I was cruising my truck down the road and noticed that my high beam indicator light was very dimly lit. I wondered why this would all of the sudden come on at all if the high beams were not on so I pulled over and took a walk to the front of my truck to check my headlights. Sure enough the passenger light was very dim. (I must assume the high beam indicator light being dimly lit is also an indicator for headlight malfunction/burn out)

I figured out the plug has a keeper piece that is supposed to hold it in the bulb base but it was broken off and missing.



I went to the auto parts store to find some kind of fix. To my surprise they have a replacement plug for my truck. The down side is it costs $95 and it still had to be shipped! I decided I could figure something else out.

After I pulled the four 5.5 milimeter screws out of the headlight housing
I noticed there is enough room on either side of the light contacts to drill a hole thru the plug and the bulb to allow a pin to be placed thru both of them which would keep the plug and bulb socket from coming apart.

These are the pins or keepers I used.



A 1/16" drill bit did the job. I put the new bulb/socket and the plug together and drilled a hole on each side of the plug right thru the socket at the same time far enough back and at a width to avoid the contacts of the bulb socket and plug. (there is a rubber gasket in the plug that should be avoided but if you still knick it as I did you can fill the plug or the socket with dielectric grease that most car parts stores have and it will keep any moisture out but not effect the electrical current, do not use silicone, one day you will have to take it back apart for a bulb replacement or something.)

This is the bulb socket with the holes already drilled and the plug removed.


This is what it looks like with the bulb/socket and the plug together and the keepers in place.




And the back of the composite headlight housing with the assembly installed.


Make sure you install the bulb/socket and plug with keepers on the housing before you bolt the housing to the truck because there is not enough room to get your hands behind the housing to install the keepers with the housing bolted to the truck.

Since I replaced the stock bulb with a Sylvania Silver star I had to replace the driver side too so I did'nt end up with a headlight being brighter or "whiter" than the other. Even though I was incredibly careful I still broke the plug on the driver side too! So now both of my headlights now have this mod on them.
Good luck! Hope this helps someone...

 

Thanks for posting your slick fix Slip. I'm sure someone will find your info helpfull.

Rick...

 

You can buy replacement connectors on Ebay. I bought some for my 05 at the company below, and their only $18 for a set. Ford seems to use a plastic that can't handle the heat. They get very brittle over time and break.

Automotive Electrical Connector Pigtails and More

 

Nice trick,and cheap.Thanks

 

Yeah thought about that but I have to drive to work @ 5am when its dark and also have a long trip this weekend. I needed a quick fix. Plus this only cost about $3 for the clips. By the way, sweet find on that site, gonna book mark that one.

 

I just read your post did this fix solve your problem of your dim headlight and high beam indicator on? if so what was the actual problem?