31 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHLow beam headlight failed
Leading reported evidence
Clean connector and i have been good ever since
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
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1
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Read evidence and context
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I cleaned my connector and I have been good ever since.
Leading evidence: 'Clean connector and i have been good ever since' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'switch' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check ed the fuses' (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
Yes, you put one on ground (I use a little wire with alligator clips on both ends, one on the multimeter lead, one on a ground connection), then probe with the other one.
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Suspected cause · Original poster
The ultimate failure was probably the switch but things are never easy with electrical issues.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I want to verify my findings as in I can see 12 volts when the hight beams are on and then check the low beams to hopefully verify that the headlight switch is bad although I still don't see why of only one side of the low beam is failing.
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Rennlist: 1 discussions
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3 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
On my trip home from an autox it came to my attention my passenger headlight was out low beam. I just figured the bulb was out. I bought a new h7 55w bulb and replaced it. Still no light.
I check ed the fuses that they are still good. I don't have a volt meter to go much further. I have seen where the headlight switch can go bad but would that affect only one head light?
Any other ideas would be appreciated. I did visually check the wire in the headlight assembly and I see no breaks or corrosion.
Buy a cheap voltmeter and check the voltage at the connector. 12V there means switch is good and something else is wrong. No 12V means the switch is probably bad. Also clean the headlight connections with some electrical cleaner, especially where the headlight seats in the headlamp frame.
Had to replace both headlight mount assemblies b/c the area that held the electrical connectors had cracked, thus not allowing a good connection to the headlight wiring.
Thanks I will give this a try. Is there a diagram for the pins in the headlight socket? Blindly checking pins may not be a valuable exercise. I have been trying to google it but what I have found has not been valuable so far.
[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:]
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/964x806/passenger_side_light_wiring_f276939b832f91885c2c2f2e4defcac14ca34f06.jpg
Please forgive my total electrical noobness. But I have tried to set the tool to what I think I need to and tried check the voltage. Do I just ground the blk probe and then just poke in each of the slots in the socket? I am not clear on how the diagram relates to the socket I'm testing. It look like I just pace the red probe into the fourth slot down to check my low beam. I am seeing nothing (i.e. no volts) so far. I want to be sure I am doing this right.
In the pic I was just showing the setting on the multimeter. I tried touching the blk probe to a grd bolt. I can't tell if there is a grd on the socket so I was trying various bolts within reach of the probe.
Yes, you put one on ground (I use a little wire with alligator clips on both ends, one on the multimeter lead, one on a ground connection), then probe with the other one.
On the wiring diagram, with the low beams on, you should have 12 volts going to Pin 9, and with the high beams on, 12 volts going to Pin 2. Pin 4 is ground (see it goes to "GP1", ground point 1 on the car) for the low beam and Pin 1 is ground for the high beam.
Looks right. Turn on your low beam lights. The drivers side should light up. Ground the black wire of the voltmeter and run up and down the pin connectors to see if there is any voltage. You will also run across the side marker lamp which will have voltage to it. If you run across only one pin connector with voltage, and the side marker is lit/hot (pin 6/green/red wire), then your light switch is faulty for the low beam. You are looking for the pin connector 9 with a yellow wire attached to it.
You did actually check the fuses...right?
Thanks Yes I did check the fuses. They looked good and I even swapped them to be sure.
How do the pin location map to the socket?
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
or
1 5
2 6
3 7
4 8
the bottom two spots seem to be empty. Also on the headlight side the pin location (5 top version or 3 bottom version) there is no pin.
I want to verify my findings as in I can see 12 volts when the hight beams are on and then check the low beams to hopefully verify that the headlight switch is bad although I still don't see why of only one side of the low beam is failing. Thanks every one this is really enlightening. No pun intended. :-)
The pin numbers should be visible on the connector with a magnifying glass if you need to use one (I do).
Or just start taking measurements on voltage, you won't hurt anything, write it on a piece of paper and you can figure it out from the pin outs above.
Okay I was looking for the pin number on the female side (on the car) on the headlight assembly there are numbers:
1 6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10 (these two location appear empty)
I was able to check the voltages successfully. I am getting no power to the low beam pin on the passenger side. I verified I have power to the high beams on the passenger side and for both high and low on the drivers side.
So now does this point to the headlight switch? I guess my next step is to pull the headlight switch.
Before I pulled the headlight switch,it was suggested I pull the wheel liner to see if the plug was askew. Nothing found but now my parking light and side marker light aren't working. I tried wiggling wires to see if there was any change but alas no change. I really wanted to fix this myself but I seem to be making it worse. I may just throw in the towel on this one.
Ummm...see if you can trace the Brown wire ground. From the wiring diagram, the low beam and side marker light share a common grounding point, although I'm not sure where it is. If you can see the back of the wiring harness plug, perhaps you can follow the brown wire to a common ground..
I got the new switch and tried installing it today. Not a bad job if you have the right tools (24mm deep socket, torx screwdrivers). But alas it did not fix my issue. :-(
Back to the drawing board.
Have you cleaned the connectors as yet?
Have you swapped bulbs left to right as yet?
I have HIDs, and after I bought a new bulb, my headlight was still out. I swaped bulbs and they were still out. I cleaned my connector and I have been good ever since.
Testing the voltage from the diagram above would give you a definitive answer though.
Yea I swapped the bulbs and cleaned connectors. I did test the voltage. No voltage for the low beam circuit, good voltage to high beam. Fuses all good. Further research and investigation will follow.
Does your meter have a continuity tester? If so, you could run a wire to the ground pin and test it at the fuse block to see if there is a break in the wire. If the ground is good to the fuse block, then test it to the switch. Keep going until you figure it out. If your meter doesn't have a continuity tester, you can rig one up easily enough with a battery and a light bulb, but they are really cheap to buy, or just upgrade your meter. Auto-ranging digital multimeters with lots of goodies have gotten pretty cheap these days.
I decided to go back and start at the beginning after the new HL switch was installed. Upon checking the fuses again found that that a couple were blown. That fixed the side marker issue. I then rechecked the headlight bulb and it was blown too. Put bulb from the HB in the low beam and,,,voila I had low beams again. I now have my lights back working. Proved that you have to keep reviewing you checks. I was moving in a linear fashion and did this to recheck after each step. Might have saved me from some aggravation. The ultimate failure was probably the switch but things are never easy with electrical issues.
wow, so maybe the first failure was the switch, but after fixing that the bulb and the fuse somehow got blown and left you doing random trouble shooting. Crazy. Glad you finally got it working though. I spent some time troubleshooting mine as well, turns out, the contacts were dirty on the bulb.
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