7 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHDriver high beam not working
Leading reported evidence
Check pins while i was
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I checked the pins while I was cleaning them and they all looked good.
Leading evidence: 'Check pins while i was' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'headlight switch' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check 12v at the connector' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I know a guy that has used trays and connectors on the cheap.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Dumb question, but process would be take out light, turn on key, turn on lights with high beam on, set multimeter to volts and then put red in high pos and black in common ground and look for it to read 12 V?
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Need some help. Drivers high beam not working. Switched fuse 1 and 2 and made no difference. Switched the high and low beam bulbs and did not help. Cleaned all contacts.
So what I know is that the bulb is good, the fuse is good, and everything appears clean and tight.
I read posts about testing with a voltmeter. I got one of those, but what do I test? I am new at this electric stuff so the more detail the better.
Thanks in advance.
What year? The below pinout is for the 97-01 MkI headlights. I'm not sure what the pinout is on the MkII headlights.
Check for 12V at the connector on the car side between common ground and high beam positive.
Keep in mind that the picture below is of the headlight side connector, so the car side will be mirrored with the common ground and high beam positive connections on your left side.
Mark I. It's a 99.
Thanks. Pic is great. Dumb question, but process would be take out light, turn on key, turn on lights with high beam on, set multimeter to volts and then put red in high pos and black in common ground and look for it to read 12 V?
Correct.
While you have a headlight out, visually check the wire from the highbeam bulb to the connector to make sure that it's solid with no breaks or shorts.
It's not uncommon for the wire to corrode and break at the connector at the rear of the headlight.
If there's no power at the connector, I would suspect the headlight switch. I've never dug into it myself, but it's my understanding that these cars don't use a highbeam relay and instead send power straight through the switch which eventually burns out the contacts.
Just the drivers side? Has that particular headlight unit been removed lately? If so they may have bent over the pins when reconnecting it. That happened to mine at a Porsche Garage. Take the unit out. Look to see if all pins are standing. Mine were bent over and I had to gently stand them again with small screw driver/long nose pliers. I had the exact same symptoms. If they are OK THEN get going with your Volt Meter ****.
Just posting this because I hate unfinished threads.
Fixed it. I checked the pins while I was cleaning them and they all looked good. Did the voltmeter and got 11-12 volts. Checked all the wires and they looked good.
Scratched my head.
Then unscrewed the wire harness from the light and removed the connector from the mounting bracket in the car so I had more slack and connected the light and it worked. Upon closer inspection of the mounting bracket and comparing pics to ebay brackets I found that the mounting point for the harness on the bracket in the car was broken on one side. I remember finding a piece of plastic on the bottom of the housing the first time I took the headlight off a long time ago. I have found lots of broken pieces of plastic in the car over time. I save them all. Went to my broken plastic bit stash and found the piece that broke off.
Now I either need to get a new bracket or take off the wheel well liner so I can get my hand back there to put the connector together.
Thanks for all the help.
