Forester tail light burnout oddity

[Charles Packer]

We own two 2001 Foresters. The same tail light (the #168
on the right side) in each vehicle has burned out in the last
six months. No other lights have failed, as far as I can
recall, since we bought the cars three and two years ago.

 

[Zeppo]

We own two 2001 Foresters. The same tail light (the #168
on the right side) in each vehicle has burned out in the last
six months. No other lights have failed, as far as I can
recall, since we bought the cars three and two years ago.

Charles,
My daughter's 2001 Forester went through 4 bulbs in two years on the right
taillight until I finally replaced the socket. Six months later the socket
(an aftermarket model) failed again and we replaced the socket with an OEM
from the dealer. It's been 22 months and no problem so far.

The original socket didn't look corroded but bulbs in it just kept burning
out.

Jon

 

[Rick Courtright]

The original socket didn't look corroded but bulbs in it just kept > burning out.

Hi,

Dunno if this applies to your car or the OP's two, but it's good
practice to protect your bulbs from corrosion where they contact the
socket. The auto parts stores sell some kind of overpriced "bulb"
grease, which is probably just the equally overpriced "dielectric"
grease, to help. Just apply a very thin film to the center contact and
the metal housing of the bulb. If you don't want to pay their price,
plain ol' Vaseline has worked for decades...

Some bulbs are a bit voltage sensitive, so a loss of voltage thru some
corrosion may be a player w/ your cars' bulbs going out. Then again, it
may not.

Rick