A regular burnout of your car headlight bulbs can be one of the most annoying feelings in the world. Especially when it gets you unaware while driving at night. Now, headlights aren’t wired or manufactured this way to be a thorn in your flesh but there is no doubt that other factors can cause your headlight to keep going out. Before we get to the solution, let’s talk about the causes. So that we learn how to fix headlights that keep going out.
Factors that can cause a headlight to burnout regularly
- Vibration
If your headlight bulb is not securely mounted or if you have a bent socket, vibration caused by driving on rough roads can potentially knock out your headlight bulb or even disconnect it from its fuse or housing.
- Touching the bulb
I am sure you might have heard or read it several times that you shouldn’t touch your headlight bulb with bare hands. Well this is not a myth and there is a reason for that. When you touch your headlight bulb with bare fingers, especially if it’s a halogen or HID bulb, the oil from your skin will adhere to the bulb’s glass and cause the bulb to overheat when it’s on. This can further lead to a breakage or burnout.
- Switching on your headlights before starting the car
Cars are manufactured in such a way that they divert electrical power from any availability accessories that’s on to deliver maximum power to help start your car’s motor. This is why when your lights are on before starting your car, it will go off and then come up again. Thus, shortening the life span on the headlight bulb.
- Water leakage
Headlight moisture or condensation is a sign of water leakage inside your car’s headlight. This isn’t a sign to take lightly as the consequences could cause your car headlight bulb to constantly go bad. To fix this, replace your car headlights so that the seal on the headlight housing would be reaffirmed.
Fixing a headlight that keeps going out
Fixing a headlight that continuously goes out is dependent on the cause or reason why it goes out often. If the reason is from touching the bulb’s glass, then you need to change your headlight bulb but this time, avoid touching the bulb’s glass. What if the cause is vibration? If the underlying cause is from your headlight bulbs getting banged around in its housing, a great fix would be ensuring your car headlight bulbs are firmly secured in their respective housing.
Lastly, a bad headlight plug connection can cause your car headlights to constantly go bad. If this is the case, you would need a new connector and probably apply a dielectric grease at the connector’s base to keep moisture out. In the same vein, restore your car’s headlight lenses with a restoration kit to remove oxidation from the lenses. Condensed headlight lenses can trap beams within, reduce your visibility, and cause uneven heat that could spoil your headlight bulb.
