High beam yes, low beam no....my lighting is possessed... (1 Viewer)

[bosljeff]

Sounds legit. Just running thin on proper tools (voltmeter etc). Would 2 new cheopo sealed beams be worth a purchase to eliminate that potential issue?

 

[Slow Left]

When you have your high beams on (either flash or locked), do you see the blue light on the dash light up indicating that the high beams are on?

From post #1 of that thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/headlight-troubleshooting-thread.423985/

"There is one exception. If neither Lo beam headlight works, AND your high beam indicator light in the dash does not work when you turn on your Hi beam headlights, then the culprit is most likely both low beam headlights are burned out. This can happen if you frequently drive with your Lo beam headlights on during the day for visibility. Both may burn out without you realizing it.

If the high beam indicator in the dash comes on when your HI/LO switch is in the low position, AND your low beam headlights are not on, then you have a dirty or faulty combination switch."

 

[bosljeff]

Oh. And as I'm reading stuff...even though all hi beams functions work, my hi beam indicator light isn't lighting up...relevant I think...

 

[bosljeff]

We were typing at the same time...

 

[bosljeff]

When you have your high beams on (either flash or locked), do you see the blue light on the dash light up indicating that the high beams are on?

No

 

[Slow Left]

No

OK, then according to the information on that thread, could be that both low beam bulbs burned out.

If you have a way to test for 12V at each of the two low beam bulbs, then you could rule out the switch as a problem, and with a high degree of confidence, place the blame on the light bulbs themselves.

To test for 12V at the bulbs, you're gonna need a multimeter. With the light switch turned on (so twist the switch for the low beams on), if you disconnect the connection at the bulb, you should see 12V+ at the pin that delivers current to the low beam bulb.
If it shows 12V+, the switch is good and the bulb is bad.
If it does not show 12V+, the switch is bad (or something between the switch and the connector is bad) and the bulb might still be good.

 

[bosljeff]

Gotcha. I'll track down a multimeter or hope on faith it's as simple as new sealed beams. Whichever I have the patience for. For today, I'll put it all back together.

To be continued. Thanks Slow Left!

 

[Slow Left]

Would 2 new cheopo sealed beams be worth a purchase to eliminate that potential issue?

It depends if you have more money or more time at your disposal.

slcFJ62 (the author that the thread I am referencing) knows his stuff. I would expect that if your system is behaving as he describes, then most likely that is the problem and replacing the bulbs will solve the problem.

You've already gotten the high beams to work again by cleaning the contacts. And the fact that the low beams still don't work after cleaning and the high beam indicator isn't coming on when it should, points to the problem being burned out low beam bulbs (according to slcFJ62's research).

Getting a multimeter to confirm 12V+ at the bulbs with the low beam switched on will only add an additional, small amount of confidence that it is the low beam bulbs...you might be better off just taking the risk and buying new bulbs...but again it comes down to the time/money tradeoff.

Post up either way after the next step.

Cheers!

 

[Slow Left]

FWIW, if you do a search, there should be some recommendations for better (higher lumen) bulbs. I got some Sylvania Silver Star bulbs and saw an improvement, but others might have other recommendations. You don't necessarily need anything fancy like and LED upgrade, just some 'newer' incandescent technology is improvement over the original...

 

[Output Shaft]

What are the odds both low elements blew at the same time?

Not as unlikely as you might think. Both of my lows, a few years ago burned out at the same time too. Don't know exactly when it happened, but one evening I flipped them on... And no lows. Both bulbs' Lo filament burned out. Highs were fine. Weird.

 

[bosljeff]

Great. That's what I was thinking too.

Thanks.

It depends if you have more money or more time at your disposal.

slcFJ62 (the author that the thread I am referencing) knows his stuff. I would expect that if your system is behaving as he describes, then most likely that is the problem and replacing the bulbs will solve the problem.

You've already gotten the high beams to work again by cleaning the contacts. And the fact that the low beams still don't work after cleaning and the high beam indicator isn't coming on when it should, points to the problem being burned out low beam bulbs (according to slcFJ62's research).

Getting a multimeter to confirm 12V+ at the bulbs with the low beam switched on will only add an additional, small amount of confidence that it is the low beam bulbs...you might be better off just taking the risk and buying new bulbs...but again it comes down to the time/money tradeoff.

Post up either way after the next step.

Cheers!