Can Hella 500 bulbs (H3 it seems) go bad without use?

I just pulled the covers off the 500's on the front of Subarust, figuring I'll be driving in dark more than light now until March or April. Quick test and they seems kinda dim, one more than the other.

They haven't been used much at all, I even replaced them with newer "whiter" bulbs a few years ago. I admit I don't have them connected with the fancy harness/relay anymore, I just found power to the OEM fog's and piggy-backed on. No separate switch to mount, no extra wiring to run. (Or could that be the culprit?)

Nope they shouldn't degrade at all without use, sounds like you have an electrical problem. If they're the same power as stock there's no reason to run new wiring.

Wiring. Bulbs don't technically wear out/dim. They just work or they don't.

Most likely you have a bad connection with the power or ground supply.

Check the connections. Likely dirty.

The Hoff wrote: Wiring. Bulbs don't technically wear out/dim. They just work or they don't.

Actually, technically they do dim, but practically they don't - the difference between a fresh bulb and one of the same model that's on its deathbed would be barely noticeable if you put them side-by-side, but it's there.

Of course the headlight bulb industry would like you to believe they're gradually dimming down to nothing like a flashlight with a dying battery, and it's just been happening too slowly for you to notice, so you should go get new bulbs right now!

They're wired into the fogs to use at the same time, and I don't remember having issues last year being wired together. Sounds like a bad connection/ground somewhere.

"Check the connections. Likely dirty." Yeah, like the rest of the car.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Maybe so, but Jerry (the other Jerry) was asking about when they're not being used.