Dipped headlight problems

[jaxabin]

Hi

So my right (driver side) dipped stopped working, I think the parking lights don't work either on the right side (driver side) but the high beams too so not sure what the issue is.

I bought new bulbs, but they seem like a pain to replace so is there anything else I should do first before replacing the bulbs? I don't want to replace bulbs and still not have them working

[Lord Voltermore]

I'd check in the drivers handbook to see how the fuses are  grouped.   In the past some cars  put all the lights on one side of the car through one fuse and the other side through another.  If the fuse blew you would lose all the lights on that side. They tend to spread them around  nowadays so you dont lose all lights, but its worth checking.             Could also be  a connector block has come loose,   or a bad earth to the lamp unit.

Rather than opening the packaging and fitting a new bulb  that may not be to blame    you could physically  check the existing bulbs first.   You can normally see if the tungsten filament is intact or broken.
  Or check it with a multimeter to see if there is continuity between the bulb terminals.  You can do the same with a fuse.  If in doubt its worth double checking with a multimeter anyway as sometimes they look ok but have actually blown.      Its worth buying a multimeter, from about £8. They have many uses in the car and home.    (A useful xmas gift maybe)   
They can test whether you have a good earth to the lamp, and whether a wire ,fitting or switch  has voltage or not.      Mine has more than paid for itself  just checking whether aa and aaa  batteries are flat or still serviceable,.

[jaxabin]

I'd check in the drivers handbook to see how the fuses are  grouped.   In the past some cars  put all the lights on one side of the car through one fuse and the other side through another.  If the fuse blew you would lose all the lights on that side. They tend to spread them around  nowadays so you dont lose all lights, but its worth checking.             Could also be  a connector block has come loose,   or a bad earth to the lamp unit.

Rather than opening the packaging and fitting a new bulb  that may not be to blame    you could physically  check the existing bulbs first.   You can normally see if the tungsten filament is intact or broken.
  Or check it with a multimeter to see if there is continuity between the bulb terminals.  You can do the same with a fuse.  If in doubt its worth double checking with a multimeter anyway as sometimes they look ok but have actually blown.      Its worth buying a multimeter, from about £8. They have many uses in the car and home.    (A useful xmas gift maybe)   
They can test whether you have a good earth to the lamp, and whether a wire ,fitting or switch  has voltage or not.      Mine has more than paid for itself  just checking whether aa and aaa  batteries are flat or still serviceable,.

thanks I'll try that out. I checked the indicators and they seemed to work, so its just the parking light and dipped lights. Can I swap the left and right fuses? I think according to this video it's only the dipped headlights for each side that are fused, not sure if that counts the parking lights too?

[jaxabin]

I've just gone and switched the fuses around, the same lights still dont work so I think it wasn't the fuses. My headlights are a little cloudy so I can't really see if the bulbs are broken, I'm just thinking that there's no way both the parking light and dipped light fail at the same time while the full beam still works right?

[c.lday44]

Hi

So my right (driver side) dipped stopped working, I think the parking lights don't work either on the right side (driver side) but the high beams too so not sure what the issue is.

I bought new bulbs, but they seem like a pain to replace so is there anything else I should do first before replacing the bulbs? I don't want to replace bulbs and still not have them working

It's a slight pain compared to some other cars but realistically 5-10 minutes and a couple of basic tools will have all the bulbs accessable. Undo and dislodge the front bumper (clips along front of engine bay and 2 screws in the wheel arch), then 3 bolts and a screw holding each headlight in. Slide it out, pull the bulb out and have a look.

[DJTHP]

Parking lights are accessible through wheel arch on the front . Could be the connector or earth wire if not bulb . Main headlights not really accessible unless you take it off the car . I had a similar problem headlight was dim and full beam wouldn't work . Found out when I change bulb through wheel arch I'd bent a bulb pin . Had to take the whole head light out to discover that one .

[Lord Voltermore]

I dont think you can now avoid doing most of the work  necessary to replace the bulbs.     Have the replacment bulbs available  but you could leave  them in their packaging until sure  the original bulb  has blown. 

A blown sidelight is not always noticed straight away and may only come to light (excuse pun) when  a dipped beam also blows.   And main beam  might still be working. They have  a separate wiring circuit. Some cars have both filaments in one bulb, others have separate bulbs  dipped  and main.       

I'd also recommend having a multimeter to hand.  They can cost under £8 and have lots of other  uses.    If the cause of the problem is not  obvious you can immediately carry out checks  without having to dismantle things twice.