Chip18

I recently bought new lights for my 05. The stock lights are 55w and the new one's that I bought are 100w. My question is, is there anyway for a bulb to explode because the casing gets to hot because of the increased wattage? I just put them on like 3 days ago and my one high beam light exploded. Just wondering why it did such a thing?

Thanks,
Chip

Mulder

First of all it is not a good idea to use bulbs of higher than stock wattage in the factory lights. The wiring is not adequate and can be damaged from the additional heat. Also over time the reflectors in the lights can discolor. And, those high wattage bulbs do not last anywhere near as long as the stock ones so you will be replacing them often.
As for the one that exploded, perhaps you touched it with your fingers while you were installing it? The oil from your skin can cause the bulb to overheat.

omygata

iTrader: (20)

^^
very true, I was using bulbs with a higher wattage and every time the bass would play in the music, the lights would dim with the music, a sign of something shorting out. I'm lucky the bulbs didn't pop.

Mulder

That's not a sign of shorting, just insufficient power available from the electrical system to keep the voltage up during peak demand.

Chip18

I was most careful with putting the lights in and not touching them. I even put rubber gloves on to avoid skin contact. I did bump a branch on the road the other day, maybe the force of the hit caused the light to break,even though the branch hit more of the side of the car. But thanks for the input on the wattage, I didn't know you should stay with the same watts as stock. I guess I will just wait until these burn out and then I will replace them with the correct wattage bulbs.

Thanks,
Chip

Mulder

You may not want to wait that long. At least occasionally inspect the headlight connectors and wiring for heat damage, and if you see anything bad happening pull those bulbs immediately and put stock ones back in. If you just leave them in there and wait for them to burn out you could be in for a major PITA if the harnesses do get damaged. Not saying this will definitely happen but it is a very good possibility.