Personally, I've had the best success with Wagner sealed-beam headlights. They seem to have tougher glass than most.

If you have a chronic problem, chrome stone guards might be an option to consider. I know that some might roll their eyes at this but I've seen some guards that you have to take a second look to notice they are even there.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

In the old days sealed beams were bare tungsten filaments in a vacuum, break the glass and the bulb will burn out.

Halogen sealed beams have a small capsule to contain the filament with the body of the complete unit "sealed" but at atmospheric pressure. The seal between the lens and body isn't what it used to be and will fail. I've had a few leak, lose silvering and fall apart on removal.

Typically between 10 - 35 years.

.

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1985 300SD
1983 300D
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I have had my 240D for almost 8 years now and I have yet to replace the headlights.

Both headlights failed on me over the weekend. I'm tired of replacing them so often, so based in part on what I read below, I've ordered the hella H4 conversions off this site. We'll find out this weekend how they do.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/213714-headlight-recommendations.html

In the mean time, I'm riding my motorcycle to work, so I hope the weather holds up.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I did the Hella and run 80/100 bulbs. I got bad eyes so I need all the light I can get at night.

As for the motorsicle....I bought the heated gear from warmnsafe.com many years ago...keeps me toasty warm even when it's 17f outside, which is as cold as my part of north carolina ever gets.

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Mine: '68 Corvette LS1/4L65E, 83 240D, 2000 GMC 4x4, 08 FLSTC Anniv
Hers: '72 Corvette 454/4spd, '99 MB SLK, '93 Metro vert, 78 240D, '92 Silverado, '65 Fjord Rustang, '59 Fjord Fairlane, '17 Slingshot.

They last however long it takes for euros to get shipped.

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1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

Quality of bulb replacements today may be lower. Maybe not. I imagine the bulk of them are coming out of the cheapest China suppliers for very little. No matter what you pay for them retail.

If there is no damage from stones etc. A person might measure their battery voltage with the car running to make sure the voltage regulator is not hung up. Or way off tolerance.

You do not want to see 16 or 17 volts. Although over time the battery should have dropped acid levels by boiling off if overcharging. Actually especially at idle modest 14 volts should be an absolute maximum if not less.

I buy my halogen replacement bulbs directly from China on ebay. So cheap that I keep them on hand for when needed.. Even if not needed their is not much loss if any. There is little surprise to me that wallmart for example as a retailer makes big dollars. Just consider if I pay .75 each delivered in quantities of two for the 9.00 retail item how little they would pay. Call me cheap but really I feel that retail abuse of Chinese produced merchandise is endemic in north America. I have even seen highs of 15-17 dollars retail for the same item.

Say for example I want a small line gas filter. About 6.00 each local retail. Or six for 1.49 delivered from china including the postage. This margin unbalance in north America has disturbed me for more than a few years. I am just not smart enough to know what it will result in over time. Other than at some point if not already it will change things in a major way.

When visiting especially pick and pull auto wreckers another option is to stock up then. The normal car does not usually go through many bulbs over the years. Chances are that the used bulb will last. I am actually more than a little tired of what I see out there in the north American retail world.

Coincidence is a possibility of course. Measure the alternators output voltage at the battery. Could be costly not to. As I read though the various issues people seem to be having with headlight bulbs and the fact these cars are older. There is a chance that the voltage regulators may be functionally impaired in an intermittent fashion. Could even be a semi oxidized connection causing this.

If both headlights failed at the exact same time the headlight switch might be suspect. Checking the continuity of one headlight bulbs filaments would tell the story. Could have lost the grounds as well. Headlight bulb failure is a given but on average it should be over a period of many years. Not every year or several times a year.

I remember the voltage checking out last time I looked at it. Then I remembered that was about two years ago. I checked again. Sure enough: 16.3 V at idle. The H4's are in, but the bulbs won't be lasting terribly long unless I fix the overvoltage.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

..Barry12345 said


You can't buy them on the open market, but in 20 years of serious junkyard scientific observation it absolutely amazes me how many Japanese cars from as far back as the '70s and '80s still have their Koito brand headlights. Do Jap car drivers not drive at night? (I realize Joe Lucas said that its not proper for a gentleman to be out at night).

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Good helpful observation. Some companies or suppliers are smart enough to overbuild components. Makes sense as business is retained with a large user like a car manufacturer.. The company may build lower quality or maybe not for aftermarket sales where they are available.