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" Q: My buddy has a &amp;#039;97 Ford Escort, and I help him with his maintenance. I have replaced his left headlight bulb three times in the past year, and it just keeps blowing out. I am very careful not to touch the bulb when installing it. What am I doing wrong? A: Maybe nothing. To rule out any issue with the car, start with a voltage check, specifically the charging system. Check the charging voltage at the battery, with the battery fully charged and the engine warm and running with all loads turned off (don&amp;#039;t forget the heater fan). Your voltmeter should read no more than 14 or 14.5 volts, tops. Actually, I&amp;#039;d expect to see 13.5 to 14 volts once everything is warm. If it&amp;#039;s any higher, you&amp;#039;ve got a bad voltage regulator or a bad ground somewhere in the charging circuit. But that&amp;#039;s unlikely. I suspect if there were a problem with the electrical system, other bulbs would be popping like flashbulbs at a celebrity wedding reception. So, you&amp;#039;re probably installing these bulbs with some surface contamination. As an aside to those who haven&amp;#039;t gotten the word, or who missed the fine print on the packaging on those $20 headlamp bulbs, don&amp;#039;t touch the bulb&amp;#039;s glass envelope with your bare fingers. The quartz glass used in these bulbs has a very high melting point. The bulbs run extremely hot. That&amp;#039;s necessary for a quartz bulb to maintain brightness throughout its life span. The heat causes the oils in your fingerprints to carbonize on the surface of the glass. The darker carbon absorbs more heat, causing a hot spot, and the differential expansion eventually breaks the glass. Within a few minutes oxygen gets in and fries the filament. And yes, contamination of the surface by other substances can do the same thing. That&amp;#039;s why I always clean new bulbs, even if I&amp;#039;ve just removed them from their protective packaging. Rubbing alcohol and some tissue or cotton are all you need. And when installing the bulb, keep it clear of any greasy underhood wires or the lip of the headlamp housing. Wearing clean rubber gloves also helps. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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