melted (blackened) headlight socket

[T Y L E R]

Years ago I built a wiring harness from a schematic I got off an Aussie (sorry, can't recall his name as I type this) At least three times since I get intermittent lights on the passenger side, and when I inspect by I find that the light bulb socket on one side is almost charred black.

I bend one of the light bulb prongs in for a tighter fit, and that seems to cure the on-off troubles. It doesn't, however, explain why this happens repeatedly every 4-6 months.

One thing I was never able to properly source were pigtails in as heavy a gauge as the rest of the harness is built with. Is there a source for much heavier than stock light sockets? (wiring)

For clarity, this setup is probably identical to what Slee sells.

And I've tried many different bulbs over the years, and this still occurs once a year or more.


So any ideas on:

*Potential causes?
*Sources for light bulb sockets with heavier gauge pigtails?

TIA,


TY

 

[gotmud]

Assuming you are running a stock wattage bulb, the culprit is most likely a bad ground connection. Check the voltage on each side and if the melting side is lower, it is most likely the ground. Less voltage will make the bulb draw more amperage. Since you also had a bad connection with the bulb socket, this would potentially allow arcing within the socket too, which would add to the heat problem.

 

[T Y L E R]

Excellent, I will begin right there



TY