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[StevenN]

Hi Folks
I have a couple of questions.

How many stop and tail bulbs would you expect to blow within a year?
I am averaging one a month. Can you get longer lasting bulbs?

How do you get inside the panels in the rear (for hiding wiring for cd changer unit etc?

thanks all

[Mike66]

Cd Changer

I installed a cd changer today and just eased the wires under the panels along the drivers side. If there were screws there i just losened them to make it easier . It works a treat.

Cheers

Mike

[Vagrant No2]

Regarding the stop/tail bulbs , I did read on here that the bulbs tend to overheat quite alot due to the lack of air flow around the lamp units , which shortens the life of the bulbs . The clear lamp conversion kits were withdrawn from one supplier for this reason .

Or , your alternator is overcharging .

I had a Cavalier which blew stop/tail bulbs all the time and so did alot of other Cavalier owners I knew . Reason was a above average charge output from alternator , not a fault , just the way it was .

Rick

[Linda]

I havent blown any at all in either truck in the last year.

[kitesurf_phil]

I havent blown any at all in either truck in the last year.

Nor have I.
I did have an X Reg Astra Estate that blew halogen headlamp bulbs at the rate of one a fortnight (£12.50 a throw). The company was paying so I kept replacing them. When it came to getting the car serviced I included it in the, "Have you any concerns we need to know about?" part of the service form. It stopped blowing bulbs from that service onwards.

Do your headlamps go brighter and dimmer when you rev the engine? It could be a bad earth on the voltage regulator.

[StevenN]

Thanks for the reply’s folks

The headlights seem fine, no dimming.
The alternator seems to charge fine.
I noticed that the latest bulb had blown when fitting a eye level stop light so perhaps the addition of this might take some of the pressure off.

Mike66
How did you overcome the two wire problem with your aerial when you changed your radio?

Thanks again

[v0n]

Perhaps the answer to bulbs blowing because of lack of ventilation would be fitting LED replacement with similar fitting. They use much less current, last much longer, produce very little heat, the light is just as bright if not brighter... They are boyracer toys, so expect them to be more expensive than normal bulb, but I think they would work well in lights that we use more in automatics, like stop lights (we never stand in traffic with handbrake on, always push the pedal, our stoplights are on for longer periods of time than in normal car)...

[sadanorakman]

I dont know whether any of the LED replacement lamps available are legal or not (e-marked), or whether in fact that is important anyway on an imported Surf, as I read that the SVA test is relaxed for certain things such as lack of E-marked lamp units (by design).
(Just as an aside, can anyone confirm this please, as this may mean you could possibly legally use 100/80 watt non 'e' approved uprated headlight lamps on a surf too without invalidating your warranty!)

The LED replacement lamps could well improve safety slightly too, as not only are they rated at hundreds of thousands of hours before failure, they illuminate almost instantaneously, as opposed to filament lamps which have a warm up time... May sound silly, but I've heard that it can make enough of a difference in braking distance to avoid someone hitting you up the arris!

[Pete]

Hi Folks
I have a couple of questions.

How many stop and tail bulbs would you expect to blow within a year?
I am averaging one a month. Can you get longer lasting bulbs?

How do you get inside the panels in the rear (for hiding wiring for cd changer unit etc?

thanks all

Had mine 27 months, changed 1 stop/tail bulb last week.
Pete