Headlights inop, HELP

[Valkaru]

My low beams decided to stop working yesterday, and I am now officially stumped:( Both bulbs appear good (amazing coincidence to have both blow at same time), just replaced one of the relays that seemed to be shorted (closed circuit with continuity checker across two legs, partial closed across power legs), no bad fuses in either fuse panel. For those that play with electrons all day long, I compared one HL relay to the other and once noting a difference, compared to the fog light and horn relays. Fog lights work, high beams work, all parking & signal lights work.

 

2001 OBW Limited, 147,000+ miles now, virtually always drive with headlights on and fogs off. Have replaced headlight bulbs a couple of times, but not enough to raise an alarm.

 

Any body have any ideas what else I can check? Please let me know soon, the nights are getting longer and I refuse to blind oncoming traffic because of my incompetence. Thanks in advance:clap:

 

Speed Safely! David

[jamal]

have you tried putting in a new bulb?

[Valkaru]

have you tried putting in a new bulb?

No, but that will be tomorrow if there is not some other obvious thing anyone suggests. Pulling the bulbs out, the filament looks good in each one. I really could jump power to test it, but a bad bulb usualy has a broken or melted filament, ro the glass is fogged, etc... These look like new:-\

[Olnick]

My low beams decided to stop working yesterday, and I am now officially stumped:(

 

Have you inspected the sockets that the bulbs plug into? I had one fry a while back (bulb was fine) and I think the other one is getting a bit flaky now.

[who1981]

Switch some of the relays that will fit in the H/L socket around...worth a try.

[Valkaru]

Switch some of the relays that will fit in the H/L socket around...worth a try.

Moral of the Story: Do not skip steps when troubleshooting

 

One bulb looked okay, did not pull the other. Went and bought two new bulbs at Wally World for a grand total of $9.34, and swapped in the parking lot for success:) The bulb on the right side under the air feed tube was obviously blown, I was just lazy:dead: and did not pull it as I should have when first troubleshooting.

[Rooster2]

In case you don't know, the glass envelope on halogen bulbs should not be handled or touched with skin contact. To do so, leaves a slight oily residue on the glass, and from the heat of the bulb, the oily residue will over heat the bulb filament causing the bulb to burn out rather quickly. I knew a guy who didn't know this, and couldn't figure out why his bulbs burned out in a matter of weeks or months.

 

When I install a new bulb, I wipe it down with rubbing alcohol using a kleenex. I then hold the bulb with a kleenex when installing to prevent touching the glass envelop. Hope this info helps!

[Valkaru]

In case you don't know, the glass envelope on halogen bulbs should not be handled or touched with skin contact. To do so, leaves a slight oily residue on the glass, and from the heat of the bulb, the oily residue will over heat the bulb filament causing the bulb to burn out rather quickly. I knew a guy who didn't know this, and couldn't figure out why his bulbs burned out in a matter of weeks or months.

 

When I install a new bulb, I wipe it down with rubbing alcohol using a kleenex. I then hold the bulb with a kleenex when installing to prevent touching the glass envelop. Hope this info helps!

 

Great info for everyone to remember, not only do I wipe it just before install, but do everything I can to not touch anything but the plug as it comes out of packaging and into the car. I think these bulbs lasted well over 12 months already, had tried Sylvanias last time that survived a few months and choked.

My wife works for a Volvo dealer and their service folks say it is pretty common for both bulbs to blow at nearly the same time. I wonder if one dying causes a spike to nuke the other or something, but at $5 each, I spent more time chasing the error than worrying about EMP in my Subie:-p