s40 2008 low beam bulb failure help please

[krispyKreme]

i followed instructions on page 192 of owners manual and getting the headlight out was pretty simple

i had a Lucas h7 12v55wfitted on the right only other info on bulb is 37R E8 3D6 dont know what that bit means, anyway ill likely go for osram nightbreakers £26.49 for 2 on eurocarparts ..ill check ebay for those too first ! i darn not go for those really cheap £1.30ish ones i bet they fail every few months and the osram nightbreakers say they are bright.

i filmed with camcorder getting the bulb out and how to put headlight back in ill upload that video to https://www.youtube.com/c/awesomefullhdvideos/videos it should be online in about an hour from now

ill make 2nd video showing me fitting the new bulbs in couple of days once i have them ( ill wear rubber gloves) its almost imposible not to touch the bulb when removing it.

cheers
dave

[zapcity1]

My V50 blows dipped bulbs approx. 2-3 times/year each side as has done since I've had it (7 years), so buying Nightbreakers etc. becomes an expensive business! One even blew on the way to the MOT station this year!
I guess Volvo made them easy to change for a reason.

It doesn't seem to matter whether they are cheap or expensive bulbs, they pop on a regular basis.

I always have a stock of cheap Ebay £1 bulbs in the glovebox and at home so I'm never caught short. For £1 they are not too bad.

Can't say I noticed much of an improvement using quality bulbs but I'm sure they are better.

[StatusRed]

Originally Posted by zapcity1

My V50 blows dipped bulbs approx. 2-3 times/year each side as has done since I've had it (7 years), so buying Nightbreakers etc. becomes an expensive business! One even blew on the way to the MOT station this year!
I guess Volvo made them easy to change for a reason.

It doesn't seem to matter whether they are cheap or expensive bulbs, they pop on a regular basis.

I always have a stock of cheap Ebay £1 bulbs in the glovebox and at home so I'm never caught short. For £1 they are not too bad.

Can't say I noticed much of an improvement using quality bulbs but I'm sure they are better.

When I was using the super cheap "xenon effect bulbs" they did seem to blow after a month but since buying the Ultrabright xenon effect bulbs, which I found recommended after searching on the subject on these forums they've lasted for 4 months so far. Worth paying a wee bit extra for them at least.

[krispyKreme]

My video of my changed the bulb is now online https://www.youtube.com/user/AwesomeFullHDvideos/videos

rather fiddly to do while trying to film so ittl be a lot quicker to do if not filming !!

thanks to everyone that replied to help me out : )

Dave

[The Thong]

I've just bought a pair from Volvo, night breakers are good but they're last 4 months at the most. I'll see how the Volvo supplied do, hopefully better

TT

[krispyKreme]

volvo supplied are what make ? the lucas ones i just replaced lasted 8000 miles of driving, how many miles do u do every 4 months for them to keep failing ?

cheers

Originally Posted by The Thong

I've just bought a pair from Volvo, night breakers are good but they're last 4 months at the most. I'll see how the Volvo supplied do, hopefully better

TT

[krispyKreme]

osram night breakers are £26.50 at eurocarparts

£18 on ebay

£14.50 on amazon so i got them from their !! surprised eurocarparts so much more ..it pays to shop around

[zapcity1]

I do 10-12K/year and replace 3-4 times/year (almost regardless of brand).

A rough calculation using 4K miles at an average of 25mph is 160 hours bulb life. Don't now if this is normal life expectancy or not.

I've always assumed regular bulb replacement was the price paid for DRLs.

[Trabant Dave]

There's much to be gained from cleaning the 'projector lenses' as they get foggy; there's a thread on here somewhere about that; bear in mind that legally if you retro-fit HIDs that they are not entirely legal unless you have headlight washers and self-levelling.........

My H7 of choice WAS the Osram Nightbreaker, but they do seem to not be durable; I'm currently using Halfords All-Weather which are also quite yellow, a bit like French cars used to be fitted with - great in mist, fog, and rain.

I had a dipped beam go just prior to the MOT and didn't have time to order online; the Halford bulbs seem just as good as Nightbreakers at £20.00 a pair, not over-expensive.

Just need to see how long they last.......

Regards,

Dave

[zapcity1]

Originally Posted by Trabant Dave

There's much to be gained from cleaning the 'projector lenses' as they get foggy; there's a thread on here somewhere about that; bear in mind that legally if you retro-fit HIDs that they are not entirely legal unless you have headlight washers and self-levelling.........

My H7 of choice WAS the Osram Nightbreaker, but they do seem to not be durable; I'm currently using Halfords All-Weather which are also quite yellow, a bit like French cars used to be fitted with - great in mist, fog, and rain.

I had a dipped beam go just prior to the MOT and didn't have time to order online; the Halford bulbs seem just as good as Nightbreakers at £20.00 a pair, not over-expensive.

Just need to see how long they last.......

Regards,

Dave

+1 on the cleaning. Well worth the effort.

Guide here thanks to T5R92011 :- http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=239889