Astra 98 Blowing bulbs

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Sun 27 Feb 2005 19:35
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - DuffBus
I seem to have a similar problem as BobG "Blowing bulbs and ECUs. Renault Megane" My Astra keeps blowing headlight bulbs.
I have been advised to add an extra bit of wiring (please excuse my complete lack of technical knowledge). This extra piece of wiring apparently gets attached somewhere between the switch and the light. I have no idea what it does or where it is supposed to go.
Could anybody advise me on the best course of action in such circumstances. My neighbour has offered to do the work for me but is unsure exactly where it should be fitted.
Thanks - Duffbus
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 19:43
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - Dynamic Dave
IIRC, the garage changed the socket at the end of the wires that connects to the bulb on my Dad's Astra. They also replaced the terminals inside the socket as well.

Does yours blow both dip beam headlight bulbs, or just on one side? My Dad's kept blowing nearside bulbs only.
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 19:50
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - DuffBus
Dave: Both sides blow at random intervals, it is usually dip beam - did the socket change and replaced terminals work?
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 20:08
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - Robin Reliant
This might seem illogical, but bear with me. How often do you lift the bonnet to check fluid levels?

When the Open the bonnet / Show me / Tell me phase came into the driving test, my once a week lifting the lid for a routine check suddenly changed to constantly opening and closing the thing all through the week. I suddenly began to get through headlight bulbs at an alarming rate, and couldn't understand why. A colleague who had the same problem on the same car (Lupo) told me he had solved it by getting his pupils to lower the bonnet and push it shut rather than dropping it the final foot or so.

Apparantly the thin filiment in the bulb is very delicate, and it does not take much of a shock like the bonnet dropping to break it. Probably not the cause of most bulb failures, but if it keeps happening to you and everything else checks out ok it is worth a try.
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Sun 27 Feb 2005 20:23
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - DuffBus
Tom: Well you never know - The random bulb failures could be linked to my random bonnet dropping. I promise from now on I will push the lid shut rather than dropping it!
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Mon 28 Feb 2005 00:15
Astra 98 Blowing bulbs - Dynamic Dave
Duffbus,

Re: replacing socket. Yes, it seemed to cure the problem. It went from a bulb blowing every month or so, to being on the same bulb a year later when the car was sold. Apparantly Vauxhall are aware of the problem, hence when my dad mentioned it to the garage, they knew how to rectify it.

Re: closing the bonnet by pushing. Always do this by using the palm of your hand rather than finger tips. The modern body panel is a lot thinner and easily dented.
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