So when one head light is dimmer then the other [Archive]

McWatters

04-23-2006, 08:12 AM

WHen one headlight is dimmer then the other does this mean i need a new bulb or that a connection is loose???

any help would be great

cheers

J.McWatters

DaveVoorhis

04-23-2006, 08:27 AM

WHen one headlight is dimmer then the other does this mean i need a new bulb or that a connection is loose???

Yes. Could be dust on the reflector, too.

SchnellE34

04-23-2006, 08:45 AM

Are you sure the 'dimmer' light is pointed up and hasen't fallen down? Pull your car close up to a wall to make sure. Otherwise I would suggest flip flopping the bulbs. Put the left bulb in the right harness and the right bulb in the left harness. If the wiring is bad the problem light will not move, if the bulb is bad the problem light will move.

Jon K

04-23-2006, 09:00 AM

Are you sure the 'dimmer' light is pointed up and hasen't fallen down? Pull your car close up to a wall to make sure. Otherwise I would suggest flip flopping the bulbs. Put the left bulb in the right harness and the right bulb in the left harness. If the wiring is bad the problem light will not move, if the bulb is bad the problem light will move.

Also - i have had this issue with my city lights... pull the bulb and look at the glass, see if you can see whether or not the bulb is burnt out (broken filament) but is arcing. I have had bulbs burn out (which shouldn't turn on) but the filaments fall in such a way that they still light but not as bright (since it is not correct).

GS535i

04-23-2006, 11:20 AM

Switching the bulbs side to side is a good approach - if a problem shows that is not the bulb, grab the multimeter and determine ohms resistance on each sockets ground wire. It should indicate <1 ohm. If the grounds are good, flip to voltage and measure both high & low beam sockets of each side. With the engine running, ~+14v is expected ( ~ 12.3v off battery only).

McWatters

04-23-2006, 12:29 PM

thanks for the tips ill get on that during this week. Just for knowledge how durable are these bulbs do i have to be super careful when im pulling them oout?? or what

cheers

J.McWatters

SchnellE34

04-23-2006, 01:00 PM

thanks for the tips ill get on that during this week. Just for knowledge how durable are these bulbs do i have to be super careful when im pulling them oout?? or what

cheers

J.McWatters

Basically, yes. Make sure the glass of the bulb doesn't touch anything during removal or installation.