Has anybody else experienced a light bulb actually exploding in the headlight assembly? This is the second time it has happened to me. The first time was because I had bough thought cheap Eurolights. This time they were just the regular bulbs and I know I didn't touch the bulb with any part of my hand. It has ruined the chrome part of the assembly and make my max look like it has a black eye. If anybody else has had this happen, let me know.

 

Wow. Which regular bulbs were they? I'll make sure not to get that brand. I have Hyper Industries 85W Plamsas for my headlights. It has been working fine. I've used my stock ones for about five years and they're sitting in the garage. The stock ones seem to last forever. Exploding seem a little extreme. Usually they just burn out.

 

I had that happen to me just a few weeks after I took delivery of my '98 Maxima SE. The stock bulb blew out the shiny silvery cap thingie in front of it and there were splinters all over the inside of the headlight. This was before I discovered Maxima.Org and MaximaDriver.com. Luckily the warranty covered it. If you've gone beyond the warranty you'll have to replace the whole headlight assembly and its gonna cost you $$.

 

I think this is what I will probably do. They said I could just replace the lens assembly instead of the entire headlight. That should save me a few bucks.

 

Go to a radio shack and pick up electronics cleaner...it cleans out carbon deposits from motors (RC electric hobbiests know it as motor spray). Remove your headlamp assembly and spray the stuff inside...roll it around till it cleans up all the back carbon deposits. The spray has a low flash point...and will evaporate at room temperature fairly quickly. Try not to get it on your skin, as it is a carcinogen. After cleaning...make sure no particles still remain and re-install.

Buy some quality bulbs: Philips, Sylvania, Hella, Osram and Narva are all good. Stay away from the riceboy blue stuff and you'll be fine. Make sure that you don't touch the bulb glass...just to be sure, clean it with a lint-free cloth and 90+% isopropyl alchohol before you install it.

 

I have looked and couldn't figure it out and the owners manual is no help.

Thanks for the tip on the electronics cleaner.