Sylvania headlights going bad all too often...

[wilb3]

I've had to replace 3 low-beams within the last year on my '05 Denali. High beams do fine. Not sure what's happening. Possibly moisture, voltage, bad bulbs...any thoughts? The fuses were good. I'm gonna test my voltage tonight and go from there. I'm hoping I don't have any issues as I was planning to upgrade to HIDs.

 

[Donkey punch]

No problems with your wiring.. the lights just plain suck.. let me tell you from experience. I was going to reccomend some HIR bulbs.. btw I have a thread on them. I'll be posting before and after pics. soon. BUT since you are going to upgrade to HID don't bother with these.. just get some factory bulbs for now. No sence in putting more money into lighting than you need if you are going to upgrade... but in case you are interested you can check out my thread.. I made the thread because I was very impressed with the bulbs and they will make a huge difference.

 

[wilb3]

No problems with your wiring.. the lights just plain suck.. let me tell you from experience. I was going to reccomend some HIR bulbs.. btw I have a thread on them. I'll be posting before and after pics. soon. BUT since you are going to upgrade to HID don't bother with these.. just get some factory bulbs for now. No sence in putting more money into lighting than you need if you are going to upgrade... but in case you are interested you can check out my thread.. I made the thread because I was very impressed with the bulbs and they will make a huge difference.

Thanks for the feedback and by the way, I read your thread on HIRs. Got my voltage tested and it was negative as you guessed. Gonna look at my HID options for now.

 

[Gordo]

thats weird Ive never seen any one with this problem before Im using these ones and they work great! 9005SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision

 

[Donkey punch]

Perhaps you have a good batch. The Silverstars longevity had been in question many years ago and it stands true today. Take a look around the net/forums. A few dollars more for the HIR's compared to the ultra visions but with a hell of a lot more light output that is actually used. I have a problem with my camera, but hope to post a before and after pics of the lights. I don't have a before shot of the ultra visions, but from the figures that I have on my initial post that should give you an indication of the difference in output.

 

[oomindwarpoo]

I have silverstars in my 92 camaro, (the old box lights) only one has burnt out in 4 years.

I have a set of the silverstar ultras in my 05 xrs and I'm on year 2 without having one burn out..?

I've never heard of the short lasting issue until now..? If you have DRL using your actual lowbeam and you are scared they are going to burn out early you can do a mod to disable them.

 

[Donkey punch]

I have silverstars in my 92 camaro, (the old box lights) only one has burnt out in 4 years.

I have a set of the silverstar ultras in my 05 xrs and I'm on year 2 without having one burn out..?

I've never heard of the short lasting issue until now..? If you have DRL using your actual lowbeam and you are scared they are going to burn out early you can do a mod to disable them.

like I said, take a look around the net. You will see posts from years back on forums such as dodge, jeep, etc... google it is all I can say. If you like them then good for you just want to let you know of alternatives that perform better and that aren't really that much more expensive than what you already buy.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

I think it depends on the vehicle, In my 06 yukon they made a HUGE difference, in my jeep there is NO DIFFERENCE what so ever, infact its almost WORSE just whiter, no brighter or increase in vision.

 

[MadMedwyn]

I'm on my 2nd set of low beam silverstars. The first lasted a year and a half I guess. I replaced my fogs with them last spring and one of them went out last weekend. Sooner or later I'll do 10,000K HID though.

 

[jgm74]

How do the HID's hold up in these trucks? On start up at night the headlights come on real quick cut out and come back on once the truck is started. Would'nt that kill the HID bulbs fairly quick?

 

[Rollin Thunder]

How do the HID's hold up in these trucks? On start up at night the headlights come on real quick cut out and come back on once the truck is started. Would'nt that kill the HID bulbs fairly quick?

When I had my hid kit on my 06 it did that IF you were slow about starting it. Put the key in and TURN IT FAST!!! Never had an issue

 

[jgm74]

I have been trying to find a way to bypass the auto headlights with no luck yet.
I guess fast starting should work for now.
How long did you have the lights for on the 06?

 

[jey_]

I have used Sylvanias on all my cars for years and they usually last several years. Are you making sure not to touch the bulb? Oil residue from your fingers will cause heat in the bulb to be concentrated on the oil and the filament burns up prematurely.

 

[oomindwarpoo]

I searched and found alot of people complaining about them due to life capacity.. I also found out that if you buy the silver star ultras you can get them for 25$ a set online, compared to a whopping 55$ at autozone or wherever. So, the HIR and Ultras are comparable in price.

 

[oomindwarpoo]

I have been trying to find a way to bypass the auto headlights with no luck yet.
I guess fast starting should work for now.
How long did you have the lights for on the 06?

There should be a wire under the dash you cut, it will disable the auto-headlights when its dark out. I did it on my corolla, someone posted a DIY on the other forum I frequent.

 

[jgm74]

Thanks for the tip, I am gonna look into that.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

I have been trying to find a way to bypass the auto headlights with no luck yet.
I guess fast starting should work for now.
How long did you have the lights for on the 06?

about a year, they were from higherlevelauto. When I sold the 06 i put them in my mustang and after the wreck (which was a front end wreck) they still worked so i have them in me jeep. They were a 9006 kit, and i only used them in the mustang for about a month as thats when i got the aftermarket projectors. So if they can survive a year in a yukon going offroad and dealing with the auto lights, then survive a front end collision. I say its one tuff kit

 

[jgm74]

That kit definately took a beating. After all that I think I'll look at higherlevelauto to get me kits.

 

[Donkey punch]

I think it depends on the vehicle, In my 06 yukon they made a HUGE difference, in my jeep there is NO DIFFERENCE what so ever, infact its almost WORSE just whiter, no brighter or increase in vision.

The difference in your yukon and jeep is the reflective lenses. In the jeep they are crap. with crappy lights its even worse. The headlight lenses on jeeps (grand cherokee's) are ****, they fog up etc. But a good thing that does help lighting is being able to put a 900X in the fogs, whereas the yukon fog lights would just melt. The Ultras just scatter the light and they aren't very good in the rain. Now with the HIR's that I have on the jeep, they are much brighter, light isn't scattered and work very well in the rain. But for those Yukon/hoe owners your best bet is just going with the HID's of some kind. HID's on a jeep just wouldn't be right... unless you have an SRT8