Karczewski

This is my lights on.. Idk what's wrong? Suggestions? And when I turn my brights on only the driver side works while passenger side shuts off...

98CayenneT/A

It is a ground problem, have you recently unplugged the harness?

Karczewski

Not that I know of. My wife pointed it out to me the other day.
I haven't really messed with anything near the lights other than unhooking the battery before I upgraded my stereo to a touch screen.

98CayenneT/A

If you pop your hood, flip up your lights and look under then you will see the wires from your bulbs going to a harness, going into the harness there should be one black wire, clip that wire on the bulb side of the harness and make a new ground for it

Karczewski

Ok, will try that tomorrow and get back to you! Thanks!!

Karczewski

Do I need to unhook the battery first??

98CayenneT/A

No you don't have to

Karczewski

Ok so I needs to cut the wire and make another ground right?? Sorry, not good with wires ��

98CayenneT/A

You could first try unplugging the harness then plugging it back in but ya it looks to be a ground issue to me

Karczewski

Thanks bro!!<br/>Worked like a charm!

98CayenneT/A

Welcome, ya sometimes these lights/motors can be a pain

ddano

I know this thread is old, but I just bought a 1998 Trans am and I noticed this same light problem with mine. I was just wondering if you could clarify something for me. Do I need to clip the ground on all 3 headlights that are dim or is there a specific ground I should be looking for that works for all the headlights. I have attempting to look through all the posts I can but it just isn't clear to me where this ground is at. Thank you so much in advance for the help.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

No. The cause of problem is corrosion. You can resolve the issue by resolving the cause, or you can bypass the corrosion by making a jumpper wire as described here.

As 98CayenneT/A points out, the corrosion is most likely in the motor connector where the bulb wires/grounds also pass through. You can clean the terminals in that connector with emory cloth and needle files and also likly be done with this.

(This corrosion is a common issue. The connector seals leak a little moisture and the terminals corrode over time.)

ddano

Ok great thank you so much wssix99, I believe I found the harness so I will be taking a look at it as I have some time tomorrow to remove the passenger side headlight to get to it. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks again

ddano

So I finally got around to doing this but it didn't change anything. What was interesting to me is that on the headlight immediately to the right (looking at the front of my car) of my brightest one has a reverse voltage if that makes sense. It says that I have -11.6 volts going to that light with the key off. Does anyone have any ideas on what would cause negative voltage? I assume some wires are crossed somewhere but I'm just not sure. Thanks in advance.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

All of the headligh wires go through the motor harness. I once got a replacement one (built in far away lands) that had wires crossed. I'd start by probing and comparing the wires in your motor harnesses between each sides. Check the wires/colors, match them to the wiring diagrams on AutoZone.com (they are the official GM diagrams) and probe the voltages. Then work from there.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is probably a little complex. The motors and headlights are in two diagrams:





The points on the diagram marked "C160" and "C165" is the connector where all the motor wires and headlight wires go through together. They are not all together all on one diagram, but you can poke around on these to trace the wires.