RB5_IOM

I am having problems with my spot lights on my RB5. Recently both stopped working. It was a simply bulb change. 6 Months later it has done it agian. Has anyone had problems with bulbs blowing?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

What lights? OE fogs? PIAA's? Cibie's?

Whatever you're using, if you have uprated, (higher wattage) lamps in, they could be the problem.

To run a higher wattage, the filament is hotter, therefore more sensitive to thermal and physical shock.

Alcazar

BMWhere?

I only had 1 bulb go on my RB5 spots in 3 1/2 years of ownership, so it would seem a little excessive. Did you fit the right bulbs when you changed them - If the dealer did it then he may have fitted fog light bulbs and not spots! I had one of the spot lenses broken on my RB5 and the dealer tried to replace it with a foglight

ozzy

If it's an RB5 , then it has PIAA 80 spots.

Mine suffered terribly from blowing the original PIAA bulbs. I was lucky if they lasted 3-4 weeks use. The Dealer paid for the bulbs and even checked the wiring. This was over the 18 months from new.

I never used them for about 6 months and then changed to some Halfords 130w H3 bulbs and have had no failures on the bulbs in the last 3 years.

At the time I was told that the PIAA bulbs are over sensitive to vibration and to make sure the spots were firmly attached to the bumper and even to check the bumper for excessive movement. I did have the bumper off the car once for some warranty work, so the Dealer could have mounted it more securely and fixed the spot problem for me or it could just have been replacing the bulbs.

It's worth running some Halfords bulbs (they're only a tenner for the pair) and seeing how you get on. Or try some better ones from Powerbulbs.

Stefan

RB5193

Got an RB5 as well the problem seems to be that the lights are prone to condensation, thus the bulbs get damp, turn them on, they get hot and blow the bulbs.

Great design PIAA!!!

Not!!!

RB5_IOM

I replaced them with the exact same bulbs. I will try and get some from power bulbs of halfords. One of mine also seems prone to condensation.

Thanks for advice.

RB5_IOM

BTTT