Headlight Issue

[Fishboy55]

I've got a problem with my right headlight low beam not lighting. The high beam portion works fine. They're H4 bi-xenon HID's. So far, I've isolated the problem to no 12v at the headlight plug, pin 1. Through troubleshooting, I've eliminated the bulbs (swapped them, no change), the low beam fuses (swapped them, no change) and the low beam relay (left side works fine). If I connect my DMM to the headlight plug low beam and ground, I never see 12v. If I connect it to the high beam terminal, I see 12v when I turn on the high beams. here's not a whole lot else in the circuit, so I'm lost for what could be the problem unless it's the plug itself or the wiring from the downstream side of the fuse to the plug.

Here's my question. Can I run a wire from the low beam terminal on the left plug to the low beam terminal on the right one? That will get me the 12v I need for low beam, but it also runs both headlights off one fuse. Any other risks to doing this that I'm not seeing? Anyone have any other solutions short of removing the fusebox and tracing the harness from one side of the car to the other? I'd rather not do that. (It's cold and I don't have a garage). Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

[badmitsu]

get a new bulb!

Mine has done it and I got a new bulb and it worked!

[kolio]

he said that he swapped bubls from one side to the other. read carefully

if i understood correctly you want to run both headlights from the same fuse? if so i think the wires would fry if they carry all the extra juice for the headlight. other than that i don't what other problem there would be.

[QnzMostWanted]

only way to do that would be to run a new source from the other side and use a relay...

[pinoyesv6]

you could also make a heavy duty wiring harness that utilizes a relay and grabs power from like the battery, and use the one good socket as a trigger for the relay. similar to this

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/hid-harness-single-filament-bi-xenon.gif

here's one for sale on ebay that will utilize both high and low.
click click (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H4-XENON-BULBS-HEAD-LIGHT-WIRING-HARNESS-RELAY-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ015QQitem Z250218666848QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

[Fishboy55]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Allan, There's no way I could build that wiring harness without screwing something up. I'm not sure how the one on ebay would work. It looks like it has male headlamp connectors so I don't know where it would go. I thought I understood electrionics pretty well, but I feel pretty stupid trying to figure this out.

[Reelax]

HID harness... i'm running 2 of them for my headlights (one for low, one for high). basically, it uses one side of your stock wiring to trigger a relay that in turn draws power directly from the battery for both sides of the HID. since only one side of your stock wiring is working properly, u would use that side as the trigger... the draw is so small since the stock wiring will not actually power the lights anymore, power will come directly from the battery via the relay and a new fuse.

[QnzMostWanted]

same as if ur installing aftermarket fogs with the parking light as the trigger, same thing just ur using the working headlight as the trigger

[Fishboy55]

HID harness... i'm running 2 of them for my headlights (one for low, one for high). basically, it uses one side of your stock wiring to trigger a relay that in turn draws power directly from the battery for both sides of the HID. since only one side of your stock wiring is working properly, u would use that side as the trigger... the draw is so small since the stock wiring will not actually power the lights anymore, power will come directly from the battery via the relay and a new fuse.

Thanks Reelax and Denver. That makes sense to me I think. I have bi-xenon bulbs, the low is an HID and the high is xenon so I should only need one harness to trigger high and low, right? Tell me if I've got this. It's been way to many years since Electronics School :lol:

1)Connect both bulbs to the new harness wiring and the ballasts.
2)Connect positive to the battery and ground to the chassis.
3)I should be able to draw current that way and power both sides through the new relays?

If that's correct, I'll buy the harness Allan pointed out on ebay for $29.00. Thanks again guys!

[Reelax]

well H4 is tricky because of the way it operates between hi and low beam... when low is on, hi is off, and when hi is switched on, low swtiches off (they are never both powered at the same time). does your hi/low HID kit work this way or does your HID (low beam) stay on when u activate the hi beams so that they are both on at the same time?

[Fishboy55]

I just verified with the DMM. The low beam goes off and drops 12v when the high beam is activated. Both beams share a common ground in the headlight connector. So I'm going to need to trigger two relays. The stock H4 system uses one relay for high and one for low. Theyre in the fusebox under the hood. That really confuses me about which harness to buy on ebay now. There appears to be several different ones.

[pinoyesv6]

hey chip, the kit like the one i linked should work. it has that male connector to plug into your existing wiring. that will be for the trigger. no splicing required. and then it has the two female connectors to connect to your headlights. it also has two relays, one for high and one for low.

or if you want, i could come over and we can build the harness ourselves. i've made a few for my friends and so far no real complaints. it won't be as pretty as the ebay kits and it might cost a lil more but at least you'll know it will work for your specific application.

[Reelax]

the one on ebay works... now if you want your HID to stay on when you hit the highbeams, you could add a diode between the positive trigger wires (check out my JDM headlight tutorial for specifics on the diode trick). let me know if you need more info.

[Fishboy55]

hey chip, the kit like the one i linked should work. it has that male connector to plug into your existing wiring. that will be for the trigger. no splicing required. and then it has the two female connectors to connect to your headlights. it also has two relays, one for high and one for low.

or if you want, i could come over and we can build the harness ourselves. i've made a few for my friends and so far no real complaints. it won't be as pretty as the ebay kits and it might cost a lil more but at least you'll know it will work for your specific application.
Allan, That's what I wanted to know. I'll pick up the one from Ebay. I truly appreciate your offer to build one, but I know you're busy and if the one form Ebay will work, it's worth the $29. As long as my high beams work, I'm not in any rush.


the one on ebay works... now if you want your HID to stay on when you hit the highbeams, you could add a diode between the positive trigger wires (check out my JDM headlight tutorial for specifics on the diode trick). let me know if you need more info.
Thanks Reelax. The extra confirmation from you and Allan are all I need. I'll pick up the harness and when it comes in from HK, I'll let you guys know the results. The diode trick might be something to try for a spring project. Once again, thanks for the help.

Just an FYI for you newer guys, THIS is exactly what TGC is all about. Granted Pinoy and Reelax and I are all OG's, but this is why Big Rich built TGC way back in the day when we were just a Yahoo forum...to form a like minded community of guys that work together and help each other out when needed. Everyone can learn something from this example.

[mrjaydeeone]

Just an FYI for you newer guys, THIS is exactly what TGC is all about. Granted Pinoy and Reelax and I are all OG's, but this is why Big Rich built TGC way back in the day when we were just a Yahoo forum...to form a like minded community of guys that work together and help each other out when needed. Everyone can learn something from this example.
Well said Chip.

[Reelax]

Just an FYI for you newer guys, THIS is exactly what TGC is all about. Granted Pinoy and Reelax and I are all OG's, but this is why Big Rich built TGC way back in the day when we were just a Yahoo forum...to form a like minded community of guys that work together and help each other out when needed. Everyone can learn something from this example.

wait, what i meant to say was search n00b! :D

god i just got depressed remembering that i was in my twenties when i bought this car! i think i'm past OG at this point; i'm at OF (old fart)!

[Fishboy55]

wait, what i meant to say was search n00b! :D

god i just got depressed remembering that i was in my twenties when i bought this car! i think i'm past OG at this point; i'm at OF (old fart)!

LMAO @ Reelax....You're just a kid...I was in my twenties in the seventies :lol:

[Reelax]

Well said Chip.


LMAO @ Reelax....You're just a kid...I was in my twenties in the seventies :lol:

groovy. i can dig it. haha!

[Fishboy55]

Reelax and Allan: Thank you for your help in resolving my HID problem. Apparently I have an open wire in my main wiring harness, but the replacement HID cable did the trick. I now have two working HID's.

Reelax, as soon as spring comes I'm going to try the diode trick for the HID and Xenon bulbs both to be on for highs. Until then, thanks again to both of you guys for helping me out.

[Reelax]

glad to here it all worked out bro. now that u have a full HID harness, u will only need 1 diode between the trigger wires of the harness. to do the diode trick.