snoopybaron

Anyone care to try and solve my problem and they could win a 12 foot tall unicorn and a case of beer.

2001 firebird auto V6 coupe. In the 7 years I’ve owned the car I have had to replace around 15 or 16 burnt headlights. Almost always low beams, pretty even on both passenger and driver sides, maybe 9 on one side and 7 on the other, I lost track. Only replaced 1 high beam bulb that I remember. The longest the lights last maybe 1 year, the shortest less than a month. All other lights with car seem to work as expected, replaced a couple of bulbs, tail turn etc. But they all last. Hell I use my fogs All the time yet they never go out. The only potential clue I have is that I saw one of the headlights go out when it was raining, and I swear I noticed a few burnt after having taken my car through the car wash. It may just be coincidence, although my friend jokes that I have the only car that can’t go out in the rain.

I have had two Pontiac dealers look at the electrical system and tell me everything looks OK. I also had an “auto electronics specialty” shop check the problem and come up with nothing other than I must just have been unlucky with bad quality lights. I’ve bought Sylvania, Wagner and Napa sealed beam headlights. My alternator has been checked fine a dozen times as well as my top of the line battery. The pigtail connectors that connect to the back of the sealed bulbs are fine, clean and make good contact. No frayed or corroded wires or connections with lights. Headlight motor harness connectors like new, perfectly clean no corrosion. Ground wires in engine compartment seem to be fine. I have checked a few fuses related to lights and they were fine. The car works just as it’s supposed to except for the damn headlights. 15 or so headlights, $105 dollar ticket, half a dozen times being pulled over, and numerous inconveniences of having to turn back home at night when I realize another damn headlight blew out. Sometimes I feel like running the damn car into a lake! This sucks, this sucks, this sucks, THIS SUCKS!!!

My Father bought a 1993 Toyota T100 brand new, 20 years and 200,000 miles later the engine finally wore out. Never had to replace ONE FOCKIN HEADLIGHT!!!

TheWolfMatt

Try these.

ghardester

I've gone through quite a few headlights in the two 4th generation birds I've had too, but not as many as you.

Part of this is just a design flaw. The headlights are hot when they are on, and when you turn off the lights the headlight doors SLAM shut instead of easing down. Turn off lights and CLUNK, down go the doors jarring the hot lights. Since you are probably not turning off the lights while the brights are on, they have cooled and the jarring doesn't break them.

One thing I discovered recently was that sometimes the light wasn't burned out, the wire plug had fallen off. There is a little plastic nub on the front of the plug connection that may have fit into a hole in the stock lights but was preventing the NAPA replacements I was using from getting a full plug in connection. I took a Dremel tool and removed the nub and now get a much better connection.

I don't know if this is a possible source of your problem, but I would recheck that the plug is fully snapping in.

01WS6/tamu

iTrader: (37)

Take a flashlight flip it up and down while turning on and off several hundred times and you'll have the same effect. It's no concrete pillared proven truth but in my years of working on these cars I believe it's the motion of the headlamp going up and down that causes this. I have a 91 suburban with the exact same bulbs my 01 ta has and I have never changed a headlamp on it due to a burned out one. 10 years ago I put a set of phillips bright lights in the burban and they've never missed a beat but exact same make and model bulb in my t/a has been changed multiple times.

snoopybaron

Thanks for the input guys.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

I think you're onto something here. As the filament in the lamp is still burning hot, it gets bounced hard when the headlights close.

Try turning the headlight switch to parking lights first, wait a bit then to off. This will shut the lights without closing down the headlights until you go to full off.

This would delay bouncing the filament until it gets to cool a bit.

Propaganda

Anti-vibrating bulbs would help. I know I use them on my Harley especially if you have an exhaust/header with lots of vibration.

Kevin Lee 487

iTrader: (1)

That would only work if his headlight motor gears needed to be changed.

The regular parking lights will not raise the lights if everything is working properly.

chobes

iTrader: (18)

If you have your headlights on and turn the switch to parking lights, the headlights will turn off but the lights stay in the up position. Giving the bulbs some time to cool before dropping the doors just might do the trick.