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[portomega]

Ive had to buy 4 replacement bulbs for my rear reg plate over the last week, the bulbs just seem to last one trip at night and pop, im pretty sure i got the right bulbs ( halfords replacement- non gas discharge) any ideas why the bulbs keep going? I got the MOT on tuesday and im guessing having that bulb out would be a fail  :-/

[Abiton]

Could be your alternator's voltage regulator is dying.
Put a multimeter across the battery with engine running and post what voltage you see.

[portomega]

i dont have a volt reader  :-/ wouldnt something like that affect all or more than just one though? not just the reg plate one?

[tigers_gonads]

check the bulb holder and terminals / plug for any corosion 

[portomega]

check the bulb holder and terminals / plug for any corosion 

when i removed the original bulb there was alot of crud in the holder, dont think i cleared it out though  will give that a try after my trip to halfords for ANOTHER bulb lol am i buying the right replacement bulbs though? they've got non gas chargeable and gas chargeable? ive been buying the "non"

[tigers_gonads]

i think so mate
nowt flash ............ its just number plate bulb 
clean the holder out property and give it a squirt of wd40
if the terminals are a bit tarnished, get a screwdriver in there and scrape some of the cr*p off.  just be careful not to bend the terminals 

[3.2omegaestate]

You don't say if your vehicle is an estate or a saloon.

Whilst I am prepared to be proved wrong, by others here on the forum, if you have an estate could it be the cheaper Halfords bulbs not being able to withstand the shutting and hence shock of closing the tailgate.   As a result they are blowing.

Whilst it is a pain, have you considered buying some reputable bulbs from a motor factors; something like Ring or Hella.

HTH

[portomega]

its a saloon not an estate  , im going to give these halfords bulbs one last try, what i might do is buy a set of 2, put one in tonight for my drive to work then if it goes even after cleaning out the holder i'll not put the other in until the day of my MOT , hopefully lol it will hold out long enough for them to see it working, and then if that ones goes i think i might just go down to Vaux and see if they got a replacement bulb

[LFF64]

Like 32estate said  I would try some better quality lamps , I had the same sort of problem with brake
 lights keep going  I now have Bosch lamps fitted a little more expensive but as you are finding out it works out cheaper in the end
 Check the book/chart thingy they to to see what they say are the correct ones while you are in there

[Pitchfork]

i think so mate
nowt flash ............ its just number plate bulb 
clean the holder out property and give it a squirt of wd40
if the terminals are a bit tarnished, get a screwdriver in there and scrape some of the cr*p off.  just be careful not to bend the terminals 

NEVER use WD 40 on any electrical contacts!!
Go to Maplin & get some contact or switch cleaner

[alank46]

Hi
What's wrong with using WD40 to reduce the chances of corrosion on tail light bulb holders, I've been doing it for more than 40 years with no apparent problems and no rusted bulb holders.
Alan

PS Re the OP's problem, I'd buy my bulbs from somewhere else, sounds like Halfords have a bad batch!!

[/quote]
NEVER use WD 40 on any electrical contacts!!
Go to Maplin & get some contact or switch cleaner [/quote]