my lights keep burning out

[CoasTek240]

ok i recently got aroudn to wiring my projector foglamps (from the triple beam projector headlamps)
i posted, originally, in "tech talk"
i was advised to wire them to the orange and black wires from the "pivot headlight harness" (for lack or better words)

well heres the problem, the first day the drivers side foglamp burnt out, and the second day the passenger side one did too.

heres my question, do i need to put a capacitor or resistor or some fancy thing like that inline with the wiring. i dont know much about this. but its seems that would be a good reason why both h3 bulbs burnt out. and those arent cheap.

so if anyone can help post. thanx

[old_s13]

maybe you are buying cheap bulbs?

just get some stock clear bulbs and be done with. bulbs dont last a long time. they typically fail when they are exposed to too much vibration. OEM clear bulbs are FAR from expensive, btw.

[CoasTek240]

ehh, well i bought (traded) the headlights with Lisa 'S13silviaGirl', they came with whatever bulbs she and kevin left in there.
where am i supposed to get stock clear h3 here in the US? i have to buy them from japan, correct?...well if you have any other suggestions. it'd be cool.

thanx

[95Blue240sx]

no, any auto part store has them. make sure you do not touch the glass on the bulb too, when installing.

[CoasTek240]

umm, no?....are they labeled as a different nomen bulb?....b/c if you check triple beam projector silvia headlamps- in the foglamp use h3 bulbs. not sold commonly in the US.

i've done the footwork too, im not just talking out my ass. but thanx. u might have been confused they do carry an h3 bulb, but not the h3c, its different one of the anodes/prongs is dettached dangling from a wire. on mine both are fixed.

[95Blue240sx]

^^^o0oo sorry. i work at an autoparts place, not no fucking kragens, and i see those all the time, so i just like uhh what are you talkin about. but i guess. you make me curious, im going to look at all the bulbs tomorrow when i get to work. if i find one ill send it to you lol.

[CoasTek240]

hey if you find two, ill buy em from you. as long as theyre the right ones.... but check... they should look like this (http://www.hyperlights.com/h3c-12v.jpg)

not like this (http://i17.ebayimg.com/02/i/01/c8/3d/9f_1_b.JPG)

notice the wire. now i do not know if there is any diff or even if they will work the same.
thanx for the help :wiggle:

[CoasTek240]

Follow Up...ttt

[95Blue240sx]

i called my work yesterday to see whats up with these bulbs. "h3c is euro jdm only." but there might be slight chance my other warehouse stocks it Euro stuff only. so you might be in luck. if they have them you really want them? let me know. cross your fingers too.

[knightrider]

coastek, you have to understand, projector headlights use H3 and H3C, they are diferent, H3 is availiable anywhere, they use them commonly for fog lights, H3C is the uncommon japanese and euro bulb, the fact that both the bulbs burnt out around the same time is no suprise, because the bulbs were a pair, installed at the same time, subjected to the same stresses. and if these were bulbs from japan, they get alot of abuse. you dont need any special resistors or capacitors, just 12volts, to find h3c, goto a search engine and type in "h3c bulb" you will get plenty of online stores to buy them at, and yes they are expensive.

[sleep]

http://www.optauto.com/webstore/product_list.asp?dept=1528&last=1528

first search result dude

[old_s13]

too much useless information in this thread.

go buy H3 (not h3c) and retrofit that into your housing, you'll be fine. remember, those are for your HIGH beams.. the low beams dont use that, they use H1.

- Mike

[s13driver]

when i saw the pix of the h3c, the base of it looks pretty similar to the h3, so you might as well as doing a retro just like what mike said. the only difference i see in them is the connecter part.

[old_s13]

the bulbs ARE different, but the difference is minor.

they have different filaments but overall, you can use H3 to replace H3C.

Like I said, its JUST a high-beam.

[95Blue240sx]

yeah, i didnt find shit sorry. your SOL

[CoasTek240]

"coastek, you have to understand, projector headlights use H3 and H3C, they are diferent, H3 is availiable anywhere, they use them commonly for fog lights, H3C is the uncommon japanese and euro bulb,"
- "to find h3c, goto a search engine and type in "h3c bulb" you will get plenty of online stores to buy them at, and yes they are expensive".

you have to understand, i already knew this, from the information i already posted in this thread. lol...its all good i appreciate the help.

"too much useless information in this thread."
No shit

"go buy H3 (not h3c) and retrofit that into your housing, you'll be fine. remember, those are for your HIGH beams.. the low beams dont use that, they use H1."
ok, heres my question: as s13driver said the h3c looked like the base was similar to the base of the h3. and i went down to the auto parts store, and checked out my car this morning. but how am i to connect the anodes (for lack fo better words....connections....whatever you call them) ?

a lil guidance would be apprecated. thanx
-dave

[s13driver]

if what i m thinking is true then you can try this... first i think that you use some sort of clip to hold the h3c bulb in place right ? if so then what you can do now is connect the tail of the h3 bulb to the (+) wire and then connect the (-) to the metal clip. hope this helps... if not then take some more pictures of the bulb and the housing of how the bulb sits, and etc....

[old_s13]

look at the foglight and mimick the design.. bulbs are not rocket science. with every incandescent bulb, there are TWO wires (typically) -- positive and negative. tinker with it and you will figure it out. if you cant figure it out, you should consider switching from modifying cars to playing with legos.

:)

[CoasTek240]

damn.. legos are way cooler anyways.... thanx mike...
your right though... i can make it work. i guess it would be smarter to retrofit and use the bulbs i can buy right down the road instead of trying to buy those damn bulbs overseas... thanx