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Need help, headlight issue...

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Old 01-22-2011, 05:05 AM
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Default Need help, headlight issue...

Ok, long story short: Snowstorm comes to Oklahoma, gets highway icy, i spin off the road into a ditch, i take a low speed hit to the front bumper on the ground.

Now, ive noticed every since then my passenger low beam will not come on. I have hooked up a different headlight i have laying around (that definitely works as confirmed by hooking to driverside harness) and had no luck. I checked through my fuses and everything looks good. I checked the headlight connector and it looked fine, no corrosion. I am stumped...

Is there more that i need to look into? Should i dig further into the headlight harness and associated parts? Any theories welcome as i'm not sure where else to look... Any help is greatly appreciated.
Old 01-22-2011, 05:52 AM
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If the headlight pops up, but the low beam isn't coming on... You could probably use a multimeter to check for power going to the low beam plug. Also, just because the plug looks ok, doesn't always mean it is. Use a good flashlight and shine it in the connector. NOT just the one on the bulb itself, but the main harness connecter down near the headlight motor. That's where all the wires connect from the headlight assembly/motor to the main wiring harness. That's where most problems usually are. That plug should be a 5 pin wide plug that then splits off to the door motor and the headlights themselves. Check BOTH plugs there. Either the male or female end or even both could have a problem down there.

If it is bad, it's a real easy fix. Just order the replacement connector and splice it in. I did this a few weeks back on 3 of those things.
Old 01-22-2011, 05:14 PM
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Ok thanks, I will dig into that part when I get off work tonight. Totally forgot about that part of the harness. If it is the connector you mentioned can I get it from autozone or a store of the like?
Old 01-22-2011, 10:51 PM
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You possibly can. Dunno if you can get it at your local store, but you can buy those connectors online. AC Delco too. I just posted the part numbers in another thread a minute ago for someone else.

When you pull your plugs apart, even if they look great, they may not be, so, test them with a meter and all that. If you open em up and find corrosion, water, black glop, etc, the plugs are probably screwed and you'll want new ones. One of mine was just corroded, and when I tried to scrape some corrosion off, the pin broke off due to the corrosion. The other side of the car had black water glop in it. Both plug ends were destroyed by that.

When you reconnect the old or new plugs, add Dielectric grease in there. Be generous too, don't skimp.
Old 01-23-2011, 10:56 AM
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Take the bulb out and wiggle the connector on the back of the light. (Wear gloves when you do this because it may spark.) It could be a bad connector or a bad bulb. If wiggling the connector re-produces issues, switch the left and right side bulbs and then see which piece it is.




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