Car headlights.

[Greg Cuetara]

I have an 01 Subaru sedan and one of the headlights has gone out.

The light works with high beams but not on the low beam setting. I thought it was just the bulb but no there is an electrical problem. I put the volt meter onto the plug and get resistance but no volts under low beams but do get 13 volts with the high beams turned on.

Is this something I need to take the car into the shop for or something that i can troubleshoot and fix myself?

I don't really want to spend hundreds to have a tech look at it. I know they want like $50 to change an $8 bulb so I am worried about what it will cost if there is a problem.

Any help or advice about what i can check out or look it would be appreciated.

Greg

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg,

You should have voltage there under low beam. One filament is for low beam...one filament is for high beam.

Since the other light is working correctly, there must be a bad place in the wiring. It's possible, though not very probable, that the problem is with the solenoid/relay that switches between high and low beam but I seriously doubt. I'd trace the wiring back to where the lowbeam wires become common/connect together.

[Greg Cuetara]

Ken,
Thanks...guess I have my weekend project.
Greg

[Randal Stevenson]

Do you see any corrosion where the bulb plugs in? If so, you may have to replace the pigtail.

[Jim O'Dell]

Do I read this right that only one low beam is out? That would be unusual to be in the wiring, but I don't know Subarus at all. Is there a separate fuse for left and right, and for high and low beams? I know some vehicles do. If so, then it could be in the wiring. If only one fuse for low beam, then look at the wiring between the two sides. You could also try swapping the bulbs left to right to verify bulb is good or not. Other question, are you checking for voltage with the bulb in the socket or not? Did you try both legs of the socket? Simple things that I have seen overlooked before. If you're not sure, double check.
Interested to see what you find this weekend! Jim.

[Steve Schlumpf]

The light works with high beams but not on the low beam setting. I thought it was just the bulb but no there is an electrical problem. I put the volt meter onto the plug and get resistance but no volts under low beams but do get 13 volts with the high beams turned on.

Greg - I guess I am not following how you are taking measurements - meaning (to me) you are mixing up volts and resistance readings. If the other headlight works correctly for low & high beams, then you have something to work with. I would suggest disconnecting both headlights and do a volts check on the good connector in both high and low settings. Write down your results and make sure you have a good ground for the common on your meter. Then repeat the same measurements on the light bulb connector that does not work correctly. If you have an electrical problem - it should be obvious at that point.

Also, seeing as how everything under the hood is subject to weather - make sure all connections are clean and fully seated. Sometimes they vibrate loose or become encrusted with salt, corrosion, etc. Usually these things are a simple fix - but you won't know that until after you find the problem! The key to all this is comparing the known working side to the non-working side.

Good luck! Looking forward to finding out what the problem is!

[Greg Cuetara]

Randall, No I do not see any corrosion where the bulb plugs in.

Jim, Yes the low beam only on ONE side is out. The high beams on both sides work fine. That is a good idea to check the fuses and see if that could be the problem. I actually bought a new bulb becuase I thought the old one had died so I checked a new bulb and it still doesn't work. I am checking the voltage with the bulb out.

Steve, I originally checked the resistance to make sure I had a completed circuit. After that I checked the voltage. I checked with no bulb installed but there are two leads from the connector. I turned the car on with the low beams and the second light works fine and there is no voltage coming through the leads in the first light. I tried my voltmeter going in both directions. When I put on the high beams I get 13 volts through the leads. The second light works for both low and high so guess I will start there and follow the wiring back.

Thanks for the advice so far.
Greg