One of my halogen headlights isn’t working
Not to worry! All bulbs have a limited lifespan which can vary depending on how often they’re used and how much vibration they encounter from the road. To fix this issue, you’ll simply need to replace your headlight bulbs.
Firstly, check that the bulb is fitted properly and hasn’t become damaged. Carefully remove the bulb (if it’s easy to do so) and then inspect both the bulb itself and the headlight housing for any damage. If all looks in good, working order, then you can begin the process of replacing your bulbs. For a step-by-step on how to do this, check out our guide here.
If one bulb has failed, it’s likely that the other one is also on its way out. So, if you’ve got one failed bulb on your hands, you’re best off replacing both to save the trouble of repeating the process shortly after.
On average, the upgrades we sell here at PowerBulbs last around 18-24 months. If you find changing bulbs a hassle, take a look at our longlife range. These bulbs are designed to last much longer than other upgrade bulbs.
Shop our longlife range here.
One of my Xenon HID headlights isn’t working
Xenon HID bulbs are a little bit different. Did you notice the bulb giving off a pink tinge before it failed? If you did, then the bulb has reached the end of its life and simply needs replacing. Again, we recommend that you do this in pairs. This is especially important with Xenon HIDs, as the colour temperature can vary slightly depending on how long the bulbs have been used for.
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Shop our range of Xenon HID bulbs here.
If the bulb failed unexpectedly, there’s an easy way to get a potential diagnosis. Due to the high voltages involved when using Xenon bulbs, we recommend taking your car to an auto-electrician to get the bulbs looked at or replaced. They’re trained to work safely with higher voltages and you’ll save yourself a potential nasty electric shock!
Your auto-electrician will be able to determine if there’s something wrong with the bulb itself or the gas ballast. This is what ignites the bulb. The bulbs will likely be switched over, so the working bulb will be fitted in the broken headlight’s place, and vice versa. If the previously fine headlight is now not working, there’s something wrong with the bulb. If the same headlight isn’t illuminating, you’ll 
know that the bulb isn’t a problem and you’ll need to take a closer look at the gas ballast.
My headlights aren’t very bright
Take a look at the front of your headlight lenses. Do they look damaged in any way? Your lenses are subject to wear and tear from the weather and debris on the road. Over time, these factors will cause the lenses to become dull, cloudy and yellowed. Eventually, this will affect the performance of your headlights – they won’t be able to penetrate the layer of damage, affecting the light output.
Don’t worry, though – if your lenses are plastic, you can easily get your headlights back to their best. If the damage is minimal, household remedies such as toothpaste can work quite well as a temporary measure. Find out more here.
If you’re after a deeper restoration (which we would recommend – do it nice or do it twice!), you can buy a Headlight Restoration Kit. These kits contain rubbing compounds and polishes, and brilliant results can be achieved at home in a few easy steps.
Check out this before and after shot sent in by one of our customers, when using the 3M Headlight Restoration Kit:
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Shop Restoration Kits here.
My headlights are dazzling other drivers
This is probably down to the alignment of your headlights being slightly off. You can easily change the angle that your headlights shine out at. The wrong angle can cause problems both with your view of the road ahead and can dazzle other drivers.
If you’re a confident Do-It-Yourselfer, you’ll be able to correct the alignment yourself fairly easily. We’ve got a handy blog post that gives you all the steps you need to take to make sure your headlights shine at the right angle. You can read this here.
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