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Day Time Running Lamp Out!

kodeski

Charter Member
Full Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2002
Messages
111
Location
Lansing, MI USA
Geez...not even a year old...and my passenger side daytime running lamp is out. I have noticed on many Silverado's that they only have one running lamp on...and usually always the passenger side is out. Could it possibly be a malfuntion or just coincidental. My '96 S-10 and '00 Cavalier never burned out the whole time I owned them. What do you all think? Anyone else had to replace or maybe just haven't noticed yet? My dad mentioned it to me when I went home over 4th of July Weekend...who knows how long it has been out.
 
Kodeski

Mine seem to be fine, but I have noticed that there are a lot of Silverados running around town with only one DRL on.

 
Kodeski, funnny you made that observation. Seems like nearly every Yukon, Tahoe or Silverado I see, has one of it's DRLs out. As Irontrain has stated, I made the amber switch at very early miles as well. I think by going to amber 4157s I should haev a long and happy life with that bulb. I believe it is the longer-life version of the 3157. The 3157 clear is the stock part number. Luckily, it is one of the cheapest parts to maintain and one of the easiest to replace! Should cost you $5 for the pair. I would recommend changing them both to 4157 amber or clear to get the better bulb. I tend to always change light pairs so the luminosity between each bulb is not noticeable. Yeah, a little anal I know!

Jamie
 
irontrain said:
...a guy pull in with an identical Z-71,he wanted to know why mine had ambers and his did'nt.This launched a whole conversation about CAFCNA and all the ideas and suggestions that can be found here...

So what is this new member's user name? Have they reported in yet? :)
 
The 4157 is a longer life version - good for the DRL's which see heavy usage - there have been notes elsewhere on the short life of the 3157 in most of the Chevy truck line. I believe the expected life is about 4x the standard.

As to the choice of amber, well that is just one of those things. ;D
 
kodeski said:
Geez...not even a year old...and my passenger side daytime running lamp is out. ?I have noticed on many Silverado's that they only have one running lamp on...and usually always the passenger side is out. ?Could it possibly be a malfuntion or just coincidental. ?My '96 S-10 and '00 Cavalier never burned out the whole time I owned them. ?What do you all think? ?Anyone else had to replace or maybe just haven't noticed yet? ?My dad mentioned it to me when I went home over 4th of July Weekend...who knows how long it has been out.

Replace both bulbs with 4157 NALL (Amber) or 4157 (Clear). They last a lot longer than the 3157 that came stock. The 3157 is more of a turn signal bulb if you read the Sylvania propaganda, the 4157 can be used in turn signals but is designed for DRL use (again according to the Sylvania propaganda). When I changed my 3157 out I noticed the bases were burned a little, which tells me these bulbs run very hot.

The cost of a pair of 4157 NALL in Amber or Clear is literally $2 to $5 depending on where you go. The entire change out procedure is five to ten minutes - TOPS. The amber bulbs you keep hearing about just look better in a lot of folks opinions.

If I remember correctly the DRL's on the S-10 (I owned a 95) were just the high beam bulb running at very reduced wattage and not a dedicated bulb. And ya, there sure are a lot of Silverado/Suburban/Tahoe around with one DRL working.
 
Chief said:
...If I remember correctly the DRL's on the S-10 (I owned a 95) were just the high beam bulb running at very reduced wattage and not a dedicated bulb...

yup. Still own a '95 and it's one bulb.
 
This happened on my 2000 Silverado as well. I had changed the DRLs on my AV to the ambers so I didn't give it a chance to burn out. I did, however, notice that the stock DRLs were slightly burned at the connection points, not the bulb itself.
 
kodesi, my rightside DRL went out too!
also my brakelight above the rear window. My dealer had to order the brakelight because it is not just a bulb
he said it was almost like a curcuit board thingie(?) :6:
 
I was beginning to think that I was the only one noticing that Chevy's full size trucks & SUV's always have one driving light out. It seems that around here it's the driver's side that's out. I wonder if there's some problem with the electrical system or the sockets or maybe that guy that puts that one bulb in is jinxed or isn't washing his hands or something.

I'm glad someone brought this up, but I haven't noticed that habit on Av's around here.
 
You are correct, on trucks the driver side is the first to go - or so the truck forums say - must be the weight of the driver ;D
 
Using LED's in the front would produce a red DRL. That will get you a citation in most states.
 
Hey zx900b,

I've tried similar ones made by AC1? and they weren't very bright at all. I put the stock ones back and figured I'd wait for the Eurocover type tail lens replacements.
 
Yeah--I hear you RoarinRow. The basic problem with LEDs is that they are usually only designed to be bright in one direction (directly outward). Any light assembly (DRL, tail light, marker, etc) that is designed with a clear lens and a reflector near the base might not look quite right with LEDs. However, LEDs due tend to outlast regular bulbs!
 
I put LED's in my rear turn signals and my flasher went to overdrive. the lack of draw on the system from these bulbs made my flasher flash at a very fast rate. I put them in my DRL's and they where too red. Ticket for sure. They did look different though.
 
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