Hi guys, can you all tell me about the usage of Xenon bulbs. I bought some H7 55watts white xenons for my car but I was told by some people that the bulbs can only be used for 1/2 hour per night [which doesnt make sense]. if this were true, i would not be able to use them in my low beam because i drive for at least 2 hours for 3 nights of the week. can someone separate truth from myth? thanks a lot.
Xenon Life Span
- Thread starter Bradley_Wint
- Start date
Errr, I'm not sure exactly what you bought, but real xenon bulbs use less energy (cept at startup), last longer, and are brighter than halogen bulbs.
You just don't want to flash them, cuz that can decrease their lifespan.
If the bulb you bought can only be run for 1/2 hour at a time, it sounds like it's a real cheap blue painted halogen bulb that is trying to produce a light that looks similar to what a xenon bulb would produce in color only. And it would do a bad job of it too, as well as being dimmer. Cheap bulbs overheat cuz the blue paint (used to try and get rid of the yellow in the light) is painted on too thick.
If it's just what someone said but doesn't represent the bulb company or whatever, then they're just smoking crack.
You just don't want to flash them, cuz that can decrease their lifespan.
If the bulb you bought can only be run for 1/2 hour at a time, it sounds like it's a real cheap blue painted halogen bulb that is trying to produce a light that looks similar to what a xenon bulb would produce in color only. And it would do a bad job of it too, as well as being dimmer. Cheap bulbs overheat cuz the blue paint (used to try and get rid of the yellow in the light) is painted on too thick.
If it's just what someone said but doesn't represent the bulb company or whatever, then they're just smoking crack.
when you have bulbs, you certainly do not have xenon lights. they imitate a xenon light, but they are a totally different system.
xenon light don´t have a tiny coil of wire that creates the light when current flows through it. the light is created by an electric arc with more than 10000 volts.
bulbs, as said, have a wire that glows. these "xenon" bulbs often bring more light but suffer lifetime as the wire is overloaded to create all this light. could be that the bulb you have is known for not lasting too long?
xenon light don´t have a tiny coil of wire that creates the light when current flows through it. the light is created by an electric arc with more than 10000 volts.
bulbs, as said, have a wire that glows. these "xenon" bulbs often bring more light but suffer lifetime as the wire is overloaded to create all this light. could be that the bulb you have is known for not lasting too long?
elussive, i guess these bulbs create that much light that the wire coil (or whatever that thing is really called) heats up too much. when you run it over time it might burn out. i know that these bulbs usually don´t last as long as regular bulbs. this might be a version that last even shorter. it is an advice of friends of him if i got that right. maybe they made their experiences already?
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uhm...no. that is not what i want to say. i just wanted to say that a bulb with wire can have a short lifespan, because the wire is not strong enough to handle all the energy that is being send through it. that amount of energy results in a high output of light but kills the wire faster. that is what i actually wanted to say. ![[:I]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_blush.gif "Blush [:I]"){kind=icon}
Wadula, I think you are right...typically, those aftermarket imitation xenon bulbs do have a shorter lifespan than regular halogen bulbs. He got 55 watt H7 bulbs which are the same as the stock bulbs so they should not run much hotter....the bulbs should be able to be run as often as you like without over-heating issues, but the lifespan will probably be shorter.
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wow....yes i do have the blue coated bulb. unfortunately someone bought the bulb for me and have never gotten the opportunity to see a real Xenon bulb. well off to the BMW Dealer to get that changed for some real bulbs. thanks for letting me know this information because i was totally dissatisfied with the lighting quality of the current bulbs.