page title icon Headlights Not Working: Fixed High Beam & Low Beam

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Headlights not working

The technology of headlight is not much complex, but there are many chances that your headlight can stop working suddenly. For the driver, who drives at night, the issue with headlight can cause terrible trouble. If you face the problem suddenly on the road, you need to take a note on that and need to identify the actual reason of headlight failure first.

The method of headlight troubleshooting will depend completely on the specific issue that you are facing. Start by checking that whether one or two headlights are not working or whether the low or the high beam of the headlight has stopped working.

First, determine the exact problem. Are they just dim or not working at all, hard to see with at night, have water inside and so on.  If they stop working completely, either you have a burned-out bulb or a serious electrical problem. An electrical problem can be quite expensive and very much labor-intensive to fix out, but this problem occurs very rarely actually. So, start it by looking at the bulb.

You can also unscrew out bulb at the back of the lens of the headlight on the latest models of the cars. After removing the bulb, inspect it properly. Does it burn out? Is it melted, black, or discolored? If so, you need to replace it with a new one.

You can buy the replacement bulbs from your local automotive store.  Insert this new bulb or the bulbs and make sure that you are not touching the glass part of the bulb with your bare fingers.

 The grease that emits on our bare fingers can cause the bulb to wear faster or can even blow. After installing the bulb, you need to try the lights. If it still doesn’t light you have an electrical problem or any other serious issue.  This should be referred to your local mechanic.

If only the High beam or low beams headlight doesn’t work, there may be a problem with the bulb. The reason can be a burned-out bulb, or there may be issues with the relay or switch of the high beam.

In most of the cases where whether the low or high beam stops working, there may be some faults in the bulb or the control switch of the high beam or relay. In such cases, you need to replace the switch, the relay or the bulb itself.

If you find that there is only one headlight, which is not working properly, there can be the reason that the associated components or the wires are not working properly. This is a very common issue with the HID headlights.

If both of the headlights are not working, there must be some issue with the ground, power or just burned out old bulbs. Two bulbs usually don’t burn out at a time together. But as per rule, you need to check it first. Check the ground and power system and fix it if you find any problem or otherwise you need to replace the bulb. There can be a wiring problem.

Headlights can stop working if there is water in your lens due to some crack, leak or if there is any hole in your car’s lens. You can remove the lens with a new plastic lens and drill a small hole carefully into the bottom part of the lens.

automobile headlight lamps

Do it carefully and don’t hit the bulb. Just let the water run out and patch properly with silicone. Find the source of the water. You can also reseal the car lens with high-quality silicone, around the lens. If the problem still exists, this is better to replace the lens.

Related Articles: Read more to learn about high beams and low beams and when to use your headlights.

High Beam Headlight Not Working

Blown Bulb

This is the most common issue to rectify.

The Blown Fuse Of The High Beam Headlight

Fuse usually protects wiring of the light from any kind of damage, an extreme level of current can run through the circuit of the high beam. A short circuit can be the reason for a blown a fuse.

Problem With The Relay

Not the switch directly controls the bulbs of your headlight, but the relays do that. The switch of the headlight can power up the relay and that power up the headlight. This protects the car’s headlights it can protect the high current of the high beam.

HID Generator Failing

This is very common with the HID or the Xenon headlights.

Other reasons are like wrong headlight bulbs, the problem with the headlight switch, and more.

Low Beam Headlight Not Working

There can be reasons like faulty fuses, bulbs, relay near the battery, a connector that connects to the holder of the headlight bulb, etc. If the low beam headlights not proper current it can stop working. Sometimes batteries go wrong if you keep a vehicle stand for a long time so that the energy system gets sustainable. If you want to learn more about how headlights don’t last, and a car is not driven.

How To Solve The Issue:

You will usually have two solutions to these problems; one can you can call up the mechanic or can do it yourself. Fixing the wire problems or burned bulb is quite easy and can be done without any professional support. But there are few serious issues where you need to call up the mechanic as the issues can be resolved only with some major tools and the important equipment. If you have one headlight is working condition but the other stops working, the problem can be the burned bulbs. You need to replace the bulb of the headlight as you want to resolve the issue.

The best way to check that the capsule of your HID headlight is a bad condition; you need to remove first the bulbs carefully. Replace the bulb, which is in working condition with another one that is not working. If even the good bulb of the headlight fails to work or turn on, then there is a serious issue with the socket and should be resolved with a professional mechanic. If both headlights stop working, maybe the problem is in the wires, fuse or socket but not in the bulbs.

These are just the simple and most important steps that one can follow to know the issue with headlights and the right way to resolve it.

Relevant Resources:

  1. Halogen To LED conversion
  2. Need Advice On Halogen Headlight Installation?
  3. How Can We Avoid Problems Of High Beam While Driving?