David,

There was no melting, more a tiny jagged broken piece, out of the side of
the glass bulbs.

The discoloration was uneven white-off white, like the inside of a seashell.

The bulbs were standard 12 volt double filaments.

Scott

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Beierl" <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 11:54 AM
Subject: Re: High voltage havoc from coil?

> At 03:44 PM 1/15/2001, Karen Olson wrote:
> >When coils go bad, could the high voltage built up in the secondary
winding,
> >intermittently short over to the 12 Volt primary winding and cause this?
>
> No, it really couldn't, honest (unless I'm wrong, of course <g>).
>
>
> >As for the flashbulb taillights, I discovered my brake lights were out
and,
> >when replacing them, the clear glass of the bulbs were entirely
discolored
> >on the inside, and a roughly 1/4" diameter piece of glass was blown out
of
> >each bulb.
>
> Fascinating!  Was the discoloration smooth, even, mirror-like?  Where was
> the hole, and was it the same in both bulbs?  Are these combination
> brake/running lights, or single-filament?  Was there melting at the edges
> of the hole, or anywhere else?
>
> david
>
>
> David Beierl - Providence, RI
>   http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
> '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
> '85 GL "Poor Relation"