I installed new lightbulbs from eBay in my 2002 qx4 about a month ago with no problems other than they are a pain to get to with big hands. Today when I was driving home I noticed that the driver side light was out. When I got home I parked in my garage and turned the light on, I could hear a constant motorized adjusting sound in the driverside light and the light was still out. It sounded like the level adjusting motor was stuck. I messed with the light controls, turning the fog lights on and off as well as the regular lights. After about a minute the headlamp came back on and the motor sound stopped. Now when I turn the lights on I hear a quick motor sound on the driver side light but then it stops and the light comes on.
Question, can I disconnect a wire or fuse to stop the light from adjusting and keep the light on?
Why would the motor malfunction keep the light from turning on?
headlight not coming on and clicking noise
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
Well, I looked at the circuits for this. Turns out that its a little weird - the head light aiming motors get power off of the tail lamp relay (pin 5)- see page EL-68 of the service manual.
Fuse 24 and fuse 61 are used for power in this circuit, however, both fuses also power other items, so if you pull these fuses, other things quit working. So, it looks like you would have to disconnect the aiming motor at the headlight.
The smart entrance control unit turns on the aiming motors. It also is involved in turning on the headlights. There is no discussion of the internal logic of the smart control unit though. I don't think the aiming motors are related to headlight on/off functions, I just can't 100% prove it.
The headlights will still work if the aiming motor is burned out / not working.
You might try to swap the bulbs between headlights and see if the light problem moves to the other side. Possibly you have a weak bulb even tho its new.
There are some grounds up on the fender for the headlights - you might retighten those to freshen the grounds up and check your headlight connections to be sure they are tight.
After that, I suspect the ballast - I've had to replace both ballasts on my 02. If you swap bulbs over and the problem stays on the same side, you can then swap ballasts and see if the problem moves to the other side.
Fuse 24 and fuse 61 are used for power in this circuit, however, both fuses also power other items, so if you pull these fuses, other things quit working. So, it looks like you would have to disconnect the aiming motor at the headlight.
The smart entrance control unit turns on the aiming motors. It also is involved in turning on the headlights. There is no discussion of the internal logic of the smart control unit though. I don't think the aiming motors are related to headlight on/off functions, I just can't 100% prove it.
The headlights will still work if the aiming motor is burned out / not working.
You might try to swap the bulbs between headlights and see if the light problem moves to the other side. Possibly you have a weak bulb even tho its new.
There are some grounds up on the fender for the headlights - you might retighten those to freshen the grounds up and check your headlight connections to be sure they are tight.
After that, I suspect the ballast - I've had to replace both ballasts on my 02. If you swap bulbs over and the problem stays on the same side, you can then swap ballasts and see if the problem moves to the other side.
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
Okay, the original clicking problem stopped without doing anything but now I am running into a different problem. When I turn the lowbeam headlights on a few different things happen. Sometimes both headlights come on fine. Sometimes the driver side comes on and the passenger light flashes on then turns off. Sometimes both lights flash on then turn off. If I flick the lights on and off multiple times I can usually get them both to turn on but not all the time. When the lights are on they look bright and once they turn on for more than 5 seconds they stay on. The fog lights, brights, and level adjust work great.
I have done some research that it could be the ballasts, bulbs, or wire harness. Any way to check these items before I spend money to replace them?
I have done some research that it could be the ballasts, bulbs, or wire harness. Any way to check these items before I spend money to replace them?
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
1. Check both bulbs. Make sure the retainer clips are on properly, and reset the bulb connectors to make sure they are tight. Those bulb connectors push down and then rotate.
2. Look at EL-39. There is a red / yellow wire coming off the head light relays for each side. I would measure the voltage on those wires when you turn the lights on and make sure you have 12 volts steady, even when the lights cut out. I think it may be easiest to test that up by the relay rather than down at the headlight, but I'm not sure. If you have 12 volts steady, then that eliminates any switch issues. I don't really think it is your switch or relays, but that would confirm the problem is downstream from the relays.
That leaves you with the stuff you mentioned. Which is all high voltage stuff. The usual test is to swap stuff between sides and see if the problem follows the part. But, that doesn't work here.
So, in order of price, I guess I would try the following:
1. Swap your old bulbs in if you still have them and see if that works first.
2. Try another brand of bulbs from a different vendor on Ebay.
2. Used OEM ballasts on Ebay have gotten very pricey. There is a 29.95 conversion kit which includes a new ballast and headlamp wiring ( both low / high beam wiring) Here is a link (seller is philipsxenon):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/D2S-D2R-D2C-HID ... dc&vxp=mtr
Those include the necessary wiring, although you may have to rewire the red / yellow power wires to the ballast. The rest is plug in. There are some other vendors you can look at as well - just search QX4 D2R ballast.
So I guess I would look at doing a kit - I don't like the idea of spending 100.00 on a used ballast only to have it fail in six months or a year.
Thats not exactly the answer you wanted I'm sure, but I tried to give you some options. Hope that helps!
2. Look at EL-39. There is a red / yellow wire coming off the head light relays for each side. I would measure the voltage on those wires when you turn the lights on and make sure you have 12 volts steady, even when the lights cut out. I think it may be easiest to test that up by the relay rather than down at the headlight, but I'm not sure. If you have 12 volts steady, then that eliminates any switch issues. I don't really think it is your switch or relays, but that would confirm the problem is downstream from the relays.
That leaves you with the stuff you mentioned. Which is all high voltage stuff. The usual test is to swap stuff between sides and see if the problem follows the part. But, that doesn't work here.
So, in order of price, I guess I would try the following:
1. Swap your old bulbs in if you still have them and see if that works first.
2. Try another brand of bulbs from a different vendor on Ebay.
2. Used OEM ballasts on Ebay have gotten very pricey. There is a 29.95 conversion kit which includes a new ballast and headlamp wiring ( both low / high beam wiring) Here is a link (seller is philipsxenon):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/D2S-D2R-D2C-HID ... dc&vxp=mtr
Those include the necessary wiring, although you may have to rewire the red / yellow power wires to the ballast. The rest is plug in. There are some other vendors you can look at as well - just search QX4 D2R ballast.
So I guess I would look at doing a kit - I don't like the idea of spending 100.00 on a used ballast only to have it fail in six months or a year.
Thats not exactly the answer you wanted I'm sure, but I tried to give you some options. Hope that helps!
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
Thanks for the info, I am going to follow your steps and I will let you know what happens. I will probably just order the ballasts from ebay since I probably wont trust my old bulbs to tell me what is going on.
I update once I have some info.
I update once I have some info.
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
okay, I finally did some checking today and didn't find much except for more problems.
1st - I checked the relays for the lights and they seemed to be working fine, they both had ~11.5 V when I pulled the relay out and checked power. When both relays are in I can hear them click when I turn the lights on and off.
2nd - My main problem has been with the light not coming on on the passenger side, so I replaced that bulb with the old bulb that I knew worked. Both lights came on with no problems once I got the next problem resolved
3rd - when I was connecting the battery back the 120A in the fuse block next to the battery blew and I had no power anywhere. I replaced the fuse with a new one.
4th - after I put the battery in both headlights were working fine but I could hear the headlamp motor running. sometimes it would keep running on the right, sometimes on the left, and sometimes not at all. When I adjust the dial on the dash to control the lights the headlights would not move but you could hear the motor running. It also sounds like it is running longer than it normally would.
5th - since i was running out of time i closed everything up and went for a drive. now my problem is the Bose radio will not turn on at all. Could I have blown a fuse or relay when the 120A fuse blew? all of the other electrical things in the car seems to run fine with no problems.
I was thinking about putting in the ballasts from Ebay that you suggested but I am hesitant. My next step with the lights seems like I might go to the local junk yard and find a couple of light assemblies with ballasts, and put them in to see if that makes a difference??? My junk yard sells headlight assemblies for $30 (worth a shot since the new ones are $1000).
With the stereo, do you have any suggestions? the FSM says it is a fuse or the unit itself, I did have the radio off before I pulled the battery the first time.
1st - I checked the relays for the lights and they seemed to be working fine, they both had ~11.5 V when I pulled the relay out and checked power. When both relays are in I can hear them click when I turn the lights on and off.
2nd - My main problem has been with the light not coming on on the passenger side, so I replaced that bulb with the old bulb that I knew worked. Both lights came on with no problems once I got the next problem resolved
3rd - when I was connecting the battery back the 120A in the fuse block next to the battery blew and I had no power anywhere. I replaced the fuse with a new one.
4th - after I put the battery in both headlights were working fine but I could hear the headlamp motor running. sometimes it would keep running on the right, sometimes on the left, and sometimes not at all. When I adjust the dial on the dash to control the lights the headlights would not move but you could hear the motor running. It also sounds like it is running longer than it normally would.
5th - since i was running out of time i closed everything up and went for a drive. now my problem is the Bose radio will not turn on at all. Could I have blown a fuse or relay when the 120A fuse blew? all of the other electrical things in the car seems to run fine with no problems.
I was thinking about putting in the ballasts from Ebay that you suggested but I am hesitant. My next step with the lights seems like I might go to the local junk yard and find a couple of light assemblies with ballasts, and put them in to see if that makes a difference??? My junk yard sells headlight assemblies for $30 (worth a shot since the new ones are $1000).
With the stereo, do you have any suggestions? the FSM says it is a fuse or the unit itself, I did have the radio off before I pulled the battery the first time.
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
I fixed the stereo. It was the 15a fuse that is in the j/b. So back to only the headlight issue
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
It's beginning to look like those bulbs may be flaky. Hopefully bulbs will solve the problem.
The 11.5 reading at the relays seems low. Just for grins, you might make sure your battery is 12.6 volts with the engine off, and 13 - 13.5 idling. If that checks out, I would loosen and retighten the ground connections on the negative battery cable at the engine, and the one on the fenderwell behind the battery, as well as the headlight grounds. It's possible grounds are a part of your problem.
It sounds as if there is a problem inside the headlights - the adjustment motors are running, but the lights are not adjusting. I am guessing there is a timeout on the motor circuit, and if they haven't finished adjusting after a certain period, they automatically shut off. I can look at that circuit diagram later if you wish, but you may have to actually pull those out to see what is going on.
Honestly, if you can get headlight assemblies at anywhere near that price, buy all you can get! They go for 400.00 to 500.00 on ebay!
The 11.5 reading at the relays seems low. Just for grins, you might make sure your battery is 12.6 volts with the engine off, and 13 - 13.5 idling. If that checks out, I would loosen and retighten the ground connections on the negative battery cable at the engine, and the one on the fenderwell behind the battery, as well as the headlight grounds. It's possible grounds are a part of your problem.
It sounds as if there is a problem inside the headlights - the adjustment motors are running, but the lights are not adjusting. I am guessing there is a timeout on the motor circuit, and if they haven't finished adjusting after a certain period, they automatically shut off. I can look at that circuit diagram later if you wish, but you may have to actually pull those out to see what is going on.
Honestly, if you can get headlight assemblies at anywhere near that price, buy all you can get! They go for 400.00 to 500.00 on ebay!
Re: headlight not coming on and clicking noise
Thought I would update the posts. I bought new factory bulbs online and they work great. It has been about a month with no issues. When I pulled the eBay bulbs they did look a little different than the factory bulbs. Sometimes cheap doesnt always mean good. Thanks for your help!