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Theorist · May 30th, 2019, 11:26 PM

I have more experience with cars, but it's impossible to know without removing the bulb. Adding to Danno's great guidance, I'd look for discoloration or signs of scorching on the headlight socket and possibly add a bit of dielectric grease or petroleum jelly to the electrical interface of the bulb and socket. Be certain to not get any on the glass of the bulb. If I even touch the glass with a finger, I'll lightly wipe it with isopropyl alcohol.

If you don't have a multimeter or don't feel up the taking the measurements, simply install a new bulb.

My wife had a 2001 Civic with poor wiring that kept fouling plugs till Honda created a tSB or recall for the headlight wiring harness.

Her 2006 Prius burned out bulbs at the rate of about one every 6 months or 8000 miles. It seemed to have to do with unsteady voltages on the 12v side. I switched to aftermarket LED bulbs and they have worked great for 2 years now.

Most LED bulbs are less sensitive to voltage changes, draw less current, produce more light, and only cost less than $50/pair online. The downsides are that they won't throw the light as precisely where they should as halogens and consequently aren't DOT approved with our halogen headlight housings. I found that the light pattern was quite good with an LED bulb in my housing and the state inspection in MA wasn't concerned with what he saw.

May 30th, 2019, 11:26 PM	#3
Theorist ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: MA Join Date: May 2019 Motorcycle(s): 2005 250 Posts: 39	Need to remove the bulb to know. An LED bulb might help. I have more experience with cars, but it's impossible to know without removing the bulb. Adding to Danno's great guidance, I'd look for discoloration or signs of scorching on the headlight socket and possibly add a bit of dielectric grease or petroleum jelly to the electrical interface of the bulb and socket. Be certain to not get any on the glass of the bulb. If I even touch the glass with a finger, I'll lightly wipe it with isopropyl alcohol. If you don't have a multimeter or don't feel up the taking the measurements, simply install a new bulb. My wife had a 2001 Civic with poor wiring that kept fouling plugs till Honda created a tSB or recall for the headlight wiring harness. Her 2006 Prius burned out bulbs at the rate of about one every 6 months or 8000 miles. It seemed to have to do with unsteady voltages on the 12v side. I switched to aftermarket LED bulbs and they have worked great for 2 years now. Most LED bulbs are less sensitive to voltage changes, draw less current, produce more light, and only cost less than $50/pair online. The downsides are that they won't throw the light as precisely where they should as halogens and consequently aren't DOT approved with our halogen headlight housings. I found that the light pattern was quite good with an LED bulb in my housing and the state inspection in MA wasn't concerned with what he saw.