first time, long time.

my sister has a stock '98 lx, 4dr, auto. she was helping a friend whose car battery died by trying to jump start it after work this past week in the middle of the night. but the buffoon (not me) who she let connect the cables to her battery claimed he couldn't see which was positive/negative and crossed the polarity and fried something.

the headlights don't work now; all of the other lights work - parking/turn signals, brake/tail lights, interior lights, dash lights, etc. - but the headlights. per previous threads, i've checked the 10a fuses for r/l high/low beam under the dash and the 30a fuse under the hood for the lights and all are ok, but i put new ones in anyway. and the bulbs are fine, too. i'm not sure what else to check. i was thinking it could be a grounding issue, but if that's the case wouldn't it be a gradual degradation, rather than it works one second then it doesn't?

please advise.

Thanks

-Mike

 

bump

 

check bulbs?

oops nvm. double check all fuse

 

Check to make sure yer getting voltage at the fuses and then check to make sure yer getting voltage at the bulb...

 

I agree. Start with 30A hood fuse 48. Check for voltage at both test tabs of the installed fuse. Click the Test Fuses link in my signature.

 

Thanks for the help, everyone. I doubled checked all the fuses and checked the bulbs again just for the hell of it and replaced them. Now the headlights work, both high/low beam, but the lights keep burning out. I've replaced the headlights bulbs 2x already since yesterday morning. The bulbs will work fine for awhile, but then out of nowhere they'll short and burn out. Now what?

-Mike

 

Have the alternator tested. It may be overcharging the system.