Lights and headlights

My 2001 Elantra burned out the following items:

Headlights 4
Transmission Sensors 2
Air Bag Control 2




"Brian Nystrom" <brian.nystrom RemoveThis @verizon.net> wrote in message
news:GySyj.389$x93.11@trndny03...
> southluke wrote:
>> > GUEST wrote:
>> > Hi All,
>> > > Two questions relating to my 2001 Hyundai Elantra:
>> > > 1) A couple of bulbs have burned out on the instrument cluster. I'm
>> > having trouble replacing the two smaller lights that went out (fuel
>> > gauge backlight and transmission gear indicator - drive): They're
>> > teenie tiny bulbs - 3/16" in diameter, about 1 millimeter
>> smaller than
>> > a size 37 bulb. I could not get the 37 into the twist-lock socket.
>> Is
>> > there some other size I should be looking for? I swear I spent an
>> hour
>> > looking through hmaservice.com and could not find bulb size
>> > specifications for instrument panel bulbs.
>> > > 2) I have had my left headlight burn out 3 times in about a year
>> and a
>> > half. It's starting to be a noticeable cost. What might cause one
>> > headlight to burn out frequently?
>> > > Thanks!
>> > -Matthew
>>
>> Light bulbs should last many years in these cars. If they are exhibiting
>> short life, there is a problem in the
>> electrical system. Duh!
>
> Do you own one? It's a common problem with these cars, but it may be more
> related to the H7 bulbs than to the cars themselves. My understanding is
> that Hyundai has switched to a different type of bulb in current models.
>
>> If the measured voltage seems to be in the correct range, it may be
>> possible that voltage spikes are present and these are taking out the
>> bulbs. Has anyone tried putting a capacitor across the bulbs to see if
>> it
>> helped? Depending on the length of the voltage spike, the capacitor
>> may help. I would guess around 50-100 microfarads would absorb a
>> short spike or better yet also parallel a smaller capacitor, say
>> 0.1-1 microfarad. Be sure to use a capacitor rated at least 25 volts
>> DC.
>
> A few people on other forums have tried that and it hasn't helped.
 >> Stay informed about: Lights and headlights 

Us wrote:
> My 2001 Elantra burned out the following items:
>
> Headlights 4
> Transmission Sensors 2
> Air Bag Control 2

The headlights don't surprise me at all, but the other items may
indicate a significant electrical problem. Has anyone checked your
alternator output?
 >> Stay informed about: Lights and headlights 

> GUEST wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Two questions relating to my 2001 Hyundai Elantra:
>
> 1) A couple of bulbs have burned out on the instrument cluster. I'm
> having trouble replacing the two smaller lights that went out (fuel
> gauge backlight and transmission gear indicator - drive): They're
> teenie tiny bulbs - 3/16" in diameter, about 1 millimeter
smaller than
> a size 37 bulb. I could not get the 37 into the twist-lock socket.
Is
> there some other size I should be looking for? I swear I spent an
hour
> looking through hmaservice.com and could not find bulb size
> specifications for instrument panel bulbs.
>
> 2) I have had my left headlight burn out 3 times in about a year
and a
> half. It's starting to be a noticeable cost. What might cause one
> headlight to burn out frequently?
>
> Thanks!
> -Matthew

My 2002 Sonata has H7 bulbs and it has never burned
one out and my wife burns them practically all the time. I suspect
this bulb short life is another one of those Hyundai problems that
they will never fix.

Have a couple of other things to try that I used to do when I designed
incandescent lights into products. One thing that adds life is to
reduce the thermal shock when first turned on. Installing a resistor
in parallel with the light switch will cause the filament to warm up
when the ignition switch is turned on. This reduces the thermal
shock when the light switch is closed. I would try around 10 ohms,
30 watt resistor. On the Sonata, the lights change to parking lights
when the ignition switch is off and the light switch is on. I am
assuming the Elantra does the same thing.

Another trick I used to add life was adding a very small resistor in
series with the lamp. A small reduction of voltage on the bulb will
add many hours of life to the bulb. This value will be probably
around 0.1 ohm, 2 watt. You will not notice dimming from this.

These may be a little work to install but may be worth the effort.

I still think the problem is caused by high voltage at the bulbs,
either all the time or intermittently. This is the cause of the
failures.
 >> Stay informed about: Lights and headlights 

Check your alternator output.

"Matthew Fedder" <enigmamf.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:56c3e641-1fe9-4f1e-8121-dfcd130e515a@e25g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> Hi All,
>
> Two questions relating to my 2001 Hyundai Elantra:
>
> 1) A couple of bulbs have burned out on the instrument cluster. I'm
> having trouble replacing the two smaller lights that went out (fuel
> gauge backlight and transmission gear indicator - drive): They're
> teenie tiny bulbs - 3/16" in diameter, about 1 millimeter smaller than
> a size 37 bulb. I could not get the 37 into the twist-lock socket. Is
> there some other size I should be looking for? I swear I spent an hour
> looking through hmaservice.com and could not find bulb size
> specifications for instrument panel bulbs.
>
> 2) I have had my left headlight burn out 3 times in about a year and a
> half. It's starting to be a noticeable cost. What might cause one
> headlight to burn out frequently?
>
> Thanks!
> -Matthew
 >> Stay informed about: Lights and headlights