Hi, I have an 09 octavia estate, it seems that a bulb blows,  I replace it then a different one does the same,  then another,  first the l/h headlight,  then the number plate light,  now it's the front r/h fog light,  all within a day or so max,  the wee orange bulb warning light only stays of for a short period,  then it's back on again and it's a different bulb,  anybody got any ideas why?

Firstly were the blown bulbs working or not and have you been installing LEDs?

 

1 minute ago, john999boy said:

Firstly were the blown bulbs working or not and have you been installing LEDs?

Hi, yes, they were working before and no,  no LEDs,  just replacing with standard bulbs and no other changes to lights.

Once you had taken the blown bulbs out, did you check that they were actually blown.

 

7 hours ago, pikpilot said:

Once you had taken the blown bulbs out, did you check that they were actually blown.

 

 To be fair,  not with the main headlight one but I could see the number plate one was for sure,  and ive not looked at the fog light yet, but when i replaced the others,  they worked straight away. 

I had the same issue, it was due to a half burnt(yeah it seems it can happen) fuse, was always showing a different bulb faliure...

the previous owner forced some bulb into one of the sockets and that caused the fuse to go out.

Check your fuses, hopefully you'll find one blown!

55 minutes ago, nepsterke said:

I had the same issue, it was due to a half burnt(yeah it seems it can happen) fuse, was always showing a different bulb faliure...

the previous owner forced some bulb into one of the sockets and that caused the fuse to go out.

Check your fuses, hopefully you'll find one blown!

 

And look too at the fusebox near the battery. There is a recent post on here about burning on a fuse contact and its holder in that location. Look for melted plastic or remove the fuses to check. Best done after disconnecting the battery.

1 hour ago, pikpilot said:

 

And look too at the fusebox near the battery. There is a recent post on here about burning on a fuse contact and its holder in that location. Look for melted plastic or remove the fuses to check. Best done after disconnecting the battery.

That's interesting,  thanks,  I will check that tomorrow  and see. Thanks

2 hours ago, nepsterke said:

I had the same issue, it was due to a half burnt(yeah it seems it can happen) fuse, was always showing a different bulb faliure...

the previous owner forced some bulb into one of the sockets and that caused the fuse to go out.

Check your fuses, hopefully you'll find one blown!

And did that blow the bulbs as well or just come up as a fault but lights still working?

...Dont forget to avoid touching the bulbs by hand... Use something clean as a barrier as oil from your skin can overheat and effectively "Cook" The bulb, causing it to blow. This will most likely NOT be why others blow but still, a proper precaution, especially if its a bulb you have removed/replaced.

3 hours ago, CynikAL said:

And did that blow the bulbs as well or just come up as a fault but lights still working?

The bulbs were OK, but they did not light up since the half blown fuse was only partially letting current thru. 

So you've only had three bulbs blow?

 

Headlight bulbs tend to fail close to each other so the other side is likely to fail soon too.

 

Assuming your Octavia has the cornering front fog light feature, then these bulbs spend a lot of time coming on and going off.

 

Number plates bulbs get slammed each time the boot lid is shut.

 

It's a 10 year old car, and it's winter. Those bulbs are being used a lot and their life is finite.

 

Be thankful you have the warning light on the dash, a lot of cars don't, and they're the ones you pass each morning for months with the same failed bulbs.

Have you checked the voltage with the engine running? A duff regulator could cook bulbs.