Double Your Headlight Life

[jeffw]

When my stock headlight bulb burned out I made another bulb positioning notch in the socket directly opposite of the stock notch, dropped the bulb in the new notch, and put it back together.

This works because the stock bulb has two filaments. Making the notch with a small drill bit is easy since the socket is made out of brass.

I did a search on this subject and got lots of hits and suggestions, but didn't see this one. Hope this helps somebody.

 

[IrishEKU]

Originally posted by jeffw


This works because the stock bulb has two filaments. Making the notch with a small drill bit is easy since the socket is made out of brass.

:think: How does drilling a hole in the ground portion of your bulb socket increase life on the bulb? Also, the "filaments" are the peices that are heated by electricity to make light. They happen to be sealed in a vacum encased in glass.

 

[craig_enid]

Are you saying that the original position only uses one of the filaments, and by inverting it, you use the other?

 

[IrishEKU]

Originally posted by craig_enid
Are you saying that the original position only uses one of the filaments, and by inverting it, you use the other?

Craig,
A light bulb wheather it is AC/DC(No Copy Rite infringement ;) ) is part of a sealed circut. IE compleates the circut it is introduced to. By changing the position of the ground contacts you don't accomplish anything. Both filaments will light all the time. Just like in the original position.

 

[jeffw]

I didn't notch the bulb or its base, I notched the bulb socket (the brass piece in which you insert the bulb). The stock bulb has two filaments and thus two positives on the base of the bulb. The negative connection is to the bulb brass outer shell.

Only one of the filaments lights on the US version of the KDX. (The other may be for a high beam switch that the KDX doesn't have and the socket isn't wired for). So Craig, yes, only one filament glows. When this filament burns out, flipping the bulb uses the other, still good, filament.

Adding another notch to your socket has one added benefit: If you run a bulb with two good filaments you are in effect carrying a spare since you can flip the bulb and be on your way.

Sorry about the confusion.

 

[DVO]

I just burned my light last week and haven't yet replaced it. This sounds like a freebie-gonna try it...thanx.

 

[jeffw]

I shouldn't have used the term "socket" because I think this is getting confused with the base to which the headlight wires are attached. The "socket" I'm referring too and the one I notched is on the headlight shell itself.

 

[IrishEKU]

Now I gotcha.