High Beams only after accident,95 Q45

[pos10]

We repaired this car at a cost of over $5700.The high beams are stuck on and I'll bet it wasn't like that before the accident.The vehicle hit a deer and took out the right front side including the lamp.This is a really nice car with 122,000mi.Any help would be appreciated.Thanks
Modified by pos10 at 12:18 PM 3/8/2009

[Infinitiguy19]

Do he low beams work at all?

I think it may be the head light relay which i have.

Welcome to NICO.

[goody90q45]

.....The high beams are stuck on......The vehicle hit a deer and took out the right front side including the lamp.

If the only problem with lighting is the headlamp check the headlamp relay as Paul suggested located adjacent to the radiator overflow bottle. The accident could have easily shorted wires between the headlamp and the relay so a dead headlamp relay could be just a symptom that will come back as soon as you plug in the new one.

If you're having other problems (no tail lights, no internal trim lighting) it may be that the illumination circuit was shorted during the accident. Check the ILL fuse in the engine compartment fuse box.

I had the same problem with high beams when I blew a fuse installing microbulbs in the door-mounted controls. Look at the fuses close (magnifying glass) or test each with a multimeter. They can fool you.

[pos10]

Thanks for your help, no Paul the car has no low beams at all, it stays on high no matter the signal stalk position.The high beam indicator also stays on between high and low just like the lamps.Goody94 I guess if it's a relay that's a shame because I have no way to change one out since the shop red neck wanted to play around with the forks on the tractor so he dumped it in the metal dumpster before the car was finished and the scrappers came and got it the day the car was to be reassembled.We payed $1500 for the front clip which was cut off at the floor boards.Dude ruined the A/C condensor, radiator and we lost the right fender liner we needed and also the right headlight cover under the hood.Both of those items total to $180. I guess a relay also.Luckily I got in the dumpster and come-a-longed it on it's side and salvaged the left fender, computer and new heater blower motor.

[Infinitiguy19]

So the replace the front clip?

Do you have before and after pictures at all?

[pos10]

Yea I have some,I'll have to get them to this computer since they were sent to State Farm.The original estimate with new parts was $6500 but the car totalled and the customer kept the salvage and had us fix it.Nothing new is cheap for those cars.

[pos10]

OK I bought the $88 headlamp relay and still stuck on brights.Any plan B options???

[Infinitiguy19]

OK I would try checking the fuses then, and then if they are OK Move on to the switch.

Check and see if the turn signals and low beams work.

Is the High beam warning light lit on the dash?

Is the ground connected properly?

[pos10]

Thanks Paul,Yea everything else works, signals and the low beams are also on at the same time but I'm not sure about the warning lamp your talking about.The high beam indicator is on though.Actaully I didn't check the fuses since the lights were on and not off but I'll do that and go over the ground.

[pos10]

OK you were right, there were 2 blown fuses but not the R&L Headlamp fuses under the dash.The tech had previously told me he checked those so I assumed he had checked all fuses.NOT! I checked all fuses at your suggestion and the 10 amp tail lamp fuses in the fuse box under the hood were blown so I popped a couple new ones in and like magic the bright / dim now work.Who would have thought.I took a couple decent finished pics Fri. so I'll post them ASAP.Thanks again to everyone.

[Infinitiguy19]

Fuses blow to protect the circuit (Wires, switches...) and to prevent a fire.

Make sure they don't blow again, If they don't then they probably blew because of the car accident or some other reason.

[pos10]

Yea I guess it was the accident that caused the fuses to blow, I held the brake and left the lights on for an extended period of time with no problems but I'd have to talk to the Q45 engineers who designed the electrical system to understand why tail lamp fuses cause the high beams to stay on.The lady was absolutely thrilled when she picked it up today and I would like to add that I did let her know of the headlamp problem and the responses to my post on this board led to the fix.Thanks again everyone.Pics to follow when I get a break long enough to e-mail them from work to my house.

[Infinitiguy19]

Tell her to join NICO.