How to light up a Sylvania Long Life Mini Bulbs

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
The data sheet says it's a 12 volt battery. A simple connection to the leads of the bulb and application of 12 volts (AC or DC) will light it up. That is IF it's not burned out.

There are a lot of 12 volt lamps at any automotive parts store. That one looks just like the many different types you can find. As for the term "Long Life" - that depends on how you define a long life. For a fly, from larva to the end of adult life is 15 to 30 days. If you could ask a fly that lived 35 days - I'm sure he would say he had a "Long Life".

Sylvania Long Life headlamps have not proven to be long life in my opinion. That's why I switched to HID lamps. The wife's Hyundai would go through headlights every six months. Always the right headlamp assembly. The reason for the early failure was due to vibration; and I was forever replacing them. Cheap ones, expensive ones - they all died fairly quickly. In my Chevy pickup, they lasted around 4 to 5 years on average.

I think what @ronsimpson suspects is the same thing I suspect - a burned out (or broken) filament. A simple continuity check will tell if the bulb is good or not.

[edit] I also noticed it's rated life is 300 hours. That's not a long life in my opinion. A quick calculation shows that a fly that lives for 30 days lives for 720 hours. More than twice as long as that bulb. Given that it's part of an emergency lighting system, it doesn't expect to see much use. Last time I worked for emergency lighting back in the 80's, an emergency lighting unit had to burn continuously for a minimum of 90 minutes. So a 300 hour bulb should last a long time because it's so seldom used. And it's cheap. [end edit]
 

Thread Starter

LAOADAM

Joined Nov 21, 2018
862
The data sheet says it's a 12 volt battery. A simple connection to the leads of the bulb and application of 12 volts (AC or DC) will light it up. That is IF it's not burned out.

There are a lot of 12 volt lamps at any automotive parts store. That one looks just like the many different types you can find. As for the term "Long Life" - that depends on how you define a long life. For a fly, from larva to the end of adult life is 15 to 30 days. If you could ask a fly that lived 35 days - I'm sure he would say he had a "Long Life".

Sylvania Long Life headlamps have not proven to be long life in my opinion. That's why I switched to HID lamps. The wife's Hyundai would go through headlights every six months. Always the right headlamp assembly. The reason for the early failure was due to vibration; and I was forever replacing them. Cheap ones, expensive ones - they all died fairly quickly. In my Chevy pickup, they lasted around 4 to 5 years on average.

I think what @ronsimpson suspects is the same thing I suspect - a burned out (or broken) filament. A simple continuity check will tell if the bulb is good or not.

[edit] I also noticed it's rated life is 300 hours. That's not a long life in my opinion. A quick calculation shows that a fly that lives for 30 days lives for 720 hours. More than twice as long as that bulb. Given that it's part of an emergency lighting system, it doesn't expect to see much use. Last time I worked for emergency lighting back in the 80's, an emergency lighting unit had to burn continuously for a minimum of 90 minutes. So a 300 hour bulb should last a long time because it's so seldom used. And it's cheap. [end edit]
Thanks.
you are right, I found another bulb also measured open and looks good, what can be then? the normal bulb if burned you can see it.
Best
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
if burned you can see it
Looks like you're asking a question. Sometimes you can see a burned out bulb. Other times the fracture is so tiny you can't see it with the naked eye. In cases where the filament is broken sometimes snapping it with your fingernail can cause a temporary connection. Sometimes that connection temporarily welds and the bulb may work for a day or two. In cases where a bulb has been over voltage'd you can see two spheres on each end of the filament. Sometimes the filament simply breaks loose of its connection point, leaving a dangling wagging filament that MIGHT make contact again sometime. But given the nature of lighting - it's best to have something that works.

Had a 72 Chevy Nova with a bad headlight. Since it was the left fender I could roll down my window and wrap on my fender, and the light would come on and stay on until I shut it off. As it cooled it broke apart again. This went on for a few weeks; but eventually I had to buy a new headlamp.

They sell LED versions of that lamp. Click HERE. And HERE.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,167
The bulb can fail due to vibration and nothing will show. And those bulbs do routinely fail from mechanical abuse. How "Broken" was the emergency light? If it fell and broke the case then certainly the bulbs will be open.
 

ronsimpson

Joined Oct 7, 2019
2,985
A break in a filament only needs to be large enough to stop an electron. You might not be able to see it. More true for low voltage bulbs.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,167
RS is totally correct. And I have read a report of an instance where the break was so small that the AC voltage applied would arc across it and light the light, but because of the arc it radiated a lot of RF noise. so if the bulb measures open AND one is certain that the meter is making an adequate connection to the terminals, then the bulb is failed.
 
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