Strange......

[Marauderjack]

About 4 months ago I bought a set of Silver Star Fog lamps. I run my parking lights and fog lamps all the time and last Wednesday I noticed in the bumper of a truck in front of me that the right fog lamp was out!!! :mad2: By the time I got home both were out!!! :mad2: :mad2: Both burned out within an hour of each other!!

I put the OEM's back in Saturday and both Silver Stars looked like flash bulbs!! Wouldn't ya think they would last longer than that??? :confused: :confused:

Marauderjack :bandit:

[martyo]

By the time I got home both were out!!! :mad2: :mad2: Both burned out within an hour of each other!!


Believe it or not, that is a sign of tight manufacturing tolerances. In fact, the lighting companies found that they had to intentionally "dither" the quality so that the bulbs aren't as consistent.

Call G.E.'s customer service department (you can get the number from their Silverstar website) and speak with them. They may hook you up with a fresh set. They were very helpful to me. If you need me to go look for the name of the gal I spoke to in customer service, PM me and I will look through my notes.

[Marauderjack]

Well....

I just spoke with a lady at Sylvania and was told the Silver Star H-1's have only a 100 hour life span and the head lamps on low beam have only a 150 hour life span!!! :mad2:

It ain't worth it to me for a little bit whiter light to have to replace them so often!! :mad:

Marauderjack :censor:

[Mike Poore]

If you need me to go look for the name of the gal I spoke to in customer service, PM me and I will look through my notes.That's easy, her name is .....Elaine!

Hang on MJ, I'm sure Marty's got her phone number(s); work, home, and cell, as well all other pertinet information any self respecting, um, stalker would have.:rofl:

[Mike Poore]

Well.... I just spoke with a lady at Sylvania and was told the Silver Star H-1's have only a 100 hour life span and the head lamps on low beam have only a 150 hour life span!!! :mad2:
Thanks MJ, you just gave me something to add to the list of stuff I'm not gonna waste any of my money on.

I especially like the feature that makes 'em all go out at the same time. :eek:

Gives new meaning to "Cruising in the moonlight", huh? :rolleyes:

[Bradley G]

100-150 hours is crap.I wonder if they (sylvania) states that in thier product info?I'm with Mike, If they only last a few months I will not replace the origonal bulbs with these when they go.(as I had planned on)Did any of you guys know this when you decieded to get them?

Bradley G

[Sully008]

Hmmm.... Not all Silverstars are bad. I had SS in my Taurus for two and a half years without burnout. Actually, I left them in the car when I traded it in. My brother has been running SS in his Ranger for the last 3 years. No burnouts. I put them in the same time I did the Taurus. I've had SS in the CV since Sept. and no problems. And all three vehicles have DRL, which means they're on at low levels all the time. :confused:

[Bradley G]

Mike,
I also have Daytime running lights,I thought if the guys that don't have them are only getting 150 hours,what term of service could I expect to get out of them.Are your vehicles daily drivers? do you seldom drive at night ?
Bradley G

[Sully008]

Mike,
I also have Daytime running lights,I thought if the guys that don't have them are only getting 150 hours,what term of service could I expect to get out of them.Are your vehicles daily drivers? do you seldom drive at night ?
Bradley G

Hi Brad,

All three vehicles are DD. I drive during the evening/night most of the week and I'm usually out really late on the weekends. I was out until 12:30 am last night. My brother usually starts work at 5am, and during our long winters, headlights are full on on the way to and from work (half hour each way). I'm not saying that SS are the be all and end all of bulbs. This is just my humble experience with them. :D

[Eric91Z]

I'm not sure what it is with the SS. I had a set in my '95 F150 for 2 years without problem. Then I put a set for the low beams in my Honda Accord and they lasted about 6 months or so. I definitely do a lot more driving in the Accord (500-600 miles per week) with a lot of that with the headlights on.

I do definitely like the SS better than a standard headlight, though. Guess we will see how long this new set lasts.

[Bradley G]

Thanks Mike,

I am going to replace the lamps as they go out with better ones.I appreciate your input,I wonder if this is a isolated instance with them only lasting a short while.If the manufacture designs them with these chararistics (short life)on purpose, I hope someone (company) will produce brighter bulbs that will last a reasonable ammount of time.I have experience with Halogens sealed bulbs that last for many years.I know they are different than the socket type the Marauder uses but 100-150 hours is a joke!
Bradley G

Hi Brad,

All three vehicles are DD. I drive during the evening/night most of the week and I'm usually out really late on the weekends. I was out until 12:30 am last night. My brother usually starts work at 5am, and during our long winters, headlights are full on on the way to and from work (half hour each way). I'm not saying that SS are the be all and end all of bulbs. This is just my humble experience with them. :D

[DEFYANT]

Not to flame the SS, but all I do is raise the beam very slightly. I can see clearly now, the darness is gone :)

[Joe Walsh]

PIAA.......

[dwasson]

Y'all probably know this but, if you touch the light with your bare fingers the oils from your skin will cause the light to burn out quickly. It's something about how temperature differences cause stresses in the structure of the bulb.

[Captain Steve]

Y'all probably know this but, if you touch the light with your bare fingers the oils from your skin will cause the light to burn out quickly. It's something about how temperature differences cause stresses in the structure of the bulb.
I've always thought this was bs. Maybe in a superhot spotlight or something where the added heat could make the glass shatter.. but otherwise, I don't see how it would work.

[Joe Walsh]

I've always thought this was bs. Maybe in a superhot spotlight or something where the added heat could make the glass shatter.. but otherwise, I don't see how it would work.

Most of these aftermarket bulbs 'burn' at 3800-4100 degrees.....That's plenty hot. All the aftermarket bulbs I've bought have had a specific warning about getting contaminants/fingerprints/oils on the bulb.
I doubt that the Mfgs would waste money and time with this warning if it didn't have some merit.

[dwasson]

I've always thought this was bs. Maybe in a superhot spotlight or something where the added heat could make the glass shatter.. but otherwise, I don't see how it would work.

Picture a small, hollow piece of quartz. Now imagine it rapidly heating up to 4000 C. As it heats up all it takes is a little section of the quartz not expanding as fast and you have some fairly violent stresses on a small area of the quartz. When the pros change the bulbs they use clean glves or cloth to hold the bulb. I wouldnt even use a commercial shop rag because of the chemically impregnated cloth they use.

[Mike Poore]

I've always thought this was bs. Maybe in a superhot spotlight or something where the added heat could make the glass shatter.. but otherwise, I don't see how it would work.
Nope, the guys are correct. Trust an old microscope guy who's been using these bulbs for years. Touch 'em and they're toast. ;)

[Marauderjack]

I didn't touch them and both went out within an hour of each other!! :mad2:

The Sylvania woman commented on the excellent QC since the lives of both bulbs were virtually identical?? No mention of touching or surface contaminants?? :confused: Even if this is true.....there is no way I could have contaminated each bulb exactly the same....My QC just ain't that good!! :rolleyes:

Bottom line ......I'm not blowig any more $$$'s on these "Flashbulbs"!! :mad:

Marauderjack :o

[Joe Walsh]

It may be vehicle specific....The reason I say this is because I've had several (4) vehicles with PIAA bulbs in them and I've had good luck with the bulb's service life....except one.
I had a 2000 Pathfinder and it went through four PIAA bulbs (2 headlight/2foglight) in rapid successsion. Luckily I traded the Pathfinder in on my Marauder....Problem solved!!!

[Marauder386]

I agree with the " do not touch " rule on these type of bulbs from experience in my younger years in TV broadcasting/studio work. I am sure if NBC Shooter chimed in on this he would give a more updated tidbit of info for us all....

:cool:

[Mike Poore]

...... I am sure if NBC Shooter chimed in on this he would give a more updated tidbit of info for us all.... :cool:

And a cancer research scientist who's been looking through microscopes for 45 years cant? :bop:

[martyo]

This was on another site that I frequent:


Originally posted by jee35dreamn
About 3 months ago i bought some Sylvania Silverstar headlamps and I liked those bulbs better than any I have ever used before. The only problem is they only lasted about 3 months, which had nothing to do with me or my car.

Anyway, I emailed Sylvania and told them what happened. I emailed them yesterday and recieved a reply this morning. So if anyone on here has had problems with them, just go to http://www.sylvania.com and email them, they will work with you. I only have one bulb left cause they other one got broken, but they are sending me 2 in return since they both burned out.

Heres the email I was sent......
Good Morning Mr. Mundy,
Thank you for your inquiry. Due to the performance of the SilverStar, it does
have the shortest life of any of our product upgrades. The shorter life span is
directly related to the performance nature of the lamps. The blue absorption
coating on the glass contributes to the crisp white light emitted, but also
traps heat inside the capsule, causing the filament to burn out more quickly,
thus decreasing the life. As with most high performance products, there is a
trade-off between the higher performance and the life hours, unfortunately. The
SilverStar product works harder (not burns hotter, however) to give the whiter,
brighter light and this impacts the life hours. The life expectancy of a
SilverStar halogen light source is dependent on the driver's use of the lights,
which vary by season, time of day and number of miles driven. We estimate the
SilverStar halogen lights to have a life span of up to one year under average
driving conditions. The life of the SilverStar is further decreased if being
used in a day-time running light application.

If you feel that your personal driving habits do not warrant the life
expectancy that you received from your SilverStars, please feel free to return
the product with this e-mail to the address below. Please also include the
approximate hours you received from our product, type of product purchased, if
it was used in a daytime running light application, your name, address (no PO
boxes please), phone number, make, year and model of vehicle. This information
will aide our Quality Department in their audit of the returned product. Upon
receiving this, I will process you a replacement. I apologize for any
inconvenience this SilverStar may have caused. Please do not hesitate to
contact me if you require further assistance.

[Marauder386]

Jeezuz Mike...no need to be so nasty...NBCShooter is in the industry and I figured he would give some current insight....

:cool:

[Shaft333]

Why do you run with the foglights on all the time?!

I never understood people that have their fogs on in day to day (night to night) traffic and not even a threat of fog.

[Sully008]

This was on another site that I frequent:

Interesting, I'm going to keep a copy of that, just in case. But does that mean that the 2-2.5 years of service in my last car, an '02 Taurus and my brother's '02 Ranger were flukes? Like I said in my earlier posts, both have DRL, and a lot of night time driving. And so far 7 months and no problems in my Vic. (Knock on wood)

[Mike Poore]

Jeezuz Mike...no need to be so nasty...NBCShooter is in the industry and I figured he would give some current insight....

:cool:
Now that I look at it, it was a rather strident statement, and out of bounds. Please accept my apology, as it's not my nature to say hurtful, mean things, I'm sorry, and embarrassed. :o

[Petrograde]

I've been running Silverstars for over a year,.. they're still going strong.

that being said,.. I'll prob'ly have to replace them this weekend! :rolleyes: