low beam not working

[wallaby]

1982 DL Brat single rectangular headlight

 

a while ago (couple months) my low beam didn't come on when i turned on the lights - just park lights, after a few minutes of messing with switches and driving around the parking lot low beam came on.

high beam still worked fine thought all this

plugged in a different headlight switch - same problem

plugged in a different dipper switch - same problem

 

now the problem is permement (adjusted lights way down and drove home on hi last night)

 

have had this problem with other cars and it was the dipper switch - the one i tried could be bad also?

 

my question is - could there be something else?

where is the headlight relay?

 

thanks

Edited January 6, 2011 by wallaby
spelling

[GLCraig]

Okay I ran into a similar problem recently with my '84. I my case it was a bad connection between the dash wiring harness and the engine bay wiring harness. Now your case maybe different so I'm going to give you a few tips to track your problem down.

 

1. The head light circuit of this vintage Subaru, uses a common +12vdc and a switched ground. This is the opposite of most other cars.

 

2. Since the common is the +12vdc and your high beams work, the headlight relay is not the problem.

 

3. Disconnect all of the headlight when tracking down the problem.

 

4. If you do not already have them, get a test light and a paper clip.

 

5. Okay with the headlight connection, when facing the headlight from the front of your Subaru, the left pin is the common, the middle pin is the low beam, the right pin is the high beam. To confirm this what you want to do is, disconnect the connectors from the headlights. Turn the ignition switch to the on position and turn off the headlight switch. At either headlight connector slip the paper clip into the left socket of the connector. Connect the test light to the paper clip and touch the probe end to a ground. If the test light comes on, you found the +12vdc common. Now turn on the headlight and turn on the high beams. Now probe the right socket of the connector, the test light should come on since we know that the high beams work. Now switch to low beams and probe the middle socket. Your test light should not come on or it may be on very dim compared to the high beam. Leave the headlights on low beam to continue testing.

 

6. Once you know which socket of the headlight connector is for the low beam. Take a look at the wire that it's connected to. Now go and look under your dash, behind the fuse box, you should see where the wires come in from the engine compartment. You should see a wire with the same color combination as your low beam wire. Follow that wire to the group of connectors in that area.

 

7. With your test light still connected to the paper clip and the paper clip pushed in the common socket of the headlight connector; probe the low beam wire on both sides of the connector under the dash. When you probe that wire on the engine compartment side of the connector and the light comes one, you probably have a bad spot in the wire between the headlight connector and the under dash connector. If the test light dose not come on, test on the other side of the connector. If the test light comes on, unplug and inspect the under dash connector. If the test light dose not come on, continue probing that wire up stream until it turns on.

[TomRhere]

I found the issue with mine to be in the connector for the headlight switch itself. One of the terminal ends in it had gotten hot and lost contact with the other side. It had even melted the connector some.

Cut the wires from it and butt-spliced them together. All is good.

[wallaby]

thanks for the detailed info i will try that this weekend

i don't think its the plugs on the actual switches - they looked good when i changed them

bad ground or wire makes sense - intermitent problem....

will post what i find next week

thanks

[Cougar]

Another area to check is the connectors near the firewall. Reconnecting them may help.

[Crazyeights]

I just went through this on my '83 wagon and it was a combination of the connector/headlamp relay (in the dash by the headlamp switch connector near the steering column). I am beginning to wonder how reliable those 20 year old little round style relays are:rolleyes:

 

Hope you get yours fixed.