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Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 Birds of a feather flock together

Please help guys.

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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 12:33 AM
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Default Please help guys.
I've got an 02' WS6 and I'm having an issue with my headlights. And the local shop tells me that I have a bad ground. Well, can anyone tell me where the ground for the headlights is..? Thanks for your help...
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 01:23 AM
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Ah the oh-so common "far too vague to really help you" post.

Maybe tell us what's happening, and we can tell you if it really IS the ground, or if it's just the switch, or a multitude of other things. Hell, maybe you just need a new bulb!
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 01:58 AM
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I turn the headlights on, they pup up, and all four headlights (High and Low beam) are on. The driver's side lights are both on and bit dim, and the pass side high beam is dim but the regular beam is bright. I switch to high beams and both driver's side lights go out and the pass. high beam gets bright and the reg light gets dim.
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 04:54 AM
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Sheesh no wonder why you didn't explain it at first... I'm still trying to wrap my head around all that...

I'm going to say get a new switch. All 4 lights shouldn't be on when you turn your headlights on, just your low-beams. It could also be the turn signal/high-beam arm too :\ Which one is a toss up.

Could it be a ground, I suppose that is always possible too. We'll wait for people to wake up and see what they think.
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 07:57 AM
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it certainly sounds like a ground issue, or two wires are crossed (IE a ground is getting juice). you need to remove the headlights and go at each wire with a test light.

it certainly could be a switch, but you'll need to see what's up with the wires first.

has the car been in a collision?
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 02:35 PM
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No, the car has never been wrecked, but with the project the entire engine bay was apart.... And I unplugged one of the headlights and tested both the black and white wire and got juice on both... Crazy huh.???
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by charlie c5
No, the car has never been wrecked, but with the project the entire engine bay was apart.... And I unplugged one of the headlights and tested both the black and white wire and got juice on both... Crazy huh.???
kinda crazy, but not really... that should actually be pretty simple to fix. i assume you know which is supposed to be the ground, and which isn't.

you have a missing ground, damaged ground, or false ground. just follow the wires.

i've had similar issues when i've deconstructed lighting. they're really sensitive to voltage.
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 03:48 PM
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On my C5 Corvette there are like 8 grounding points for the whole car. that makes it real easy to go straight to those points to check grounds. Do the F-Bodies have the same thing.?
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 06:12 PM
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At the plugs, take the ground wires, and ground them manually to the body. Solves the juice getting there.
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Old Apr 4, 2008 | 11:54 PM
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^ If you do that I would cut the ground and not just tap into it.
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Old Apr 5, 2008 | 03:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Drumer919
^ If you do that I would cut the ground and not just tap into it.
Right, that's what I meant.
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Old Apr 5, 2008 | 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Formula350
At the plugs, take the ground wires, and ground them manually to the body. Solves the juice getting there.

Maybe a stupid question, but do I need to do this to all of the headlights, or should just one do it..?
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Old Apr 6, 2008 | 01:33 AM
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You'd have to do it to any ground that is getting voltage feedback, yea.
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Old Jun 11, 2009 | 06:09 PM
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Did you ever solve this? My '98 just started doing exactly the same thing.
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Old Jun 12, 2009 | 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by flint54
Did you ever solve this? My '98 just started doing exactly the same thing.
Yes sir. It was a ground issue. I cut the factory groung wire and regrounded it myself. Problem solved.
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