Civic headlight socket melting

[Miles ruud]

First picture is of the socket itself
– its an aftermarket one because the original was melted to the point that it crumbled to pieces in my hand upon removal
2nd & 3rd pics are of the R headlamp housing
4th & 5th pics are of the L headlamp housing for comparison

I think the problem is the metal clip the holds the lights into the housing, as the R clip is much harder to put in than the other

Attachments:

• image_2014-04-30.jpg
• image_2014-04-30-2.jpg
• image_2014-04-30-3.jpg
• image_2014-04-30-4.jpg
• image_2014-04-30-5.jpg

Topic

[Lorrin Barth]

Are you using standard bulbs?

[college man]

are you using the correct bulbs? If the socket is melting
sounds like your connection is bad. clean tighten the connections
and replace the socket with oe.

[Miles ruud]

The OE sockets melted aswell. As far as the bulbs, i dont know, i havent changed them

[Rob megee]

Could be too high of current for the socket(wrong bulb) , could be high resistance connection.( the bulb fits loose causing a high resistance) that creates too much heat. Is there any corrosion on the contacts?

[Miles ruud]

Their is corrosion on both sockets, both bulbs slightly blackened. I’ll have more pics tomorrow

[Deano Garrett]

Someone put hi-amp bulbs in it for better light output(like sylvania Ultra’s) I did the same exact thing to the sockets on my suzuki. Also those “not for road use” blue hue bulbs will do this too. Nobody that uses them see’s that disclaimer on the side of the package then wonders why the cops pulled them over…lol
And are these 9003 type bubs?

[Miles ruud]

Here’s a pic of the bulb front and back

Attachments:

• image_2014-05-01.jpg
• image_2014-05-01-2.jpg

[Rob megee]

All you can do is make sure you are using the correct bulb and replace the socket. I am debating about a little dielectric grease but I think it might smoke because of the heat. I would just replace it all and make sure the bulb fits well into the socket. I see this all of the time on surgery lights in the operating room. The bulbs get too hot and melt the socket. Most of the time there is a high resistance contact causing the extra heat. Same thing on cars.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’d say it’s the bulbs. Now that they’ve damaged the sockets it compounds the problem and causes excessive resistance. You may have to replace those as well. Start with stock bulbs and see if that address the issue.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Miles ruud]

They are 9003s

[Author]

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