burning out light bulbs Head and tail

31Abone

31Abone

Well-known member
Other than loose battery connections is there any reason lights to burn out ? I have gone thru about 4 or 5 bulbs in the last month ..running lights ,head lights and tail ..amp meter shows OK small charge,,stock 6v generator.
 
I suspect you are having a questionable cutout or faulty generator causing the voltage to spike. An EVR (voltage regulator in the generator) would keep the voltage from exceeding a safe amount. That is probably what is causing the bulbs to burn out - too high of voltage.
Just my thoughts.
 
Sounds to me like a issue with your wiring, not a cut out, if a cut out is installed properly it will not cause a open circuit on the load side only the generator side, or it will stay stuck on, which is not an open. If the generator or alternator (depending on which one you have) looses connection with the battery, the voltage will go very high. The battery is not only a storage device it also works as a type of voltage regulator for the charging components. This is not "a short" as so many keep stating, it is in fact the opposite, it is the circuit opening up. Take some time and check every connection from the generator (or alternator) to the battery, make sure everything is polished clean and tight. Check the physical wire and make sure there are no cuts in the insulation that have allowed moisture to get into the wire as that can cause corrosion that over time will create a high resistance or open circuit. Not only do you need to check the "wired" side of the circuit you also need to make sure the ground sides are all in good shape, meaning polished clean and tight. This includes the mount for the generator / alternator as that is the "ground" or better stated return side path for the circuit, it needs to be clean and not full of paint, grease / oil and dirt.

If you have added a fuse that mounts on the starter to protect your electrical it can be the cause of all kinds of strange issues as some of them are very poorly made and cause intermittent open circuits.
 
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Do as Jon said, and also make sure the horn/lights wire is connected to the OUTPUT side of the cutout, and not on the generator terminal side.

Loose wires on the rear of the ammeter can be the cause of high voltage, as well as poor repro fuse holders, bad battery connections, etc.

As Rsuty said, an electronic voltage regulator is a good investment. It helps to prolong battery life, by giving it the correct charge, rather than over and undercharging, as the stock unregulated generator gives. It also regulates the output to a safe voltage level, even if you have a poor connection in the charging circuit between the cutout and battery.
 
I had the same problem with my bulbs on my '30 coupe. I turned out to be the batttery disconnect that was installed. It was the type of disconnect that uses a round knurled knob that is rotated to connect or disconnect the battery. It was faulty and when I'd hit a bump in the road the battery would disconnect for a second or two and then reconnect. No battery on line for a few seconds and the generator voltage went high and the bulbs would blow. The engine also stumbled for a few seconds.

Later I could duplicate it on the bench with an ohmeter by applying force on the control knob and cause an interuption in current flow while the knob was turned in the battery on position.
 
BobMo said:
I had the same problem with my bulbs on my '30 coupe. I turned out to be the batttery disconnect that was installed. It was the type of disconnect that uses a round knurled knob that is rotated to connect or disconnect the battery. It was faulty and when I'd hit a bump in the road the battery would disconnect for a second or two and then reconnect. No battery on line for a few seconds and the generator voltage went high and the bulbs would blow. The engine also stumbled for a few seconds.

Later I could duplicate it on the bench with an ohmeter by applying force on the control knob and cause an interuption in current flow while the knob was turned in the battery on position.
Click to expand...

very interesting i also had trouble with those green knob disconnects.
using those with a generator style system can lead to a meltdown
 
I had one of those dissconnects with the knob on them that clamps right to the battery on my 1937, it was turning over slow, took off the dissconnect and it spun a lot faster!!!! Someone else posted the same problem a while ago and it was the same for me..
 
Oil on your fingers can shorten bulb life. High output bulbs get very hot what wattage bulbs are you using? Halogen bulbs are the worst I use latex gloves when handling them!
 
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