Headlamp Vibration Testing for Heavy-Duty Trucks

Recent changes in headlamp technology have made it desirable to know more about the relative operating lives of different headlamp systems in a heavy-duty truck environment. A new test procedure was developed to obtain headlamp accelerations from several heavy-duty trucks operating under severe road conditions, and apply these accelerations and electrical energy to headlamps during a vibration test in the laboratory.

Results were statistically analyzed using hazard plotting techniques. To date, tests indicate that halogen sealed beam headlamps may have a greater life expectancy than tungsten sealed beam headlamps in a heavy-duty truck environment.