Warning : Aftermarket Headlight (Street Glow)

[merc]

Last night was a good night for being a car enthusiast. Some of the metro area car owners that were in hibernation all winter gathered once again for a new season. I had been experiencing odd problems with my Street Glow headlights. I love the blue look and received several complements on the style. I installed them last year and had no problems with them until Friday night.

The problem I was having is that the passenger side headlight would dim but not completely darken and at other times work just fine. When the problem occurred, I noticed a dim blue headlight icon displayed on the dash panel. This is the indicator used for High Beams and can be found on the gauge cluster. As the story goes, at the end of the meet I turned the car on and found that my Headlights had completely failed and I was 15 miles from home.

I enjoyed seeing Mad 3-R and Wife (Phil & Natasha) and we had an unscheduled micro meet in Sterling VA. Little did I know that this was going to be a long night? After everyone took a stab at identifying the electoral problem we decided to attempt to take the car home with no lights. I know we could have called a tow truck, but darn, I am tired of seeing my car on the back of a flat bed. So as the story goings, Phil and Natasha escorted Mrs. Merc and me back home. Within fifty feet or better I realized I had another issue that would complicate the return trip home. I only had 2 gears and the transmission would not shift. At forty miles an hour I was turning 3800 RPM’s. Can you imagine this, two Marauders with hazard lights flashing in the middle of the night doing 35-40 MPH in a 55 zone. I could almost read the lips on the State Troopers face, “ What the ****** is that”. Luckily he was busy with some other roadside victim. Further down the road a County Police officer pulled up on my rear and I thought this would be a problem or maybe an opportunity. On the positive side, I could use a police escort home. He shadowed me for a 1/4 of a mile and then broke off.

After the excitement was over we dropped the car off at the dealership. The bottom line is that these aftermarket lights melted my connector plugs located on the headlight assembly. No related fuses were blown. I should be back on the road after a part order. The service manager stated that there is a service notice concerning this issue. I am now going back to factory lights.

Many thanks to Phil and Natasha for getting us home in style and helping out a brother Marauder owner. I owe you guys a dinner at your favorite steak house next week.

[CRUZTAKER]

WOW! The is a wierd event.

Knock on wood I have been using a (brand not mentioned) zenon 80/100 bulbs for years on the Marquis and since on the MM without any unusual occurances.*

*Exception being low life

[MAD-3R's Wife]

Merc,

We are glad to hear that nothing was seriously wrong with "CarHog". I guess the tranny problem had to deal with the fuses we kept pulling etc.

We hope to see you on Friday again if the weather is nice.

Mad 3-R and Wife

[merc]

Merc,

We are glad to hear that nothing was seriously wrong with "CarHog". I guess the tranny problem had to deal with the fuses we kept pulling etc.

We hope to see you on Friday again if the weather is nice.

Mad 3-R and Wife

Yep, the fuse we pulled created the transmission problem. Now I known how to disable a Marauder without killing the car.

[gonzo50]

I had been experiencing odd problems with my Street Glow headlights. I love the blue look and received several complements on the style. I installed them last year and had no problems with them until Friday night.

The bottom line is that these aftermarket lights melted my connector plugs located on the headlight assembly. No related fuses were blown. I should be back on the road after a part order. The service manager stated that there is a service notice concerning this issue. I am now going back to factory lights.

Is this service notice on all aftermarket lights, or just certain ones ?
I have the Sylvania SilverStars and so far all is good.
Was the wattage on the Street Glow higher than the factory ones ?

[TAF]

I have the Sylvania SilverStars and so far all is good.

I'd bet Marty's annual salary, that there will never be a problem with the Silverstars, Carlos.

[merc]

Is this service notice on all aftermarket lights, or just certain ones ?
I have the Sylvania SilverStars and so far all is good.
Was the wattage on the Street Glow higher than the factory ones ?

Street Glows are 100/80W Xenon-White H.I.D. Bulbs and I believe the Sylvania's are rated the same. Only one socket showed problems, the other was ok, but created a problem with the electrical system. One of the speculations is that the center posts on the aftermarket bulbs are a thinner metal and didn't create a snug fit and with time and wear they shorted in and out. Thus giving me the symptoms I spoke about at the beginning of the tread.

I have not personally seen a Factory notice about the issue I described, it’s word of mouth at this time. On the other hand one of the car owners that I was hanging out with Friday night also mentioned the aftermarket lights as being a possible problem.

[merc]

I'd bet Marty's annual salary, that there will never be a problem with the Silverstars, Carlos.

I would not make that bet, but what I do suggest is to carry a couple of extra fuses in the glove box.

[89VERT]

Other the "Blue "look to the lights are they really worth the $?

Do they provide a noticeably longer viewing range ?

Just wonderin'.....

[MarauderMark]

Hey merc.Sorry to hear about your miforutne with the lights , they did look good to , even thought about them myself .was the connector plug fixed under warrenty(if not how much did it cost)and was there any damage to the trans from either the electrical end or mechanical end ?

[merc]

Hey merc.Sorry to hear about your miforutne with the lights , they did look good to , even thought about them myself .was the connector plug fixed under warrenty(if not how much did it cost)and was there any damage to the trans from either the electrical end or mechanical end ?

Because I used a part that was not installed at the factory the part was not covered under warranty, but I am not sure of the cost till Monday. The Transmission problem occurred because I changed out a fuse blindly without clearly checking out the purpose. I spent several hours looking at the dealers shop manual and I discovered that there are some expensive components that relay electricity throughout the car. In the old days it was not so difficult to trouble shoot a headlight issue, but those days are long gone.

As far as performance between one manufactures bulb to another, I will let the experts chime in on that subject. I was simply looking for the bling factor, and now I feel like a ding-o-ling without the bling.