Light bulb kit - 2002 BMW 330i

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Brandon - 25 Apr 2006 22:19 GMT

I have a beautiful and much loved 2002 330i (steel grey on black) with
86K on it. The tail light bulbs are starting to go out here and there
-- and the indicator light on my dash is driving me crazy.

I'd like to just go and replace all of the bulbs myself. Is there any
sort of all inclusive "kit" I can buy on the internet that includes all
of the bulbs I would need to replace the taillights, turn signal
indicators, etc., all at once? I am not interested in getting custom
colored bulbs -- I would want everything to remain stock.

Any inisight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Brandon
2002 330i grey/black
1999 VW Passat 1.8T silver/creme

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Dave Plowman (News) - 26 Apr 2006 09:43 GMT

> I have a beautiful and much loved 2002 330i (steel grey on black) with
> 86K on it. The tail light bulbs are starting to go out here and there
> -- and the indicator light on my dash is driving me crazy.

> I'd like to just go and replace all of the bulbs myself. Is there any
> sort of all inclusive "kit" I can buy on the internet that includes all
> of the bulbs I would need to replace the taillights, turn signal
> indicators, etc., all at once? I am not interested in getting custom
> colored bulbs -- I would want everything to remain stock.

The important thing is to use good quality bulbs as replacements. A hint
to this is often that the cap is plated rather than brass.

I'd not replace all of them. Turn signal bulbs tend to have a much longer
life as they're not on as long as tails, etc. On my E39 its the stop bulbs
which go first. But they're so easy to replace I keep a spare or two on
board.

In the UK places like Halfords (a big car accessory chain) do kits for
most cars. But this is because it's a legal requirement to carry such a
kit in some countries in the EU.

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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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Pete - 26 Apr 2006 16:51 GMT

> Turn signal bulbs tend to have a much longer
> life

Because nobody uses them? :)

Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant on/off
action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?

Cheers,

Pete

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Dave Plowman (News) - 26 Apr 2006 17:10 GMT

> Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant
> on/off action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?

No - it seems not. Makes no difference. Remember a mains lamp is switching
on and off at 120 times a second in the US.

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Dean Dark - 26 Apr 2006 23:19 GMT

>> Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant
>> on/off action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?
>
>No - it seems not. Makes no difference. Remember a mains lamp is switching
>on and off at 120 times a second in the US.

And *only* 100 times a second in the YooKay.

Here, we're talking about DC switching positive/zero at 1 Hz or less,
but you already knew that.

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Dan.

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Richard Sexton - 27 Apr 2006 18:55 GMT

To reach Daniel Stern;
Shoot mail to sales@candlepowerinc.com ; Candlepower has all the right
German-made, BMW-spec bulbs that fit and WORK right, instead of the common
American-type "almost right, mostly works" items. They keep standard and
upgrade types and are intelligent enough to know WTF they're talking
about.

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dizzy - 27 Apr 2006 23:42 GMT

But it's not like the filament cools-down much from peak temperature
during the low-voltage periods...

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Dave Plowman (News) - 28 Apr 2006 00:30 GMT

> >> Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant
> >> on/off action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?
> >
> >No - it seems not. Makes no difference. Remember a mains lamp is
> >switching on and off at 120 times a second in the US.

> But it's not like the filament cools-down much from peak temperature
> during the low-voltage periods...

Indeed. I was just making a sort of point. But there are plenty of
flashing incandescent lamps around. Xmas tree ones for example. Some
traffic signs. Juke boxes and fruit machines. All of which can have a long
service life.

In all my long experience of many different makes of cars I've not had a
problem with turn signal lamps burning out. On my E39, stop lamps seem to
go more than others, for some reason. I've replaced them all, and the
centre one twice. But only one other - a tail light bulb.

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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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Richard Sexton - 26 Apr 2006 19:17 GMT

>> Turn signal bulbs tend to have a much longer
>> life
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>Seriously though, wouldn't the fact that they're subject to constant on/off
>action cause them to wear out sooner rather than later?

Yes, but, tungston bulbs die because the tungston vaporises and deposits a black
film on the inside of the bulb (making it dimmer). The filament does eventually
"wear out".

Now, halogen bulbs have a halide (iodione) that reatcs with the tungson preventing
it from depositing itself on the glass; this happens at 300C and when it cools down
the tungston redeposits itself back on the filament. This is called the "halogen
cycle" or some such thing; thetechnology was invented by GE for the Boeing 707
and is common these days as you're probably aware.

There are halogen bulbs for the rear lamps. 37xxx something. Dan Stern would be the
guy to talk to.

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