melted headlight bulb holder

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fruitcakesa

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04 jetta 5 spd wagon
A few months back the PS bulb died. I replaced it and motored on.
Today, it failed again, sigh...I opened up the headlight to find a total meltdown on the end of the bulbholder. ***? The bulb, though the base was a little melty, is still good.
Thankfully I still had a holder left in the parts car which I soldered in.
Any ideas why the melting?
I can't be the first to experience this, in fact, I believe it had happened to the DS side holder in this car when I bought it.
I guess that might be a clue although the DS has been okay since.:eek:
 
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bbarbulo

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Windsor, ON, Canada
Been there before. Wiring is really thin on these cars and some of the crimps are marginal, so as it ages gets more resistance and eventually crispifies. :)


wires oxidize from the air especially at the exposed ends, so because it starts out marginally sized...
 
Vince Waldon

Vince Waldon

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In electrical systems excess heat is generally caused by excess resistance, particularly in high-current situations.

Light bulbs are definitely a high-current situation... were the terminals on the bulb itself cleaned/sanded when you replaced the socket the first time?
 
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fruitcakesa

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Vince Waldon said:
In electrical systems excess heat is generally caused by excess resistance, particularly in high-current situations.
Light bulbs are definitely a high-current situation... were the terminals on the bulb itself cleaned/sanded when you replaced the socket the first time?
Click to expand...
If you mean by the first time socket replacement, the driver side, the answer is no.
I think I just popped new bulb in.
This time too I did not clean the terminals but I think I will go back and do just that.
 
Vince Waldon

Vince Waldon

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fruitcakesa said:
If you mean by the first time socket replacement, the driver side, the answer is no.
I think I just popped new bulb in.
This time too I did not clean the terminals but I think I will go back and do just that.
Click to expand...
Water is another source of increased resistance in electrical connections, so coolant contamination is a possibility sometimes, as posted above, but also just old puddles and rain. So a hunt for any ways that water could be entering that particular headlight housing might be worth a check as well.
 
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fruitcakesa

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I sanded the bulb terminals although they looked clean.
No obvious signs of h2o infiltration.
I will see if I can trace the wires back, although other than the melted holder, the wires still looked ok.
 
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bbarbulo

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Location
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The headlight is sealed, if you have rain where the bulb socket is, you got problems. So, no... Not puddles.

Another thing is to close up the spade terminals a bit with tiny long nose pliers
 
burpod

burpod

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i also wouldn't suggest "sanding" the terminal ends... the nickel? plating is much better there than removing it. remove it, and you get more corrosion in the long run. you either have a water/corrosive issue at the headlight. perhaps in the headlight (most likely) or at the seals for the wires going in. or somewhere along the line. it's a common problem, bad connections causing bulbs to burn out and melt the connections...
 
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fruitcakesa

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burpod said:
i also wouldn't suggest "sanding" the terminal ends... the nickel? plating is much better there than removing it. remove it, and you get more corrosion in the long run. you either have a water/corrosive issue at the headlight. perhaps in the headlight (most likely) or at the seals for the wires going in. or somewhere along the line. it's a common problem, bad connections causing bulbs to burn out and melt the connections...
Click to expand...
The car lived in Florida for years before I bought it and it was a bit "mossy" when I finally got it so yes, there is likely corrosion hidden in the old girl:mad:
 
burpod

burpod

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fruitcakesa said:
The car lived in Florida for years before I bought it and it was a bit "mossy" when I finally got it so yes, there is likely corrosion hidden in the old girl:mad:
Click to expand...
in my experience the worst offender is the D-connector going into the headlight. 2nd guess would be inside the headlight itself. 3rd guess would be a wild goose chase to find :)
 
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fruitcakesa

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burpod said:
in my experience the worst offender is the D-connector going into the headlight. 2nd guess would be inside the headlight itself. 3rd guess would be a wild goose chase to find :)
Click to expand...
Electrical is not my strong suit at the best of times.:(
 
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