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How to Fix a Low Beam Head Light

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Here's how to repair a headlight that does not turn on.

Steps

1. Check your fuses. The plastic panel covering the fuses should have a diagram detailing what each fuse covers. If yours is missing, or unlabeled, check your owner's manual, or a Hanes(tm) or Chilton(tm) repair manual. Often if a headlight is not working, it is the result of a blown fuse. Fuses have a wire running through them that will melt when too much current is run through them. If the fuse is blown, the wire will be broken. If the fuse for the headlight you are working on has an intact wire, it is likely the problem lies elsewhere.
2. Swap the headlight for its twin. If your left headlight does not work, put the light from your right headlight in its place. If it works with the other headlight in place, your headlight bulb is dead, and needs to be replaced.
3. If this does not work, try using a voltmeter on the plug for the bad headlight. Turn on the ignition, and turn the headlight switch. If the voltmeter shows no current, then either your switch or the wiring leading to the headlight has gone bad.
4. If replacing your headlight switch does not solve the problem, then there is a break in the wiring leading to the headlight, and the wiring will need to be replaced.

Tips

• Some models are known to have headlight switch failures (Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX, among others). Check to see if there is a website where owners of your model of car can go for help from fellow owners (z31.com, rx7.com, etc). Sometimes they can be an invaluable resource.

Warnings

• Be sure to use a voltmeter to test the current on your headlight switch before replacing it. Some headlight switches can be expensive to replace, and frustrating if it turns out to be a bad wire, and not a bad switch.

Things You'll Need

• Working headlight
• Voltmeter
• Tools to remove headlight (usually a Philips screwdriver, check owner's manual or Haynes(tm) or Chilton(tm) manual for more information on your model)

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Fix a Low Beam Head Light. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.