so they chalked it up as normal... I have never seen bulbs do this - usually they'll get a little grey when they burn out, but I haven't seen them turn brown like this (with only 6k miles on the car)...

Update - almost another 6k miles with new bulbs and they remain crystal clear... so I vote that there is something wrong with the OEM ones.

My OEM bulbs on my '13 on this discoloration at 800 miles. Thought it was strange....

I think it might be particles in the glass that solidify when the bulb cools down. It might disappear when the bulbs are hot. Maybe a photo investigation is needed haha

I noticed this on my '11 / 36K today when I switched the bulbs out.

I noticed it too on my 2013, so I bought some Nokya Ice Yellow bulbs.
I just installed them and they look pretty cool. It was also a rainy day so I was bored.




Stock bulbs in the new box..

Wonder if it's from being on half power all the time

Disconnect your daytime lights.

Originally Posted by Nacron

Wonder if it's from being on half power all the time

If that's the case, it would have to be happening within about the first hundred times you start the car. The high-beam bulbs in my wife's 2010 LGT look just like that and they haven't been run at half power since a week or two after taking delivery.

I see a bulb upgrade to Xtravisions or Silverstar Ultras in that car's near future.



FWIW, any color other than white/clear in your high beams costs you in terms of headlight function, and should be reserved for use in true fog lights.


Norm

same with mine. i got nokya yellow and i am happy.

Originally Posted by DrD123

So has anyone else seen this happen - both of my high-beam bulbs (these are the 9005's which also function as the DRLs) have turned brown - they look as though something was inside the capsule which burnt... it's not a light/clear brown, but is opaque...

That's exactly what mine look like. I just swapped them out for a set of Hella 65W Xenon Blues. Probably the easiest mod I've done so far.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200722110565...84.m1439.l2649

And while I was at it, I swapped out the front parking lights for a pair of these...

http://www.v-leds.com/6K-WHITE-CREE-...96205-1-2.html

I didn't do anything fancy - just regular 9005's from NAPA - curious if they will do the same thing or not... (as an aside - why does Subaru call for 60W 9005's - I think the spec is 65W and I couldn't find any which were 60W... weird...)

Also - our Honda Odyssey uses 9005's for the high beams as well - it has 140k miles on it, is still on the original high-beam bulbs, and the capsules are perfectly clear...

So Subaru said that it was "normal", but they contacted the local dealer who said that, so they were just parroting back their opinion... so far the replacement bulbs I bought are crystal clear. (I still think it's funny when I pointed out that the ones on our van with 140k are still crystal clear and they said they can only speak to the quality of their own vehicles...)

Contacted Sylvania and sent the same pics to them - their response was more or less - "wtf - that's not normal" - sent me a new set of bulbs and everything, so there you go. (they even upgraded to the silverstars... I am not sold on the tinted capsules, so I am not sure if I'll use them or not...)

You're talking about the Silverstar Ultras, right? Let me assure you that the light coming out is not at all tinted, both to look at and as it appears down the road.


Norm