I bought these two very nice metal lights at my LHS. They were only a couple dollars, so I couldn't pass up the deal. I asked what voltage to run, they said most guys run a 9V. The lights blew up within a couple seconds. They looked great for that time though!

Anyone ever use these? How do I access the bulb, through the glass? What voltage should I have been using?

If they are similar to mine, they were 3volt.
On mine, the ring around the light lens is threaded and screwed onto the rear portion of the search light.

If that is the case with yours, they should come apart there, and you can slip a nice white LED inside.

Yup. 3V. You can get bulbs here:

www.allelectronics.com

Awesome, thanks guys. I think I'll go the LED route so I don't have to worry about this again!

Well, they are a solid unit, they must have assembled it through the lense, so I need to try and figure out how to get the lense off without damaging it very much. Hopefully then I'll be able to replace the bulb!

They are only about 1/2" tall, roughly.

Does this lens bezel unscrew on this model?

Tug

No, they beel does not come off. It is a solid part, except for the lense. I haven't been able get one off yet, they are on there pretty good.

That light is listed in the MACK PRODUCTS web site,www.mackproductsrc.com, in thier lighting section as either #L20 or #L21 and they sell replacement bulbs for either light as #LR34. Yes the light s are rated at 3 volts each. If you take a sharp Xacto knive and pick around the lens it will lift off allowing you to replace the bulb inside. You are right all the lights are top quality.

I experienced the same problem with two of my searchlights, thinking they were six volts when in fact they were three. Very bright for a while though...
I snapped the front rings off as described by Frank and replaced them with ultra bright LED's. This required drilling a second small hole to run the two legs of the LED through as the lamp housings are too small do anything inside. Be careful to align the LED facing exactly where you want it to be brightest as these things are very focused and do not throw much light sideways. Also, be careful on your voltage. LED's are diodes and therefore are extremely current sensistive. You may have to use a current limiting resistor to achieve the correct voltage. Determining this is easy if you use this online calulator:
http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz
Cheers
Keith.

Thanks for that link!

ive used lights similar to these but not exact when unable to find a replacement bulb i used the KRYPTON replacement bulbs available for AA sized mini MAG LITES i just pig tailed the wires to the bulb leads and coated them with liquid electrical tape, but a good coating of fingernail polish works pretty good too,just stinks til it dries