Do we need to have a headlight bulb replacement ?.
Should you have a headlight bulb replacement ?. The vehicle headlights are an essential tool to illuminate our vehicles when driving at night. Most of the cars have equipped with headlights consisting of low beams, high beams, dimmers, and turn signals in the same headlamp housing.
From the past to the present, the vehicle headlights have been developing to be modern, brighter, and farther. And most importantly, it has a longer service life than traditional bulbs.
However, due to the current use of cars, more people use cars at night. That is because we have more nighttime activities, longer highways, more road networks, more night works, etc.
Car headlights may, therefore, be used a few hours a day to several hours a day. Frequent use of headlights will cause the lamp to wear out over the years of usage.
Finally, the headlights will damage in different conditions such as less bright, uneven light, broken bulbs.
Therefore, you need to check the condition of your headlights periodically to see if they are working correctly or not. If the lamp finds to be out of normal working condition, you should replace it immediately.
Driving at night with broken bulbs can be more vulnerable to an accident than usual. And also a reason for police officers to arrest and fines
A hassle-free way to change your car headlight bulbs, you can learn about the types of headlights, and you can easily replace them with the following checks and procedures.
How many types of car headlight bulbs ?.
All vehicles equipped with headlights are similar, such as trucks, cars, motorcycles, buses, etc.
When it comes to headlight technology that has evolved over several decades, it can be summarized as follows:
1.Halogen lamp Halogen bulbs have been using for more than 50 years. The light bulb looks like the Edison light bulb most homes in the past have used.
This bulb has a tungsten filament. When you turn on the headlight switch, the electric current will cause the filament to heat up and shine out.
This type of lamp has different wattage units such as 20,30,40 50 watts, etc.
Halogen lamps have a long service life, but not very long. Through prolonged use, the filament will eventually break. If the light bulb is not broke, it may shine less than usual. The reason for the dimming of the light may be the lamp itself or the dirty lamp socket.
- Xenon lamp (HID or high-intensity discharge) This type of lamp is commonly called xenon lamp. It uses xenon gas contained inside, and it will light up when passed by tens of thousands of volts of high voltage ballasts.
At the time when this kind of light hit the market, it fitted with luxury cars. And finally, it has spread to many cheaper car models. Even eco-cars are factory-installed.
This bulb gives off a much brighter light than a halogen bulb and shines much further. For this reason, xenon headlights must be installed in the projector lamps to bring the light into the beam. You would not have headlight bulb replacement by using Xenon lamps with reflectors of halogen lamps.
Xenon lamps are highly susceptible to two components: a xenon lamp and a ballast. That is because xenon lamps have been on the market for many years. The technology has been developing so that their lifespan is near to, or more than, halogen lamps.
The light of this lamp measure in Kelvin, starting from 3,000 K. to more than 10,000 K. The vehicle with factory pre-installed bulbs usually have approximately 5,000 K. bulbs.
You should be aware that installing a lamp higher than 5,000K might provide good visibility in the dark, but it can be hard to see if it is dust-free or smoke-free roads in the air, such as the roads after rain.
- LED light bulb (Light-Emitting Diode) LED lamps are installed in many modern vehicles, be it cars or trucks. This type of tube works by releasing photons to produce light.
In the early days of using these lamps in vehicles, they often used with taillights and daytime running lights. After years of development, it is now using low and high beam lamps.
LED is measured in lumens for brightness like 10,000 lumens is equivalent to a 50-watt incandescent lamp. It has a different color temperature like a xenon lamp, about 5000 K, and up to 10,000 K.
LED bulbs are very economical and durable. You can install this car light and use it for more than 30,000 hours. Of course, the hours of the lights are on, not the hours of driving.
4.Laser headlights Expensive luxury cars have been using laser headlights over the past 3-4 years. It is expensive, suitable for the price of the vehicle.
These headlights do not use a laser beam projected from a lamp to illuminate the road. It uses a laser to react with gas in a lamp to produce light.
Laser headlights often have a relatively long illumination distance. The 600 meters is the minimum distance that this light is shining.
You wouldn’t want to upgrade this kind of light because it is the high-end and new technology light that is available in today’s cars. If the headlight has a problem, you will still need to have it repaired or replaced by a dealer. We do not recommend repairing the vehicle in a typical garage or auto shop.
How do you do the headlight Bulb replacement ?.
The headlight bulb replacement is easy. The owner can do it on their own. The owner’s manual of all brands often tells you how to replace bulbs such as headlights, turn signals, high beams, reverse lights, tail lights, and more.
Besides how to change the lamp, the manual also tells you the specification of the bulbs which type you should buy for replacement, such as wattage, volt, etc.
Replacing a lamp that does not match the factory specifications can cause a malfunction of the vehicle’s lighting system.
In case your car is under warranty, you should change it with a dealer. These parts are usually free of charge.
If the car is out of warranty and you want to replace it yourself so that you don’t have to pay labor, you can remove the bulbs without difficulty.
In general, modern cars are developing to be easy to maintain, unlike older vehicles where you may have to remove your headlights or even bumpers in just to replace the bulbs.
Here is a simple replacement method that we think most cars have:
- Open the hood
- Locate the wires and plugs of the headlights.
- Pull out the rubber plug that covers the car headlamp plug. Pull out the plug on the lamp cap.
4. If your car uses a halogen lamp, it will insert into the lamp socket with a metal wire clip locked. Use your hand to release the wire clip from its position.
- Pull the headlight bulb straight out.
- If it’s a xenon lamp or an LED, you will find that the back of the lamp holder has a small metal case. You use your hand to turn the whole bulb counterclockwise and pull it straight out.
- Replace the new lamp by reverse the removal procedure described above.
Please be careful not to touch halogen and xenon glass bulbs with your hands. Oil stains from the hands will leave the glass bulb a permanent spot when it is heated. It affects the light of the headlight bulb.
Conclusion
Most of the time, you can replace the headlight bulbs yourself due to the design of the modern car. But in case your vehicle has a complicated style that requires removing the headlights and or bumpers to replace the bulbs, you may take to a mechanic.
It is necessary to use the same bulb as the original specification of the vehicle, for example, use the same watt and volt bulbs. The headlights and overall lighting will work as it should be.
If you want to change the type of light bulb, such as replacing from halogen to LED, you can do that. There are bulb manufacturers that make easy-to-install conversion kits for you. You need to compare the wattage and select the right color temperature to drive safely in the environment where you are living.
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