seeking advice on halogen bulb problems

Dan/Kzo

Dan/Kzo

Member
At our club meeting last night two members seperately approached me looking for suggestions on why the halogen headlamp bulbs are getting hot and melting the insulator and burning out, and also premature burn out after a couple uses. One member consulted with Walt Bratton, who suggested not to turn on headlamps untill alternator has energized or begun charging, and also make sure the ground is good. Both of these cars are said to be using 6 volt alternators and extra ground wire to each headlamp. I do not have cars with halogen lamps so therefore have no experience on why the lamps get hot and melt the insulator, nor have I yet looked at these cars myself. I'm seeking suggestions on what to look for to offer help. Dan Cargo
 
Are the the made in India bulbs or Australia?

Are they using all original Ford sockets and insulators?

Have they monitored the voltage at the bulbs?


There is a quality difference and I believe Bratton's is selling the ones from India imported by Bill Hirsch.
 
Halogen lamps are purposely designed to run hot, with a minimum envelope temperature of 800 Fahrenheit. That high temp initiates the "halogen cycle" that removes evaporated black tungsten deposits from the glass and then redeposits the metal on the filament. You can't use any old socket. It MUST be designed for the heat. That presents a problem for many of the "Little British" and other halogens made to fit in old fashioned bi-pin style sockets that originally held standard lamps.

As far as premature burnout, several factors come into play. First, halogens need rather long "on" times. If you turn one on for just a minute several times in a row, with the lamp envelope never reaching the critical minimum operating temperature, thin weak spots develop in the filament that will never recover even after extended "on" time to recycle the evaporated tungsten. Second, due to the high Kelvin operating design of the filament, there is less headroom for over-voltage spikes. Walt Bratton is correct, those cheapo 6V one wire regulated 10/12SI antique design alternators are known for huge start-up spikes. 20+ volts for 10-20 milliseconds from a 6V alternator is not uncommon. That's why I like alternators with a seperate sense and excite wire. Some newer design regulators also have soft-start circuitry to prevent a damaging or digitally confusing square edged waveform when the car is started.

About the ground- the alternator itself, (not the lamps) needs an excellent ground to maintain regulation. You won't get that if you do not have a tight bolted bracket AND a seperate ground from the block or ****** to the frame/ battery. Relying on jiggling engine pans and motor mounts will result in regulator confusion and spikes.
 
Dear Mike , my compliments for what you wrote and it is the nail on the head. If I remember right there are porcelain sockets somewhere on the market maybe one of the readers know.
 
I have had Halogen bulbs in stock original sockets, and condiut connectors for the last 11 years without problems ---even with extended daylight use because I use them for my charge regulator ---never had one burn out, ----perhaps the secret to reliable Halogen headlight life is a generator.

Perhaps there is an additional factor in my sockets, i remembered that when i rewired them I used the largest gauge of wire I could fit in the sockets ---to the point of cleaning the hole with a drill, then I fanned out the wire before soldering it so there is a good mechanical bond also. -----the larger gauge wire could act as a heat sink to conduct heat away from the socket
 
Last edited:
We have had the halogen bulbs in the sedan for several years and for six months of that time ran at night an hour every evening in commute traffic. Never had a failure and the headlights worked very well in the night driving. Our car is set up 12V with 6 V the amperage is higher so ground etc becomes more critical.
 
Dan/Kzo said:
At our club meeting last night two members seperately approached me looking for suggestions on why the halogen headlamp bulbs are getting hot and melting the insulator and burning out, and also premature burn out after a couple uses. One member consulted with Walt Bratton, who suggested not to turn on headlamps untill alternator has energized or begun charging, and also make sure the ground is good. Both of these cars are said to be using 6 volt alternators and extra ground wire to each headlamp. I do not have cars with halogen lamps so therefore have no experience on why the lamps get hot and melt the insulator, nor have I yet looked at these cars myself. I'm seeking suggestions on what to look for to offer help. Dan Cargo
Click to expand...

dan,
GOOD GROUNDS ! cant have too much ground:).
do not touch the halogen bulbs with bare(oily,eh!) hands. wipe bulbs with alcohol lightly to remove any foreign matter..oil, prior to firing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top