Turn / DRL bulb frequently burns out
02-03-2006, 06:43 PM
#1
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Turn / DRL bulb frequently burns out When I first got my T/A, I had to replace the passenger side DRL/Turn signal socket. At that time I put clear bulbs in both sockets. A few months later the driver's side bulb burned out, so I replaced it. A week or two later, it burned out again, so I replaced the bulb and the socket. Now a week after putting the new socket in, the bulb has burned out again. When I took it out last time, a bunch of water dumped out of the housing. It has been raining for the past couple days (which is apparently a rare event here in Texas), so I'm thinking that rain keeps getting in there and blowing the bulbs. It's not just one filament that burns out while the other keeps working. Both blow out simultaneously. What can I do? Should I coat the light housing with some RTV and hope it doesn't leak? I know these lights are notorious for problems, but damn this is getting annoying.
02-03-2006, 08:17 PM
#2
I've been having the same problem on my passenger side lately. I thought I had a leak or two around the outside edge of the lens on the housing. What I found out was that there was a vertical crack right down the middle of the face of the lens (has about a 1/16" gap). There was so much water getting in the housing, it was burning out bulbs left and right. However, it's not my filaments that are blowing. It's one of the two wires on the outside of the bulb toward the bottom (the part that plugs into the socket).
I've ordered new housings from gmpartsdirect (I noticed I have the same crack on my driver side lens too) for about $26 each. If you don't have a crack, you may want to check for leaks on the edges of the lens and seal it. You can also help the water drain better by drilling a couple holes on the bottom of the housing close the lens. You'll also want to pack dilectric grease around the bulb after you've inserted it into the socket. I found a pressurized can of dilectric grease at AutoZone that really works great for getting the grease packed all the way to the bottom of the socket. The grease will help keep the water out of the socket.
Good luck,
Marc
I've ordered new housings from gmpartsdirect (I noticed I have the same crack on my driver side lens too) for about $26 each. If you don't have a crack, you may want to check for leaks on the edges of the lens and seal it. You can also help the water drain better by drilling a couple holes on the bottom of the housing close the lens. You'll also want to pack dilectric grease around the bulb after you've inserted it into the socket. I found a pressurized can of dilectric grease at AutoZone that really works great for getting the grease packed all the way to the bottom of the socket. The grease will help keep the water out of the socket.
Good luck,
Marc
