Sylvania Silverstar headlights are junk

Did you wear gloves while installing? Finger oils cause early failure. Chalk it up to inexperience ;-) ...Jim Thompson

But that's a good thing. The blue results from tinted glass, all it does is remove other wavelengths of light. I was a sucker to join the blue headlight fad.

Same experience here, one Silverstar died in less than a year, after _very_ little use.

I once bought a pair of rectangular sealed beams that had a lifetime warranty... learned soon enough that it was lifetime of the originally purchased bulb only. So when the replacement bulb burned out, it was over. WTF?

Have you checked the operating voltage across the lamps?

Buying stuff on eBay is fraught with problems as a large percentage of the products are counterfeit made in China or wherever. You do realize that what you buy from Amazon, eBay, etc. is totally unregulated and is often unsafe. I've recently bought some monitors on Amazon and the external power supplies were a joke. the three wire female cord ended in a two prong plug! No marking on the supplies or power cord/plug for any electrical safety - UL, CSA or cUL so we tossed the original supplies and installed good products that meet CSA/UL standards purchased from a reputable dealer who stands behind his product.

The manufacturer is quite correct in refusing to honour a warranty for a most likely (99.999%) counterfeit item. There is a reason the authentic ones cost more than the crap copies! Packaging means nothing, it is easy to duplicate that. Might even have been made by the same factory, but didn't meet Sylvanias specs so they sell them on eBay to get rid of them. If you think that doesn't happen you should spend some time researching Counterfeit Products online. From Capacitors, ICs, transistors, cameras, phones,...to your headlight bulb saving money will usually cost you in the end.

John

Fit a nice big pair of 100W Cibie rally lights. It will be like driving in daylight :)

...and it will also be like driving in a ditch after I run you off the road ! :)

I consider it extremely rude, unsafe (and possibly illegal) to use high-bea ms, especially super-bright aftermarket bulbs, that blind other drivers. T he use of these bulbs seems to be gaining popularity with the younger crowd (which arguably, doesn't really know how to drive in the first place.) Un less you define driving as Fast-&-Furious video game.

Of course, the opposite is also very annoying and unsafe: Drivers who either don't turn their lights on at all, or run around with no brake lights. (Don't get me started on that -- ever since LED's.. more an d more folks with brake lights out. Or so it seems!)

I highly doubt this bulb is a counterfeit. The packaging is exactly like in a store. Even had the anti-theft magnetic strip below the bulbs.

I have gotten a few bad items on ebay, and most have been covered by the seller or ebay, if I find the problem within a short time after getting the item. I have been pretty well satisfied with most of the stuff I buy. which includes a lot of electronic connectors and some other parts. Capacitors on ebay are always high priced it seems, so I avoid them. (mostly referring to caps for old tube gear).

I have for the most part been satisfied with buying used test equipment and stereo gear, and mostly for a good price. I did get a computer on ebay that had a virus on it. My money was refunded and I just wiped the hard drive and reinstalled the OS myself. The hardware was fine. But I always suggest people wipe the hard drive if thye buy a computer on ebay.

I get almost all my auto parts on ebay at a huge savings. Only once did I get a starter that arrived dead. The seller sent me another one at no cost and that one worked, and he told me to throw the bad one in the trash. I managed to fix that bad one, which had a brush stuck inside and thus made no contact. I just saved close to $100 buying brake parts and they are no different than the ones sold at the local NAPA.

I dont suggest buying clothing though. A friend bought a fancy shirt and it said "large". I dont know if they shrunk it or it was mis labeled, but it didn't even fit his small wife.

I usually only buy the "Buy it Now" items. Bidding is almost always a loss for me, but my slow dialup service is part of that. Seems a bid in the last 10 seconds is almost always needed. I recently bought a very nice stereo mixer, made for DJ use. That item sat with no bids for the entire 7 days listed. I went to a WIFI and placed my bid for the starting bid amount during the last minute, and got it for $20 plus $16 shipping (fair price for a heavy item). An awesome mixer, that sold for around $300 in the 1980s. I really like it.

I guess it depends on the item, and there are going to be some bad items once and awhile. But I usually get the price refunded if it's bad. These bulbs are an exception, because they exceeded the sellers refund/replacement period.

Then again, I had a brick and mortar auto parts store refuse to give me a replacement part, when their rebuilt part failed about 2 days beyond the warranty. I quit shopping there after that....

I donr so much care about the blue color. In fact I find them annoying when other drivers approach me with them super bright blue bulbs. I only wanted more light, and it seems these Silverstar were the answer. I probably gained 5% in brightness, and with a slightly more blue color, but not anywhere near what the ads claimed.

Warranties and Insurance are both things that are always full of loopholes. Both will do anything to NOT assist the customer. They promise the sky, but once they got your money they screw you.

I always said that "Lifetime warranty" means the Life of the ITEM. (Not your lifetime). I had a car battery with a 2 year warranty. It died in one year. I had to pay HALF the price of a new battery to get a replacement. I was not pleased, but they had me by the balls so I had little choice in the matter....

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Certainly not illegal in the UK and anyway, the OP said he drives on rural roads. They also have to operate on main beam only and go out on dipped beam. No problem for other drivers.....

It's a long time since I read the highway code, but yes - powerful headlights are illegal to use in the UK. It is illegal even to use the car's fog lights unless there is thick fog. Additional lights that are sharp enough to cause annoyance, distractions, or temporary blinding to other drivers are always illegal on public roads.

The rules are quite simple. If you distract other drivers, it is dangerous. If it is dangerous, it is illegal.

Sorry you're wrong. Point me to the relevant construction and use regulations that say it's illegal to use high powered spotlights ? Correctly installed, they are legal. Correct installation is stated quite clearly in the constructioin and use regulations.Take a look....

You'll find all the relevant info here- save you looking it up.

And just in case you think they are subject to MOT regulations, they're not...

As I said, it is a long time since I have read the regulations, and don't have any of them at hand. Certainly I have no interest in looking up this stuff for you.

But let me repeat - if you have lights that risk causing temporary blindness or distracting or startling other drivers, you are driving dangerously. The police don't need any other regulations or rules if they catch you - "dangerous driving" is an umbrella that covers a wide range of offences. In particular, if there is an accident and the other guy claims to have been blinded, and the court shows you have unusually bright headlights that can reasonably be expected to cause problems for other drivers, then they will throw the book at you. There is no need to quote a particular rule - you are required to drive safely and considerately.

It is your call. If you want to risk being a cause of annoyance and accidents, and think that "there is no law against it" will protect you from prosecution, that is up to you.

Many Ebay sellers are actual stores. You may still have them under a proper warranty obligation.

What do you consider high? I've never seen more than 14.5 volts in a car.

Or do you mean the bulbs can somehow see more than the main bus?

These bulbs just connect to the 12volt source. There is a relay between the light switch, and of course fuses. Normal is a max of 14 volts during engine running. (charging). My gauges are all normal. I know my battery is not the strongest anymore, but it still starts the car.

There are some kinds of headlights that have a circult and I think, a transformer and operate at a high voltage. I dont know how high the voltage is, or anything more about them, except that they exist. I dont even know what they are called.

I'm in the US and we are allowed to have fog lights, but they can not be used in town (except during fog). But on the rural graveled back roads I see them used all the time, and never heard of anyone getting pulled over by cops for it.

For what I paid for these Silverstar bulbs, I could have bought a pair of those fog lights, but these mini-vans dont have any place to attach them. The bumpers are plastic.