Replaced All Signaling Bulbs At One Time

[RayCJ]

The Wife's 2007 Mazda6 had a burned-out right turn signal light. This vehicle is about to turn 13 years old and this is the first bulb to burn out. All the bulbs (high/low beam, turn signal, running lights etc) are enclosed in a headlight module. The only way to access all the bulbs is to remove the module by-way-of removing the front bumper.
Rather than playing whack-a-mole one bulb at a time, every single bulb in the front and back of the car was replaced.

Wouldn't you know, it's 99 degrees out there today with a 110 heat index. While it was apart, the headlight lenses got the deluxe treatment with the 3" Griot's buffer. It took just under 3 hours not including travel time to get the bulbs. Get this, total cost for all the bulbs at Advance Auto was $168.00. I treated myself to a Dairy Queen swirl afterward.

Ray

 

[eljefino]

Yeah I've had cars where one has to be a proctologist to reach the bulbs. Chevy HHR through the fender liner.

If you had the time, rockauto has the bulbs at prices that'll make you cry, provided they're all in the same warehouse.

 

[Kira]

How much of the $168 was headlights? What type were each (meaning high and low beam)?

I'll forever love the Mazda6 as it was the car the buyer of my late sister's Mazda3 wrecked.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by eljefino
Yeah I've had cars where one has to be a proctologist to reach the bulbs. Chevy HHR through the fender liner.

If you had the time, rockauto has the bulbs at prices that'll make you cry, provided they're all in the same warehouse.


Around here, the police will pull you over for missing turn signals, brake lights and headlights. They write a warning ticket but you have to take it to court with repair receipts. -Didn't want to wait and temp fate... Just wanted to get this done ASAP.

Originally Posted by Kira
How much of the $168 was headlights? What type were each (meaning high and low beam)?

I'll forever love the Mazda6 as it was the car the buyer of my late sister's Mazda3 wrecked.


You guessed it... It needs 2 sets of H1 headlights. I got extra-bright bulb$ for the normal headlights and regular brightness for the H-beams. Total cost for all headlights was about $90.

Up front, there are sets of lights for marker lights, emergency flasher lights, turn signals and running lights (8 bulbs + 4 headlights)
In the back there's 2 sets of brake, 1 set of running lights, turn signal, reverse lights, 2 license plate lights (12 bulbs)
24 bulbs all total.

Ray

 

[RayCJ]

This car has never been hit (knock on wood) and the bumper went back on nice and straight. No problem at all lining-up the holes. I use Meguires #205 finishing polish for the headlights then use Collinite paste wax to seal the plastic. They seem to need re-polishing every year or more frequently if I forget to wax them when I wash the car.

 

[blupupher]

You will be doing he headlights sooner than expected since you bought "brighter" bulbs. They have a shorter life due to burning hotter. Would have been better to just stick with some long life bulbs.

 

[kschachn]

They most certainly do burn out faster. Sometimes dramatically quicker. Are they even actually brighter? Or just the color temperature different?

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by kschachn
They most certainly do burn out faster. Sometimes dramatically quicker. Are they even actually brighter? Or just the color temperature different?


Originally Posted by blupupher
You will be doing he headlights sooner than expected since you bought "brighter" bulbs. They have a shorter life due to burning hotter. Would have been better to just stick with some long life bulbs.


Both sets of bulbs were rated at 55 Watts. If the "brighter" ones are in-fact brighter and have higher lumens, they should run cooler as they would be more efficient and produce more light than heat. Most likely, they are a different color. Anyhow, they are installed and working and we shall see how long they last.

Ray

 

[kschachn]

Yes, do you know how they get a different color?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by RayCJ
Around here, the police will pull you over for missing turn signals, brake lights and headlights. They write a warning ticket but you have to take it to court with repair receipts. -Didn't want to wait and temp fate... Just wanted to get this done ASAP.

What will they do about that big oval, white sticker on your plates? Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Yes, do you know how they get a different color?


If I had to take a guess, I'd say the filament is doped or the inert gas is tainted. Possibly a doped coating on the inside... something along those lines.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by Garak
Originally Posted by RayCJ
Around here, the police will pull you over for missing turn signals, brake lights and headlights. They write a warning ticket but you have to take it to court with repair receipts. -Didn't want to wait and temp fate... Just wanted to get this done ASAP.

What will they do about that big oval, white sticker on your plates? Sorry, couldn't resist.

LOL.... They don't care too much about the oval as long as they can see the smaller numbers in the upper left and upper right part of the rear plate. The left number is the month and right number is the year when the license plates are expired and it's time to pay the State tax.

 

[Garak]

OT, but here, I wish they wouldn't have done away with the stickers. Oh well.

The G37 has a couple difficult bulbs. Most aren't nearly as bad as what you went through, but there is some going through the wheel well, which is supremely inconvenient. The "easiest" bulbs require the airboxes to come off, but that's no so bad.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by blupupher
You will be doing he headlights sooner than expected since you bought "brighter" bulbs. They have a shorter life due to burning hotter. Would have been better to just stick with some long life bulbs.

You beat me to it. As soon as I read that, I thought, "uh oh"....

 

[doitmyself]

Often overlooked, change your license plate bulbs too. My wife got pulled over for that. My rear turn signal blinker light went out recently. On the way back from the parts store I used arm signals to turn, but still got yelled at from someone behind me... a-hole probably didn't know what arm signals are for

.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

After he yelled at you, I'm surprised he didn't get another signal that he had to understand.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by RayCJ
If I had to take a guess, I'd say the filament is doped or the inert gas is tainted. Possibly a doped coating on the inside... something along those lines.

No, not really. In order to shift it more towards blue (or a whiter light) you have to increase the filament temperature. This reduces life which can be compensated for by a halogen gas which redeposits the tungsten back onto the filament. However, you can't escape the recrystallization of the tungsten which makes it more brittle and prone to breaking in an automobile application. This always leads to a shorter life for brighter bulbs. Once you get a whiter light you can filter it with coatings on the envelope, but this ends up reducing the overall brightness if you do that.

I looked it up and yes the bulbs are brighter, but the design of the housing prevents you from seeing farther.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by RayCJ
If I had to take a guess, I'd say the filament is doped or the inert gas is tainted. Possibly a doped coating on the inside... something along those lines.

No, not really. In order to shift it more towards blue (or a whiter light) you have to increase the filament temperature. This reduces life which can be compensated for by a halogen gas which redeposits the tungsten back onto the filament. However, you can't escape the recrystallization of the tungsten which makes it more brittle and prone to breaking in an automobile application. This always leads to a shorter life for brighter bulbs. Once you get a whiter light you can filter it with coatings on the envelope, but this ends up reducing the overall brightness if you do that.

I looked it up and yes the bulbs are brighter, but the design of the housing prevents you from seeing farther.


I was thinking along the lines of tungsten TIG rods. I've tried many different kinds (ceriated, thorated, lanthalated etc) which supposedly have higher heat capacity and longer tip lifetime. The tungsten is doped with those materials to change the structure and make it more heat resistant and increase tip life.

In bulbs, I suppose they could do the same thing or, use different types of gas at different pressures to effect some change in temperature.

The H1's I purchased are 4100K and standard bulbs are around 3900K and a long-life is in the 3800K ballpark. That makes the 4100's about 400F (200C) hotter filament.

My youngest son once bought some $20 bright bulbs off eBay and they burned-out inside of 6 months. I purchase Sylvania at 2.5x the cost so, let's hope I get something for my money.

Ray

 

[supton]

Seems like a lot of work and money for bulbs, but, for 13 year's of service, I guess that's the tradeoff.

Could be worse--could have burned out in the dead of winter... or during a monsoon.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by supton
Seems like a lot of work and money for bulbs, but, for 13 year's of service, I guess that's the tradeoff.

Could be worse--could have burned out in the dead of winter... or during a monsoon.


No way I was going to go through all that and just replace the bad turn signal bulbs. -And you're right, it could have happened at worse time forcing me to pay dealer/shop prices. The local dealer quoted $360 a local shop would probably be about $300. As long as I'm able bodied, I'll do my own basic auto and home repairs, lawn care etc.

All things considered, it wasn't that bad. I could probably do it again in under 90 minutes. That first time around, you gotta pay attention while you're pulling all the bolts -and I took a lot of shade breaks because it was about 100 and I was in direct sun on black asphalt.