Headlight Issue..

The Nissan 300ZX (Z32) general community discussion forum
SlidewayZ32
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:39 pm
Car: 1990 Z32 NA
Location: Daly City,CA

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What's up guys,I've got a bit of a situation going on with my '90 z32.I have a headlight issue where the right side low beam works normal,the other low beam and both high beams are dim and have a very dark orange/yellow shine to them.Out of curiosity,I had the lights on,I found that if I unplug either of the high beams,the second high beam AND driver side low beam simultaneously go out at once.Plug it back in,they all shine the dim orange/yellow shine.All the while,the passenger side low beam shines correctly just how it should.Suuuuper bad at anything wiring related like this,please help! :confused: :ohno: :confused:


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frapjap
Posts: 13175
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 2:46 pm
Car: '99 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
'07 Subaru Legacy
Location: South Coast Massachusetts

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That is interesting!
Do you know the age of and what bulbs are in there?
For simple starters, you might want to try out new oem (or stock equivalent) lights just to rule out something failing or out of order.

SlidewayZ32
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:39 pm
Car: 1990 Z32 NA
Location: Daly City,CA

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So the thing is,my high beam lights never used to be on.Just the lowbeams.One day I noticed in the reflection in the car in front of me that it had a very orange look to it That's when I got out and saw the situation.Prior to that,I went months with no problems at all.These low beams were sylvanias that I swapped in btw,they're definitely not old.

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frapjap
Posts: 13175
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 2:46 pm
Car: '99 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
'07 Subaru Legacy
Location: South Coast Massachusetts

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I'm not too sure. If it were me, I'd put in the most standard/stock bulbs available for all 4 and see if it made any difference and go from there. I don't want to be quick to blame wiring or a switch (nor would I want to have to go digging around in that mess) before trying out an easier solution first.
I don't know how the Z stalk works, but some cars you can pull back and it wont lock and actually have to push forward to lock the high beams on. But others have just the slight pull back to light them up, and then the harder pull to lock them. I'd get a pal and see if the same thing happens in both operations after swapping out bulbs.
See if the problem can be duplicated with the car on, off, turn signals on/off, fog lights on/off, etc.

ThisIsSparTTa
Posts: 738
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:02 pm
Car: 91 300ZX TT 2+0

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You can try bulbs if you want, but if nothing changed, and it just started, it sounds more like a wiring short or broken wire. You'll have to bust out the FSM and try to isolate various parts of the circuit and look either for continuity to ground, no continuity between points that should have it, low voltage, or high current draws.

SlidewayZ32
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:39 pm
Car: 1990 Z32 NA
Location: Daly City,CA

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I guess I forgot to add,when it's shining the dim orange,when I do turn on the high beams with the switch,only the right side high beam shines correctly as it should,but when turned off it is dim orange.It's complicated to explain,annoying to see,and tough to diagnose :wtf2: But I thank you guys for the input and I will definitely do all options and move from the easier ones to the more complicated solutions.If anyone has any other methods or anything along those lines,please share:)


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