Hi,
I have a four lamp system car, 5.75" lamps. I am running European E-Code Cibie domed lens headlamps with 60/55 H4's (hi/lo) and 55 H1 (hi) bulbs. The lenses are reasonably new (every few years they take a rock and I replace them in pairs), certainly no clouding / pitting etc. System voltage is fine at the lights, 13.8v and all grounds are good. The bulbs are probably pretty old 5-7 years... high beam H1's probably a decade. Friday night I was coming home late, it was the first time I had been out in the country at night in a very long time, usually I am 100% in the city with this car and I felt the lighting was very poor on the low beams only. In fact, I had to cut my MPH down because I was over-running the lights which wasn't something I felt the car had done before. High was fine but with oncoming traffic I couldn't run them solid. Certainly it couldn't hold a candle to my 2006 GMC with factory lighting, the vehicle I am usually in on country roads at night. I put this H4/H1 Cibie system in years ago and it has generally been excellent.
To the point; I am wondering if the H4 bulbs are "worn out". Can halogens lose intensity over time. I don't have any spares to test with at the moment, I am ordering some, but it just made me wonder if the bulbs dim with age. If so, I can schedule these bulbs to be swapped out on a periodic basis whether they are still functioning or not. Does anyone have solid data on this?
Thanks,
Marc
I have a four lamp system car, 5.75" lamps. I am running European E-Code Cibie domed lens headlamps with 60/55 H4's (hi/lo) and 55 H1 (hi) bulbs. The lenses are reasonably new (every few years they take a rock and I replace them in pairs), certainly no clouding / pitting etc. System voltage is fine at the lights, 13.8v and all grounds are good. The bulbs are probably pretty old 5-7 years... high beam H1's probably a decade. Friday night I was coming home late, it was the first time I had been out in the country at night in a very long time, usually I am 100% in the city with this car and I felt the lighting was very poor on the low beams only. In fact, I had to cut my MPH down because I was over-running the lights which wasn't something I felt the car had done before. High was fine but with oncoming traffic I couldn't run them solid. Certainly it couldn't hold a candle to my 2006 GMC with factory lighting, the vehicle I am usually in on country roads at night. I put this H4/H1 Cibie system in years ago and it has generally been excellent.
To the point; I am wondering if the H4 bulbs are "worn out". Can halogens lose intensity over time. I don't have any spares to test with at the moment, I am ordering some, but it just made me wonder if the bulbs dim with age. If so, I can schedule these bulbs to be swapped out on a periodic basis whether they are still functioning or not. Does anyone have solid data on this?
Thanks,
Marc