excessive bulb consumption
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 17
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From: Dublin, Ireland
excessive bulb consumption
Hi Forum,
Hope you are all very well....
I was wondering if anyone knows of any reason my car would be using too many bulbs, bought the car in February this year, Have gone through two tail lights, three brake lights, two headlights and an indicator.
I suppose this could be normal? Could it be a wiring problem or fuses??
ps I have checked all the relevant wattages and they are good.
Would love to hear from you.
Jon.
Hope you are all very well....
I was wondering if anyone knows of any reason my car would be using too many bulbs, bought the car in February this year, Have gone through two tail lights, three brake lights, two headlights and an indicator.
I suppose this could be normal? Could it be a wiring problem or fuses??
ps I have checked all the relevant wattages and they are good.
Would love to hear from you.
Jon.
Super Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 696
Likes: 4
From: Motor City
95 E320 Cabriolet, 108K
I'm guessing you may have a bad OVP. It will cause many things to happen - a non-starting problem, an idle problem, will cause your ABS and ASR lights to come on, will cause fault codes, etc. Bad OVP's are probably the cause of divorces in most marriages and famine in third world countries.
The OVP is located under the hood behind the black plastic cover on the firewall side of the battery. You shouldn't be able to see it unless you remove the plastic cover. It's a silver colored rectangular thing with a fuse or two visible on the top.
Check your ovp for the known bad part number, 000-540-52-45 ("Made in Austria"). If that is the part number on your ovp, get the new updated OVP - replacement number 000-540-67-45. The 52 45's are known trouble-makers and I suggest replacing them even if all is well with the vehicle. It's only a matter of time before they go bad. It's easy to replace for a DIYer.
The OVP is located under the hood behind the black plastic cover on the firewall side of the battery. You shouldn't be able to see it unless you remove the plastic cover. It's a silver colored rectangular thing with a fuse or two visible on the top.
Check your ovp for the known bad part number, 000-540-52-45 ("Made in Austria"). If that is the part number on your ovp, get the new updated OVP - replacement number 000-540-67-45. The 52 45's are known trouble-makers and I suggest replacing them even if all is well with the vehicle. It's only a matter of time before they go bad. It's easy to replace for a DIYer.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
From: west virginia
jonS
i seem to go thru rear [brake,side,tailights] bulbs also. it seems like every 6 months a bulb in the rear goes.
it isn't to a point that it really bothers me or where i think it's excessive.
the previous owner may have not changed them in a while.
i have gone back and forth between amber and clear [standard watt] front turn signal bulbs.
you maybe should REPLACE ALL your fuses, i have done this. some of them may be original.
if your ovp isn't bad you probably don't 'need' to replace it, but you could.
cheers, from this side of the pond
peter
i seem to go thru rear [brake,side,tailights] bulbs also. it seems like every 6 months a bulb in the rear goes.
it isn't to a point that it really bothers me or where i think it's excessive.
the previous owner may have not changed them in a while.
i have gone back and forth between amber and clear [standard watt] front turn signal bulbs.
you maybe should REPLACE ALL your fuses, i have done this. some of them may be original.
if your ovp isn't bad you probably don't 'need' to replace it, but you could.
cheers, from this side of the pond
peter
