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dr350jja
March 20th, 2012, 10:17 PM
Looking for some info regarding a quirky occurrence!

My son-in-law has a 2006 Tacoma and seems to be replacing headlamp bulbs regularly every 6 months of so. He is using the Sylvania Silver Star bulbs. Sometimes it’s the left side, sometimes the right side bulb. This seems odd to me; as I have the same truck and have yet to replace a light bulb on it!! Has anyone run into something like this before? I told him to check the voltage at the battery, while the engine is running, to see if it looks like it may be over-charging.

Thanks,
Jim
mattzj98
March 20th, 2012, 10:36 PM
I've had that in my grand cherokee (previous one)

I went back to stock bulbs and still have them for replacement on the new jeep
CodeXJ
March 20th, 2012, 10:46 PM
My son-in-law has a 2006 Tacoma and seems to be replacing headlamp bulbs regularly every 6 months of so. He is using the Sylvania Silver Star bulbs. Sometimes it’s the left side, sometimes the right side bulb. This seems odd to me; as I have the same truck and have yet to replace a light bulb on it!! Has anyone run into something like this before? I told him to check the voltage at the battery, while the engine is running, to see if it looks like it may be over-charging.


The silverstar run at a much higher discharge then a standar bulb does. Thus when you buy the silverstars and the ultra silverstars they only last 6 months to a year at most. You subsitute life for brightness unfortunetly. This isn't always the case as you could have a silverstar that last 2 years, but for the most part they do go out A LOT faster. To remedy this is to go HID and they are brighter but cost more money.

Also, if you have any cracks in your headlights front or back they can let moisture through which speeds up the process. If you touch them with your bare hands prior to installing they will burn out incredibly fast.

hope this helps
Brody
March 21st, 2012, 05:38 AM
Ditto with what Cody said, especially about the finger grease toasting the bulbs faster, much like a halogen bulb in the work lights. I have heard of people having similar issues with the hotter, brighter bulbs and on the flip, people like me who haven't had issue one using the same junk...

You may also try upgrading the harness, too, as they do draw more juice:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Headlights.shtml#Installation