Lightbulbs....nowt to do with Zeds

[Warrior]

I have an ageing Citroen Berlingo van that is getting through 2 or 3 rear brake bulbs a year.

Same one, same side but no rhyme nor reason as to why they should blow on a regular basis when the other side remains untouched for many years.

Any ideas?

 

[r37]

my old rover used to do this, the metal strips that run accross the bulb panel/holder had rusted on the bottom side, every now and then water would leak in and short it on something else. Took the whole thing apart and gave it a good scrub with a wire brush and it sorted right out. If there is no rust then it has to be something within the loom.

 

[Warrior]

Cheers R37, i'll have a closer look. B-)

Paid an extra 50p for Bosch bulbs instead of Halfords own. Lets see if they are any better?

 

[r37]

brake lights tend to get alot of hammer with the on/off cycles so better quality bulbs should certainly last longer.

 

[stevie_a]

I love LED bulbs

clicky photo

 

[Boysie]

Road humps
bloody road humps
i think i keep halford afloat the amount of bulbs i buy
I had an Mot on the van on the way home after numerous humps
one of the brake light had blown (
I'm just waiting to be pulled over by the police then i'll let rip

 

[zedonist]

Its probably a bad earth (connection) causing higher resistance, it is drawing more current than it needs, working hotter and burning the filament out, as per previous post could be poor contacts due to corrosion or a shorting cable, I would take the unit out and clean all the contacts up, and then look for chaffing on the harness, also follow the wires to the earth point, should be in the rear somewhere, then remove clean and re-attach.

Or get a shovel, and pound all the speed humps till they are flat

 

[board]

I love LED bulbs

Are they any good for brake lights now? a few years back they weren't bright enough but i'm sure they must be a lot better now

 

[peteslag]

Its probably a bad earth (connection) causing higher resistance, it is drawing more current than it needs, working hotter and burning the filament out, a

Here comes the leckie geeks point of view. More resistance will lower the current (think of current as electrical flow, the more you resist it the less you get). The two brake bulbs are wired in parallel, it stands to reason that the same one keeps blowing so maybe the side that isn't blowing could be high resistance. This would cause more current to flow through the side that is blowing. Basicaly, replace both bulbs and clean up the contacts on both sides.

The level of current is set by the resistance and voltage. If the bulb thing doesn't work have your alternator checked out, it might be regulating your voltage slighty too high, more voltage= more current. Also, make sure you have the correct rating of fuse fitted for that circuit.

Only other thing I can think of is a possible intermitant short to earth. This could be anywhere in the electrical system and would be extremely hard to find.

I like the shovel idea though. :-bd

 

[board]

Road humps
bloody road humps

I'll try to remember to get you a few pics of the road humps here. generally pretty well hidden and sometimes massive. I haven't seen any of the super cars go over them yet but apparently there is usually a grinding noise as they go over them x_x