unclematt

Hey All,
I turned on my headlights yesterday morning, and one of the low beam (right outer) headlights was not showing up on the front of my garage. I got to work and took the bulb out and the filament was burned through. I bought a new H1 bulb and put it in, but the bulb is only putting out a few watts, not 55 watts like its supposed to. Replaced the bulb with another one, and same thing going on. Checked the voltage to the bulb pigtail and it was at 12.28 volts on my voltmeter. Checked all relays and fuses, and all good. And when I turn on my high beams, both bulbs on the right go out. On low beams just the inboard light is lit on the right side. All the lights on the driver's side are working perfectly, and nice and bright.

It seems to me like the headlight switch must have gone out. Also, when your low beams are on are both the inner and outer bulbs on each side supposed to be on?

Let me know if you have experienced this or have any constructive thoughts for resolution.

Thanks!

theotherchris

Verify your ground path. If your getting 12 volts power supply, and you've tried different bulbs, the ground is the next thing to check

There is also the possibility that there are a few broken wires in the power supply circuit. Just because your getting 12 volts, doesn't mean that it's carrying the amperage needed to operate the bulb.

unclematt

I agree! I was thinking perhaps corrosion in the headlight switch might be responsible, but tomorrow I will check out the ground situation as well. The fact that both passenger side bulbs go out when the brights are on also make me think it must be the switch.

unclematt

A friend with an RSX let me try their light/turn signal switch, and still had the same problem. I'm a little stumped here, I will probably teat into things further this weekend. Anyone got any ideas?

unclematt

Oh brother, is my face red. IT WAS A FUSE! I didn't check the fuse because the headlight was still coming on, though very dim. What I didn't realize was that enough juice was coming through the circuit from the other headlight to light up the bulb filament. I didn't realize that could happen. I hope someone else is able to learn from my ignorance here.