Low beam headlights cut off

[Fractal]

I've been having problem for a while. Occasionally my low beams will go out. Driving, hit a small bump (crappy concrete roads), they will turn completely off. All the other lights work, signal, fog. I thought this would go away when I'd installed HID's. Now I'm still getting the same problem. For months there would be no problem, but it happened 3 times recently. Could it be a bad fuse? If the fuse blows then the low beams won't work at all. My low beams always turn on the next day. Could it be a relay in the fuse box. I hope it's not a headlight switch problem.

Has anyone else had this problem?


Thanks

[devgrp]

Check for a loose connection or a short

[thebirdman13]

i would check the wiring harness... sometimes the connectors inside corrode...

[pinoyesv6]

i'd shoot for a loose connection or the contacts on the socket are corroded.

[cdipier2]

i'd shoot for a loose connection or the contacts on the socket are corroded.

does that happen with the fog lights too? cause my right one stopped working and changing the bulb didnt work

[Fractal]

High beams and fog lights do work. The passenger socket was partially melted, I'd removed it and put electrical tape over each wire. The HID's are connected directly to the battery, and the driver side socket only sends the signal to turn on the HID's. The socket seemed ok when I'd installed the HID's. Had this problem before I'd installed the HID's and now with them. Weird problem.

Looking in the fuse box, are those headlight relays by the 10A fuses? The large 12v blocks? Would those be affecting the lights? The owners manual don't list them, but the fuse box do indicate that they are for the headlights.

Never had any fuses changed, or blown that I'd know of, and it's a '99. Love the car, but can't be driving with high beam HID's on blinding people. Hope it's a simple fix.

[pinoyesv6]

i still think its a connection problem.

i'd first double check the connections for the relays. more importantly, make sure you have good grounds. if you have a poor ground on the relay it won't work all the time

[TederickR]

Could it possibly be a dimmer switch?

[pinoyesv6]

Could it possibly be a dimmer switch?

explain your reasoning behind the dimmer switch?? the interior lights come on with the parking lights and not the headlights so how could the dimmer switch be the problem??

[TederickR]

Well, I don't know for certain, But I had this issue with another car of mine in the past. Now, I am not certain if the galant has a dimmer switch, but I am assuming that it does. But again, I could be wrong and will admit if I made a mistake, and thats ok. Something new to learn, But I was reading an electical website, and found this story.

Main Lighting Switch

The main lighting switch (sometimes called the headlight switch) is the heart of the lighting system. It controls the headlights, parking lights, side marker lights, taillights, license plate light, instrument panel lights, and interior lights. Individual switches are provided for special purpose lights such as directional signals, hazard warning flashers, back up lights, and courtesy lights. The main lighting switch may be of either the "push-pull" or "push-pull with rotary contact" types. A typical switch will have three positions: off, parking, and headlamps. Some switches also contain a rheostat to control the brightness of the instrument panel lights. The rheostat is operated by rotating the control knob, separating it from the push-pull action of the main lighting switch.

When the main lighting switch completes the circuit to the headlamps, the low beam lights the way for city driving and for use when meeting oncoming traffic on the highway. When the dimmer switch is actuated, the single filament headlamps go "on," along with the high beam of the two filament headlamps. The next actuation of the dimmer switch returns the head light system to low beams only on the two filament lamps.

But my thought was, just a relay, it can get hot or just go out. And with my experience of having a dimmer switch replaced, that what was what fixed my problems. :)

[Fractal]

Thanks for the reply. This problem is random. One night I can drive for 40 mins without a problem. Another night i'll be driving for 20 mins, and the lights will go out. I know that my grounds are good. I will recheck all the connections again. I've noticed that one of the 12v block in the fuse compartment was loose, i'd pushed it back down. I hope that was the problem, or i'll need to get a new hi/low harness.

[TederickR]

Thanks for the reply. This problem is random. One night I can drive for 40 mins without a problem. Another night i'll be driving for 20 mins, and the lights will go out. I know that my grounds are good. I will recheck all the connections again. I've noticed that one of the 12v block in the fuse compartment was loose, i'd pushed it back down. I hope that was the problem, or i'll need to get a new hi/low harness.

Ok. Let me know how it turns out. Hope that will cure it.