Burning out light bulbs

[AUWing]

I have one pendent light that likes to take out bulbs. I was thinking I'd open a few panels and look for a short but it occurred to me I've yet to blow a fuse . . . Shorts take out fuses not bulbs, right? So help calibrate me, what should I be looking for?

[rockintom]

Please be more specific. What type of bulb is it? What's the number on the bulb? We have a group of G4 20W halogen in our ceiling lights that the filaments are weaker than warm hen piss (urine)!!! It's an ongoing issue and it's not the rigs fault. Just the bulb type. Again more info. rockin'

[SCVJeff]

Define "taking out"? Does that mean burned out filament? Shorts, loose crimps, and/ or loose or poor contacts on sockets don't burn out bulbs, excessive voltage does. Think about it.. You cannot possibly generate enough heat in a poor connection to burn out a lamp that's already burning white hot. What you will do is cause a fire. Get a volt meter and look at the LOADED voltage at the fixture, with the lamp installed. That means you will need to gain access to the +&- feeds at the fixture.

Or just replace it with a regulated LED and solve several problems.

[skipnchar]

I agree that checking the socket and switch for loose connections which generate HEAT and heat will take out a bulb. Normal 12 volt bulbs frequently run at 14 volts when charging and that usually doesn't contribute to a burn out.

[ScottG]

Your right, a short is when the pos. and neg. sides touch each other and that won't hurt a bulb.
Bulbs can be damaged by loose connections or too high of voltage though.

[johncamtravel]

Check the socket and check the connections at the socket. A bad connection at the socket can burn out bulbs. Also check the crimp
or wire nut connection where the socket wires connect to the trailer
wiring (usually about 6" from the fixture). And also check your ground connections. And yes make sure voltage is right 12V-14V. Hope this helps.

[ryanw821]

AUWing wrote:
I have one pendent light that likes to take out bulbs. I was thinking I'd open a few panels and look for a short but it occurred to me I've yet to blow a fuse . . . Shorts take out fuses not bulbs, right? So help calibrate me, what should I be looking for?

My thoughts would be to check the voltage at the socket, too high of a voltage will easily pop a bulb.