GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

one of my licensec plate blubs was apparantly too smalll and shaking loose and not luminating. so i figured i,d just stick a little aluminum paper down in the socket to make it sit tight. when i did it i blew a fuse. i replaced the fuse and replaced the license plate blub with a new blulb and all was ok. one day later i noticed one of the head light blubs on "day time driving" was not burning. today is day two and i went and bought one new head light blub. guesss what?= now i noticed both head lights ain,t working even when i turn them on with the stalk. but the "bright" lights will work. no drl and no regular head lights. i tried with the motor running with the car in drive,etc. BTW = my 2004 corolla owners book actually says it bring th car to the dealer for license plate replacement or you might screw up the works. any advice will be appreciated.

it sounds like the licence plate light socket was defective. ie: the spring loaded seat wasn't moving freely to seat the bulb tight. did you change the front headlight, then it still didn't work?and bad idea on the aluminum paper.

thanks. i think you,re right about the bad socket. i,ll have to change it eventually.i only bought 1 new headlght blub today so when i saw both headlight blubs not shining on "DRL" or regular low beam i decided not to replace just one. tomorrow i,ll buy another and replace both. it seems strange that both blubs would malfunction almost at the same time. i wonder if there,s a reason for their premature life? and BTW = this is all happening while the saints are playing the vikings.

Quote, originally posted by jamesmetairie »............. it seems strange that both blubs would malfunction almost at the same time. i wonder if there,s a reason for their premature life? and BTW = this is all happening while the saints are playing the vikings.Different bulb designs will burn for different quantity of hours. Generally the brighter the bulb, the shorter the life you can expect.Now, both going at the same time? Think about it. The car was built on a given day and ALL the bulbs were installed on that day. The bulbs were the same brand and whenever lit, they all lit for the same time period. Their hours of use is identical. If a bulb is only going to burn for 10,000 hours, why would you expect one to burn for 10,000 and the other 15,000?As a rule of thumb, if a bulb burns out, replace its companion also. It isn't far behind! Save yourself doing the same task twice.dave

it surprised me. i changed both headlight blubs and all is o k now.

for more proof that using aluminum foil to 'fix' a bulb/fuse is a bad idea see: nominee # 5

thank God i didn,t have a 22 bullet available.

Quote, originally posted by jamesmetairie »thank God i didn,t have a 22 bullet available.Didn't the Mythbusters tackle this story a few years ago?

If not, it's been covered by Snopes before. (btw,i it was only referenced as a joke...)