# Best price on H7 headlamp bulbs



## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

If your car burns through H7 headlamp bulbs like my Jetta does you probably keep a set on hand. 
I found these H7 bulbs on eBay.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBQCEBQ/?tag=ubne0c-20

$2.45 with free shipping for two bulbs. 
They are shipped from China, so expect shipping to take 2 weeks.

So far they produce as much light as the OEMs and seem to last OK. I am still on the first set, and they are doing fine.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

do you wear gloves when putting them on?


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> do you wear gloves when putting them on?


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

Yes, I use a clean pair of gloves. No oil on the bulbs. 
I have done it enough now that I can change the lamp without touching the glass at all. 

I have friends with the last gen Jettas also. It seems to be a common issue. 

I seem to lose one every 4 or 5 months. 

I made the mistake of replacing them with high brightness bulbs the first time. Those lasted about 3 months. I have used Philips and Sylvania bulbs. 

I notice no difference with the Chinese "Who Flung Po" brand so far. I tried the Chinese bulbs because they are 1/4th the cost.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

RockinEZ said:


> Yes, I use a clean pair of gloves. No oil on the bulbs.
> I have done it enough now that I can change the lamp without touching the glass at all.
> 
> I have friends with the last gen Jettas also. It seems to be a common issue.
> ...


Interesting, because my sister also has a jetta, I believe 2013 and I just replaced the headlight bulbs not long ago and one is already out again. Same side that went out last time.


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## Dar-K (Dec 18, 2015)

I just replaced my bulbs... On my car, I had to remove the bumper to do so. Replaced all four... Hope to NOT do that anytime soon. It was a PITA. 
** I replaced all four, but only one went out. Figured brand new sets would be a smart move... **


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> Interesting, because my sister also has a jetta, I believe 2013 and I just replaced the headlight bulbs not long ago and one is already out again. Same side that went out last time.


I have the same car.


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

I don't have H7 bulbs, but I bought some generic H11 bulbs once and they lasted maybe a month each. OEM and Sylvania have given at least 8 months each, so I'm avoiding the generics.

This job is hard on bulbs if you do a lot of early morning or night driving, combination of massive 'on' hours as well as a lot of flipping them on and off, it's just murder on your headlights. I try and stick with just DRLs as much as possible, but the real bulbs have to come on at some point.


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## zandor (Mar 6, 2015)

I think you might be better off just leaving them on if you drive in conditions that cause them to flip on and off a lot. My last couple of cars lacked an off setting. The only options were on and automatic. Running them burns out the filament eventually, but flipping them on and off causes thermal stress which wears them out too.

Maybe someday we'll get a "safety regulation" banning incandescent and halogen bulbs in cars. Might as well get rid of the HIDs too. LEDs are cheap enough now and will generally last the life of the vehicle. It would add a little to the cost of a car, but a couple hundred bucks to never have to change a light bulb seems worth it.


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## Tommy Tours (Sep 19, 2014)

Have a Kia Sorento went thru 3 H7 bulps then lookup why they burn so fast only 170 hrs they last.Sucks for me I drive nights, at 17 dollars


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

Tommy Tours said:


> Have a Kia Sorento went thru 3 H7 bulps then lookup why they burn so fast only 170 hrs they last.Sucks for me I drive nights, at 17 dollars


Give these a shot. At $2.45 for a pair I figured they were worth a try. 
I have had them installed for about 180 working hours . They are still working. No noticeable degradation in the light. This is is a N of 1, so it means nothing


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

eBay is the place for Chinese parts $2.30/pair

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-H7-Supe...ash=item43cf354ca1:g:RXAAAOSwEK9UDqHI&vxp=mtr


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

LAuberX said:


> eBay is the place for Chinese parts $2.30/pair
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-H7-Supe...ash=item43cf354ca1:g:RXAAAOSwEK9UDqHI&vxp=mtr


Have you tried these? They look like the same quality bulbs I am using. 
I would be happy if these cheap bulbs turn out to be cost effective.

We also need to address VW and ask WTF is up with the electrical system on Jettas.


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

Dar-K said:


> I just replaced my bulbs... On my car, I had to remove the bumper to do so. Replaced all four... Hope to NOT do that anytime soon. It was a PITA.
> ** I replaced all four, but only one went out. Figured brand new sets would be a smart move... **


There has got to be a better way. Damn, remove the bumper every 180 to 300 hours of use?


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## Dar-K (Dec 18, 2015)

RockinEZ said:


> There has got to be a better way. Damn, remove the bumper every 180 to 300 hours of use?


There supposedly is, but the effort involved would still be likely be time-consuming. 
By design, it wasn't real smart on how they did it. If it happens again, I'll be looking to do it where the replacement is better quality (i.e., something that shouldn't burn-out ever type thing).


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## Tommy Tours (Sep 19, 2014)

RockinEZ said:


> Give these a shot. At $2.45 for a pair I figured they were worth a try.
> I have had them installed for about 180 working hours . They are still working. No noticeable degradation in the light. This is is a N of 1, so it means nothing


I ordered 4 thanks for the info, if it works great at Advance Auto they sell for 17.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

LAuberX said:


> eBay is the place for Chinese parts


 How true it is, changed all my interior lights to LEDs and ordered LED bullet lights for my license plate. Looking at changing fog/brake/reverse as well. For about 3-7bucks for these lights.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

MikesUber said:


> How true it is, changed all my interior lights to LEDs and ordered LED bullet lights for my license plate. Looking at changing fog/brake/reverse as well. For about 3-7bucks for these lights.


be careful using cheap leds, they can cause fires.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> be careful using cheap leds, they can cause fires.


I thought LEDs were very low in heat output? Granted I am wary of putting those in my brake/fog lights. Shouldn't these be safe b/c of that lower output?


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

MikesUber said:


> I thought LEDs were very low in heat output? Granted I am wary of putting those in my brake/fog lights. Shouldn't these be safe b/c of that lower output?


http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/310-7th-generation-2012/769794-my-poor-camry.html

people are saying the same thing you are, but in other threads they are saying it was cheaply made LED's that was the problem.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/310-7th-generation-2012/769794-my-poor-camry.html
> 
> people are saying the same thing you are, but in other threads they are saying it was cheaply made LED's that was the problem.


In that thread they're saying it's odd because the fuse should have blown to prevent overheating of the wiring. The LED should produce very little draw/heat, I'm thinking that guy at a wiring or fuse issue.

"The main rule for any wiring is to always select fuses that will blow before the wiring gets to hot. In this case the wiring was trying to be the fuse. It usually takes more than one fault to cause something like that. Just guessing the wire was improperly connected at the power source and there was a short at the other end of the wire."

"That's really weird. Even weirder that a fuse didn't blow before this happened. I've run cheap eBay LEDs in MANY cars for well over a decade and never had, heard of or seen anything like this before. I would more likely believe this was a factory default before I believe an LED light swapped out did this."


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

MikesUber said:


> In that thread they're saying it's odd because the fuse should have blown to prevent overheating of the wiring. The LED should produce very little draw/heat, I'm thinking that guy at a wiring or fuse issue.
> 
> "The main rule for any wiring is to always select fuses that will blow before the wiring gets to hot. In this case the wiring was trying to be the fuse. It usually takes more than one fault to cause something like that. Just guessing the wire was improperly connected at the power source and there was a short at the other end of the wire."
> 
> "That's really weird. Even weirder that a fuse didn't blow before this happened. I've run cheap eBay LEDs in MANY cars for well over a decade and never had, heard of or seen anything like this before. I would more likely believe this was a factory default before I believe an LED light swapped out did this."


I guess I only noticed one side of the story and didn't read the details till today. So they're saying car manufacturer is at fault here presumably?


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

itsablackmarket said:


> I guess I only noticed one side of the story and didn't read the details till today. So they're saying car manufacturer is at fault here presumably?


Kind of sounds like it, multiple people said the wiring looked odd or tampered with. I feel the LED swaps should be fine, as some said there if anything were to overheat the fuse would blow before anything would get close to igniting be it the LED itself (impossible from its draw it seems) or the wiring. Since his roof had burn marks along the wire they guessed it was a wiring issue and a failed fuse which never triggered.


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

For LED information you will not get anywhere else look up BigClydedotcom on youtube. 
Big Clyde is a British Electrical Engineer that loves to take stuff apart in youtube videos. 

He really loves LEDs, and discusses crappy Chinese manufacturing at length in his videos.

Some LEDs from China are good, the vast majority are not. You have to judge individual parts.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

RockinEZ said:


> For LED information you will not get anywhere else look up BigClydedotcom on youtube.
> Big Clyde is a British Electrical Engineer that loves to take stuff apart in youtube videos.
> 
> He really loves LEDs, and discusses crappy Chinese manufacturing at length in his videos.
> ...


Ran my two license plate LEDs last night, no issues. I was watching a few of his videos thanks for the heads up.


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