Popping rear brake lights every 2-4 weeks

[Alec]

Hi Chaps,

I have had an ongoing problem where I seem to be popping my rear brake light bulbs on an ever more frequent basis. To begin with it was once every 3 months, but now it has warmed up I am getting through them every 2-4 weeks!

Currently buying these from Halfords at £2.99 for a pair: Halfords (HBU382) 21W Car Bulbs x 2

Do you guys reckon these are just shoddy quality bulbs, am I braking too hard (joke ), or is there maybe an underlying electrical fault which is causing too much current to flow to the bulbs causing them to have such short lifespans?

Today I was driving through town just near halfords with my rear right brakelight out (has been out for about 1 week) then my rear left one went too! Thankfully I was only a few corners away from halfords and managed to wack in a new pair before anything bad happened.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Car info:
2006 Audi A3 Sport 2.0 TDI 3door with the older style rear light cluster (pre 2008 facelift).

Kind Regards,

Alec

 

[Patrick_c99]

It does sound abit dodgy. I used to have a motorbike that loved blowing its right headlight every week or so. But there was nothing wrong with wiring. Volts or amps. If you put a amp meter on it and test the watts. Amps and voltage you may just be able to get away with updating the bolt to fit with the readings

 

[crazylegscrane]

My wife's A3 2.0 TDI has an appetite for brake light bulbs as well - seems to be the rear right all the time