headlight dimming

[1987AccordLx-i]

ok guys.. im really stunned on whats going on here... first off.. when i got my 87 the left headlight was always kinda dim and the highbeam just dimmed to where i can barely see it.. someone told me that i have to find the ground for it... but idk where its at... then yesterday.. my right one dimms to where i can barely see the light on... but get this.. the highbeam works.. and on the left side.. the high beam dims out... wtf is going on???:sadwave:

[nswst8]

Checks your grounds. Find your wiring harness and start tracking your wiring.

Check your body grounds and if you don't know where they are, then its time you start looking at your wiring.

If you don't have a general understanding of your wiring locations then you need to start looking at everything.

[1987AccordLx-i]

Checks your grounds. Find your wiring harness and start tracking your wiring.

Check your body grounds and if you don't know where they are, then its time you start looking at your wiring.

If you don't have a general understanding of your wiring locations then you need to start looking at everything.

so pretty much i have to tear apart the whole front end?.. the left side headlight looks as tho it goes into the fender.. am i rite? and the right side looks like it goes into the distribution box.. correct me if im wrong bro:toilet:

[nswst8]

Can you ohm a wire? Find the beginning and the end Ohm it and go to the next one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpq9Tk19DNo

Check your grounds, add a couple of your own.

[Oldblueaccord]

Pull the plugs off each headlight and check for corrosion. The headlights housings themselves have no ground that I know of. I would also verify that your battery and altenator is putting out the correct voltage,14 volts or more, at idle.

Also the switch on the steering column can go bad with age. It will get hot and start to smoke it left on long enough.

wp

[1987AccordLx-i]

Pull the plugs off each headlight and check for corrosion. The headlights housings themselves have no ground that I know of. I would also verify that your battery and altenator is putting out the correct voltage,14 volts or more, at idle.

Also the switch on the steering column can go bad with age. It will get hot and start to smoke it left on long enough.

wp

i know the alt is bad and the battery but its wierd.. the left light puts out sorta dim light.. and when i hit the highbeam it wont go higher.. it just dims to a barely noticable shine.. and the right side is dim to where i cant see it but then the highbeam is brighter then the sun lol... this is really confusing

[1987AccordLx-i]

bump

[nswst8]

Jump the lights with 12v directly. This will tell you if your lights are in need of changing.

But if you know the alt is bad and the battery as well, then replace these defective items before you start asking what is happening.

[1987AccordLx-i]

Jump the lights with 12v directly. This will tell you if your lights are in need of changing.

But if you know the alt is bad and the battery as well, then replace these defective items before you start asking what is happening.

yeah.. right ones bad.. i changed the headlight already


but the left one still throws a weak beam.. and when i hit the highs.. it wont go on at all.. right sides fine.. both high/low work perfectly but not the left side..

sorry if its big.. but heres the pic with the left one dimming.. any advice?
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p262/TOKYOBEAR8990/Bluelights.jpg

[ghettogeddy]

left is furthest away from the battery
i would suggest changing your alt and battery that might fix your prob
whats happening i can i can tell you this just did it ot me as well


i have autopal h4's with oshram silverstars


and in my 88 i had the upgrade wire harness well i decided i wasent gona user that this time and the 87 and pluged them in well my pass side lite up fine but the drivers side was duller then a old penny it being the furthest form the power
the pass side was sucking up all the juice lol


so i put my harness on and it worked fine


now i see you have upgraded your lighting in other places are the new headlights by chance h4's if so you have to get a lower wattage or an upgrade harness

[1987AccordLx-i]

left is furthest away from the battery
i would suggest changing your alt and battery that might fix your prob
whats happening i can i can tell you this just did it ot me as well


i have autopal h4's with oshram silverstars


and in my 88 i had the upgrade wire harness well i decided i wasent gona user that this time and the 87 and pluged them in well my pass side lite up fine but the drivers side was duller then a old penny it being the furthest form the power
the pass side was sucking up all the juice lol


so i put my harness on and it worked fine


now i see you have upgraded your lighting in other places are the new headlights by chance h4's if so you have to get a lower wattage or an upgrade harness

well its just a basic bulb right now...

if i have to change the harness.. is it hard?

the fogs are wired differently from the heads.. no contact whatsoever

[A18A]

should just add relays to the already existing harness and fat wires straight form the battery through the relays to the lights hahahaha

[nswst8]

Did you try swapping the lights?

Remember that increased resistance = less voltage at the light. This could be the result of corrosion, frayed wire, contact issue or even a bad fuse.

[ghettogeddy]

well its just a basic bulb right now...

if i have to change the harness.. is it hard?

the fogs are wired differently from the heads.. no contact whatsoever

i mean are they the stock seald beem bulbs or did you change the houseings to h4's with h4 bulbs

[1987AccordLx-i]

Did you try swapping the lights?

Remember that increased resistance = less voltage at the light. This could be the result of corrosion, frayed wire, contact issue or even a bad fuse.

wheres the fuses?


i mean are they the stock seald beem bulbs or did you change the houseings to h4's with h4 bulbs

there stock sealed beams

[nswst8]

Black box towards the front on the passenger side. And just above your left knee while you are sitting the car.

[russiankid]

Get a wire brush, clean the connectors, and put some di-electrical grease on them. See if that helps. If not, try swapping the lights around, see if the problem still exists.

[ghettogeddy]

well you know your alt is bad and the battery i say replace those and see if it still dims

it could totally cause this prob

[nswst8]

Where did you tap the power source for fogs? Possible that you tap down line pulling juice from headlights.

But you still need to replace the alt & battery.

[1987AccordLx-i]

Black box towards the front on the passenger side. And just above your left knee while you are sitting the car.

under the hood or in the cab?

[1987AccordLx-i]

Where did you tap the power source for fogs? Possible that you tap down line pulling juice from headlights.

But you still need to replace the alt & battery.

i tapped into the positive post on the battery..

[1987AccordLx-i]

OK GUYS NEW IDEA..



ive seen guys that have the turn signals that flash fast... how does this happen?? i really wanna know

[nswst8]

under the hood or in the cab?


Both, You have two fuse boxes.

[1987AccordLx-i]

Both, You have two fuse boxes.

under the hood.. ive only seen the ones for the retractor motor.. both are fine.. other then that i cant find any other.. unless its one of the main looking ones

[Blkblurr]

I didn't read all the posts but it seams to me you have wires breaking due to opening and closing the headlights. One of the lights is the common or ground wire going to the headlight and the other is the positive wire that goes to the low beams

[1987AccordLx-i]

I didn't read all the posts but it seams to me you have wires breaking due to opening and closing the headlights. One of the lights is the common or ground wire going to the headlight and the other is the positive wire that goes to the low beams

so what should i look for... i have the bumper off and the left fender off as well.. now would be a good time to give advice while i have everything torn apart haha.. so which light should i look at for the ground?

[1987AccordLx-i]

FOUND OUT THE PROBLEM


turns out the headlight that was dimming had a ground wire completely severed.. so nothing was grounding it.. now i fixed it.. simple little connection and my car is brighter then ever....

i thank each and every one of you that took the time to help me find this problem.. and in return ill help anyone out with a problem or anything thats wrong with their 3gee..

THANKS AGAIN GUYS!! :thumbup:

[nswst8]

Good to hear.

[BrokenBone]

OK GUYS NEW IDEA..



ive seen guys that have the turn signals that flash fast... how does this happen?? i really wanna know

it happens when one of the turn signal lights are out on whichever side to let you know a bulb needs to be changed.

i am having problems with my driver side head light as well. this thread seemed to be the most helpful. the driver side always stays dim and when i turn on the hi beams the left side turns off and the right goes to hi. the right side is fine. do you think this could be a ground problem? do i have to remove my bumper and fender to fix this? its seems more like a power problem to me, the right headlight sucks all the power so the left get little to no power. possible my alternator?

[ghettogeddy]

it happens when one of the turn signal lights are out on whichever side to let you know a bulb needs to be changed.

i am having problems with my driver side head light as well. this thread seemed to be the most helpful. the driver side always stays dim and when i turn on the hi beams the left side turns off and the right goes to hi. the right side is fine. do you think this could be a ground problem? do i have to remove my bumper and fender to fix this? its seems more like a power problem to me, the right headlight sucks all the power so the left get little to no power. possible my alternator?

3yr old thread... you can also get the fast blink form putting led bulbs in

[BrokenBone]

3yr old thread... you can also get the fast blink form putting led bulbs in
Yea i know, i figured some people from this old thread are still regulars here and might be able to help.

[TotaledTL]

it happens when one of the turn signal lights are out on whichever side to let you know a bulb needs to be changed.

i am having problems with my driver side head light as well. this thread seemed to be the most helpful. the driver side always stays dim and when i turn on the hi beams the left side turns off and the right goes to hi. the right side is fine. do you think this could be a ground problem? do i have to remove my bumper and fender to fix this? its seems more like a power problem to me, the right headlight sucks all the power so the left get little to no power. possible my alternator?

The high beam filament is open on the driver's side & the low beam filament is probably about to fail as well. You could verify the open filament w/ a meter, or you may be able to see that it's open if you look closely. Replace the headlight & rechk. I think it's a 6054.

[BrokenBone]

The high beam filament is open on the driver's side & the low beam filament is probably about to fail as well. You could verify the open filament w/ a meter, or you may be able to see that it's open if you look closely. Replace the headlight & rechk. I think it's a 6054.

The headlights appear brand new. No rust, or corrosion on the headlights where it connects to the wire.

[BrokenBone]

I located the three wires that connect to the headlight, I'm assuming the black wire is the ground wire. If I were to cut the black wire and solder a new wire to the cut end of the black wire and ground it to the engine would that fix my problem if it was a ground wire issue?

[TotaledTL]

Why don't you try what I suggested before you start cutting wires? Headlights aren't that expensive. Or just swap driver's side w/ pass. side to verify.