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Headlight not working and is on/off?
I replaced one bulb because the high beam didnt work. put the new bulb in and i had to play with the socket to get it to work at all. once i got that side(the right side) to work, now the drivers side bulb,which was still and is still good, doesnt work. I'm at a loss as to how this happened. It is my understanding that neither bulb is dependant on the other, but if were to be the case, based on how they are wired the passenger would be dependant on the drivers side. I checked the ground and checked for loose wires but still nothing on the left side. truck is a 93' chevy w/t 1500.
3 Answers
- monkeyboyLv 78 years ago
Caveat: I know 73-87 trucks. While the body is entirely different, my suspicion is that the theory in regards to headlights didn't change though, except in case of daytime running lights.
In the older bodystyles (up to 91) the headlights WERE dependent on each other in a way. The wiring for both headlights is just a splice...12V out of the headlight switch was simply split and powered both/all lights.
It's not a short to ground, they wouldn't work at all, that's just an idiotic guess by others. My suspicion is that the connectors to the headlights are having issues. Normally the high beams don't burn out, as they aren't used nearly as often. The "low" filament will burn out first. If high beam "burns out", that's a good indication the bulb ISN'T the problem.
You need to pull the plugs off both headlights, and check for voltage and ground. If both of those spec out, and the bulb is known good, the connectors aren't making contact. Clean both sides of the connection terminals off, make sure the terminals are "springy" (forcing the two pieces to make contact) coat with dielectric grease, and reinstall.
- 8 years ago
Sounds like there is a short in the wiring system somewhere. It sounds easy but can prove difficult to fix. Not expensive, but just time consuming. If you don't know what to do, ask a friend that does, or find a good mechanic who works on electrical.
