Headlight Help Please

[OZCAL]

Help!

Both of my low beams on the LC went out over a 48 hour period, but will turn on when the high beams are engaged. When the first low beam went out, and high beams were engaged, the blue high beam indicator lit up. Now that both low beams are out, the blue high beam indicator does not light up. But all four lights are on when the high beams are engaged.

I searched and found nothing on point.

Haven't had a headlight go out in 18 months/15,000 kms of driving, now two in 48 hours .

Does anybody have any tips I can try before I take it to the dealer?

Thanks,

David

 

[sixsracing]

If you have a test light or a multimeter you can test the grounds at the headlights themselves. Check the FSM for headlight relays. I am not familiar with this specific application so am not sure if there are seperate relays for high and low beams. All this should be checked before you dive into the column to check the switch. Good luck.

 

[rgsiii]

I had some pretty whacky stuff happen with my lights and it turned out to be a grounding problem.

 

[ogsuv]

I would also check voltage at the battery while the truck is running to verify you're in the 14voltish range and not higher, indicating a charging issue.

 

[OZCAL]

Thanks everybody. I'll pick up a multimeter today. (Actually I'll see which one the mechanic uses and get one like his.) I should have mentioned that unless someone tells me to "hit it with a rubber mallet", I'm straying out of my skill/tools range... ;p

Thanks again,

David

 

[OZCAL]

Resolution

I checked all my fuses and looked at the relay (wouldn't know if it was bad from looking at it, I guess, but I looked anyway) and everything was fine.

I replaced two bulbs and they didn't pop or blow a fuse, and both worked. And the blue high beam indicator behind the steering column lit up. Turns out the blue high beam indicator is on a circuit that is cut when both low beams are out.

An auto electrical specialist looked everything over and found no faults, reckons that two bulbs blowing the same week is odd but a coincidence, unless it happens again.

The headlight bulb/lamp/plug interface is different on the '97 OZ LC than on the '97 US LX. Instead of a bulb that you twist to remove from the back of the lamp, there is a lockring that holds the bulb in the back of the lamp.

I scared the tar out of myself when I turned the truck on and heard a horrible scraping thump-thump-thump from the engine compartment. I shut down quickly, opened the hood, took the overflow bottle off the fan and put it back behind the right front headlight!

David

PS - Thanks for the tips and support. Glad I didn't have to dig deeper. It;s raining and expected to be so for a while.

 

[sixsracing]

OZCAL, I had a client in Mass. when I was living down there that had connections to organized crime. He had a myriad of fine vehicles and I was performing a head gasket replacement and some performance head work on his mint BMW 535i. I got the car all buttoned up and tried to start it for the first time, turn the key and hear a HUGE clank! Out to the front of the car I go to find my breaker bar still on the front crank bolt, had it there to turn the motor over while doing final check and never took it off. It didn't do any damage but I had to go in and change my jeans.