Have you ever had the feeling that your car’s headlight isn’t illuminating like it used to? A common mistake many drivers make is thinking that if it’s still turning on, it’s fine, but the truth is that over time, all lighting systems undergo natural wear and tear and go through a process called lumen depreciation (want to explain it to someone and don’t know how to pronounce it? Don’t worry, we don’t judge here! We’ll help you: you can say lumen depreciaixon and it’ll sound great).

And look, it’s hard to notice this degradation with the naked eye because we adapt to it. Often, we only realize how weak the light actually was when we install a new bulb.

I experienced this firsthand in Portugal and thought I was going to lose my biggest distributor because of my xenon!

A customer of a partner shop needed to replace just one of his xenon bulbs that had burned out. The distributor sold a single unit of our bulb from the TECH ONE xenon line to replace the burned-out side.

When picking up the car, the customer hated the result! The shop called me complaining under huge stress, saying that the new bulb was weak and that the headlight was totally unbalanced. I ran over there and when turning on the headlights, I thought: “gosh, it really looks horrible, the ballast must be damaged.” When I opened the hood, I saw that the strong, bright bulb was actually the new one (from TECH ONE), while the weak bulb was his old one, which he thought was great! The sweet old man was so used to the old, saturated lighting that he didn’t recognize it when they put the new one next to it!

“And does only Xenon lose strength over time?” No! Everything degrades with use; what changes is the lifespan/useful life and the way it degrades.

Halogen wears out at the filament, LED in the electronics and the light-generating chip, and xenon can wear out in the ballast, the electrodes, or even get a cloudy bulb over the years.

Here is a quick summary to ensure maximum safety and efficiency when driving at night:

When it’s time for periodic light replacement, always change both sides together. Replacing bulbs in pairs ensures that both headlights are at the same stage of their lifespan and maintain the same color temperature and intensity.

Check the condition of your headlight: if the lens is yellowed, foggy, or the chrome is dull, it won’t work properly! You need to evaluate if restoration or revitalization solves it. If not, it’s worth replacing the headlight!

And how about you? How is your car’s lighting today? Do you feel safe driving on the roads at night? And follow Rê on Instagram @techonebrasil right now for more easy tips on automotive accessories and cars!