WTF Headlight
10-24-2010, 07:30 AM
#1
woot! :D
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WTF Headlight
1990 240sx
I'm not the greatest with electronics....
My driver's side headlight is out. Its not the bulb because Ive tried more than one good bulb in the socket and they didnt turn on either. The thing is, the high beams work, just not the drive lights. Its a 6054. Before it was out for good, It would turn on (most of the time), but sometimes I would use the turn signal, and it would go out and then come back on at some random time after that. So I took off the bulbs on both sides, got a multimeter, and tested the three sockets on each side. Everything came out the same except one thing: The driver side "DRIVE" socket didnt have a ground. Ok.... so I look at a wiring diagram (which was absolutely no help. it says there are a grand total of four relays in the relay box. there is at least six or seven) and tries to follow it back from there. I started to check the continuity from the "GROUND" socket to the relay I thought it led to. It has continuity. And to the relay next to that. And the next one. And all of the others that had the title of "Headlight" somewhere in the name. I tried switching the relays around... nothing. All of the fuses are good. WAT DO I DO?
Thanks, guys.
tl;dr
I suck at electronics
I'm not the greatest with electronics....
My driver's side headlight is out. Its not the bulb because Ive tried more than one good bulb in the socket and they didnt turn on either. The thing is, the high beams work, just not the drive lights. Its a 6054. Before it was out for good, It would turn on (most of the time), but sometimes I would use the turn signal, and it would go out and then come back on at some random time after that. So I took off the bulbs on both sides, got a multimeter, and tested the three sockets on each side. Everything came out the same except one thing: The driver side "DRIVE" socket didnt have a ground. Ok.... so I look at a wiring diagram (which was absolutely no help. it says there are a grand total of four relays in the relay box. there is at least six or seven) and tries to follow it back from there. I started to check the continuity from the "GROUND" socket to the relay I thought it led to. It has continuity. And to the relay next to that. And the next one. And all of the others that had the title of "Headlight" somewhere in the name. I tried switching the relays around... nothing. All of the fuses are good. WAT DO I DO?
Thanks, guys.
tl;dr
I suck at electronics
10-24-2010, 06:07 PM
#6
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Re: WTF Headlight
OP, use the factory manuals. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/91-94/EL.pdf Whatever you posted wasn't a Nissan manual I'm used to seeing. Looked more like a Chiltons or Haynes.
The relays associated with the headlights are there for the pop ups. The retract relays are designed to cut the ground to the headlight for when the pop up motor is in motion. The switch itself handles all power switching. There are two main power feeds to the lighting switch. One for each headlight. The switch can burn up to where it will cut out only a portion of the job, so in this case, the part of the switch that handles low beam power burnt up, but when you clicks over to high beams, it works just fine. His passenger light is fine because the hi/low circuit for the light is separate from the hi/low of the driver circuit. I've seen this happen a lot on S13s. It's just age, and the switches will fail eventually.
The relays associated with the headlights are there for the pop ups. The retract relays are designed to cut the ground to the headlight for when the pop up motor is in motion. The switch itself handles all power switching. There are two main power feeds to the lighting switch. One for each headlight. The switch can burn up to where it will cut out only a portion of the job, so in this case, the part of the switch that handles low beam power burnt up, but when you clicks over to high beams, it works just fine. His passenger light is fine because the hi/low circuit for the light is separate from the hi/low of the driver circuit. I've seen this happen a lot on S13s. It's just age, and the switches will fail eventually.
10-24-2010, 07:28 PM
#7
woot! :D
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Re: WTF Headlight
OP, use the factory manuals. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/91-94/EL.pdf Whatever you posted wasn't a Nissan manual I'm used to seeing. Looked more like a Chiltons or Haynes.
The relays associated with the headlights are there for the pop ups. The retract relays are designed to cut the ground to the headlight for when the pop up motor is in motion. The switch itself handles all power switching. There are two main power feeds to the lighting switch. One for each headlight. The switch can burn up to where it will cut out only a portion of the job, so in this case, the part of the switch that handles low beam power burnt up, but when you clicks over to high beams, it works just fine. His passenger light is fine because the hi/low circuit for the light is separate from the hi/low of the driver circuit. I've seen this happen a lot on S13s. It's just age, and the switches will fail eventually.
The relays associated with the headlights are there for the pop ups. The retract relays are designed to cut the ground to the headlight for when the pop up motor is in motion. The switch itself handles all power switching. There are two main power feeds to the lighting switch. One for each headlight. The switch can burn up to where it will cut out only a portion of the job, so in this case, the part of the switch that handles low beam power burnt up, but when you clicks over to high beams, it works just fine. His passenger light is fine because the hi/low circuit for the light is separate from the hi/low of the driver circuit. I've seen this happen a lot on S13s. It's just age, and the switches will fail eventually.