Lighting Issue
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Lighting Issue
so i am having a lighting issue in my ex with my passenger side headlight. when i first purchased the vehicle last august the headlight burnt out. i replaced it no big deal. it worked just fine for about 6 months and i have now replaced the bulb 3 times since. the last two times the bulb worked for about 20 minutes then went very dull. Now nothing. when i pulled this last bulb out saw a charged/burnt look to the vehicle side of the plug. Anyone know what is going on and how i can fix it?
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2007
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Just guessing, the truck side lamp contacts were loose, or had corrosion on them. That created a point of higher resistance, and effectively became another resistor in that lamp circuit. Lights would be turned on, the connection would heat up, and eventually fail.
Another possibility is a compromised ground path. You need to test the circuit to eliminate the possibility of a wiring issue. Probing with a test light may be enough to tell. You can replace the truck side connector, or clean it if there's no sign of physical damage. Once it's all cleaned up, a tiny bit of dialectic grease can help prevent future corrosion on the contacts.
Another possibility is a compromised ground path. You need to test the circuit to eliminate the possibility of a wiring issue. Probing with a test light may be enough to tell. You can replace the truck side connector, or clean it if there's no sign of physical damage. Once it's all cleaned up, a tiny bit of dialectic grease can help prevent future corrosion on the contacts.
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after a nice long day at work i did a little more investigating, and turns out that the bulb isn't actually blown out it just has a very very dim glow. just enough to light up the reflector. would this be the same problem?
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Yes. You wouldn't expect the bulbs to be blown. The contacts are so compromised that they only allow a very small amount of current to pass, and the high resistance kills the voltage available to the lamp. Clean up the truck side contacts, and see if they are physically melted, or damaged. If so, replacing that connector is simple. Just go one wire at a time to ensure nothing gets mixed up.
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77f2504by4
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
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Sep 8, 2008 05:43 AM
