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So, it recently came to my attention that my low beams are not working. All of the rest of the lights work just fine–highs, turns, fogs… everything, front and rear except the lows.
So far I have 1) swapped out the lighting control stalk with a friend’s RX-8–the control stalk from my car operates his low beams just fine. 2) I have some identical relays in the engine compartment fuse box and swapped their positions with the lighting relay to no avail. 3)I have given fuses a visual inspection, as I don’t have a meter or Power Probe (yet)–as far as I can tell, they look good.
I have also gone to BBB Industries, per Eric’s suggestion, and located wiring diagrams for the lights… there are several available and I think I’ve got it narrowed down to a couple (they look awfully similar!). I’ve also looked at a couple of Eric’s videos dealing with electrical problems.
I’m trying to get together a plan now. I guess what I’m curious to know is if anybody else has had a similar problem or if anybody has any suggestion(s)–based on experience–about what might be my next best steps might be in formulating my plan. I’m kind of a newb to working on cars–I’ve been able to change out my own coils and do my own oil regularly… I even installed some OEM fogs last year, but that was fairly easy since the car is pre-wired for them… but overall, I find this a little intimidating.
Thanks for any help or input.
Mark
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I honestly don’t have any suggestions beyond what you mentioned. My approach is normally to start at the load and work my way back. In your case that would be the headlights themselves. I would be checking the power and grounds there and work my way back to the switch. More info here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems
Good luck and keep us posted.
For what you are doing a test light (available at any auto parts store for little money) would work fine.
So, got a test light and confirmed all of the fuses. Then I opened up the steering column again to get access the the headlight control stalk/module. Took the back off of the module right above where it connects to the wiring harness in the steering column, exposing the connections for wires that run out to the end of the stalk where the light controls are. By turning lights on and off and checking with the test light, I was able to confirm which was the headlight wire/connection and that it was getting juice–in the ON position for both high and low beam, the green/ground LED lit up, and with the headlights turned to the OFF position, the red/power LED lit up.
So I guess this is telling me that everything is ok between the switch and the fuse box, and that the problem is somewhere between the fuse box and the lights themselves? Does that sound right? Jump right in and correct me if my logic is off or I just don’t know what I’m talking about.
Anyway, assuming the above is true, the next thing is to check at the load/lights, which I have put off doing since unfettered access to RX-8 headlights is challenging, to say the least. Oh well, nothing really worth it is easy, right?
Thanks…
I haven’t seen the simplest test/answer tried yet..
Have you tried a new bulb? It’s possible you just didn’t notice until the second bulb bit it.
Thanks, Wayne… good point… I guess I should have mentioned that I recently replaced one of the bulbs… the other one going out I could understand, but I’d be shocked if the one I put in a few months ago had burned out too… like you say, though, no harm in trying… but they’re such a pain in the ass to get to!
i have an 04 IMPALA that has the same problem. issue with mine is the BCM. Body Control Module. the yellow wire has no power coming from the BCM which has them not working. meaning i have to replace it to fix em. $350. so i fixed mine with a toggle switch, new wire, and 2 new pigtails.
Okay, so, problem resolved… as someone else asked, have you checked the bulbs yet… I explained that I really didn’t feel that was the issue since one of the bulbs was at least 5 years old, but the other one I had changed just last year and that I would be shocked (shocked, I say!) if both had gone out at the same time…
I’m sure you can see where this is heading…
I had been putting off the load test until I had enough time to properly devote to it since checking the bulbs on an RX-8 requires a full morning and an act of Congress. Pulled the bumper, dropped the light assembly and (still refusing to believe it could be the bulbs) I grabbed the test light to check the load and, lo and behold, everything was juiced up just the way it should be. At this point, I’m finally seeing the message the universe is trying to send me about being so cock-sure about things, so I grab an extra bulb, pop it in, and voila! Light! Same thing on the other side.
So, I’ve got lights again, and boy am I relieved, and more than a little chagrined. I will add that both of the old bulbs had an unusual amount of corrosion on the plugs, so I cleaned things up as best I could and hit everything with a good dollop of bulb grease before buttoning up.
Thanks to Eric and everyone else who responded. Sorry to have wasted your time with my little drama… 🙂
[quote=”SpookyMark” post=98074]By the way, props to Wayne and his philosophy of check the simple shit first![/quote]
Glad you worked it out.
[quote=”SpookyMark” post=97196]Thanks, Wayne… good point… I guess I should have mentioned that I recently replaced one of the bulbs… the other one going out I could understand, but I’d be shocked if the one I put in a few months ago had burned out too… like you say, though, no harm in trying… but they’re such a pain in the ass to get to![/quote]
I took a picture yesterday. My car is on jack stands. The passenger side wheel is off. There’s a creeper in the picture and tools are scattered about. What am I doing? Replacing a parking lamp.
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