Right headlight no longer works

[M3thod_Man]

For a long while my right headlight would intermittenly come on and off... not to be mistaken with flickering because it would be on for a long period of time and then an hour or so later I'd notice it wasn't anymore. When I knew it was off, I'd flick the light switch over and over and every once and a while it'd come on again (for who knows how long). This was all months ago mind you. Now it won't turn on no matter how many times i switch it. My main concern was I didn't wanna get a ticket for driving with only one working headlight, so, I replaced them.

Well I bought the bosch h4 conversion and some bulbs and thought that'd do the trick, but it didn't.

Basically I was wondering what kind of simple thing I could do to narrow down the possible causes. I'm going to try and fix it tomorrow although that usually entails staring at it and messing with things until something breaks or I become too frustrated and never get it done... Please help me = P

[hybrid_flyer]

ok make it easy on yourself. If you have some kind of multi-meter or voltmeter, start with the ground wire and make sure you have a good ground. If you do then move to the power wire, and start working your way from the bulb to the switch.

I gurantee somewhere in there you lose voltage, if its not the ground.

[cory2081]

You may also want to look at the contacts in the connector, make sure they aren't bent or broken.

[easymmkay240sx]

Also, check the fuse.

[Altiman94]

I'd say its the fuse.

[M3thod_Man]

well I've got a crappy *** radio shack meter and have messed around abit. Here's what I've noticed... maybe you guys can draw some helpful conclusions...

I get 12v to both high beam and low beam on the side that won't work. I do not get 12v when I put the load (headlight) on and test though... Is this pretty much 100% conclusive that its the ground? I'm tracing everywire and making better grounds along the way with a good wire mesh... I'm going to try and get at the light control switch / headlight switch (don't know the difference really) and do some more tests..

[Clatch]

Dude, just replace the fuse, the same exact thing happened to me with a corroded fuse. It worked and wasn’t blown, but it didn’t work to well. Just don't be an idiot like me and wire in a new H4 socket before you check the fuse under the hood. If you don't know where the fuse is, it's in the black box with pink lettering on the right side of the block. Just pop the top off that sucker and viola. Tell me how it works out.

[M3thod_Man]

is it labeled H/L Lamp LH? or H/L Lamp RH? or H/L RET (relay actually)?

btw where can i get replacement relays?

[Clatch]

Yes that is it. Replace the fuse first where the H/L Lamp RH tells you to and see what happens. As for the relay, I don't know where you could find one of those, I would try Autozone first.

Also H/L Lamp RH stands for H-ead L-ight L-amp R-ight H-and. So H/L Lamp LH would be H-eadlight L-amp Left-Hand. See what I mean?

[M3thod_Man]

that fuse has already been swapped in and out with new ones and it stil don't work = (.

The weirdest thing about this problem is that at one point 6 months to a year ago the left low beam always worked. It seemed to gradually turn on less consistently until now it never does. I'm trying to think of anything that could possibly attribute to this. All I can think of is ground, water damage (to wire), and possibly loose fuse (doubt it).

Is it possible that the lighting control/ headlight control no longer works for the right low beam? lol that sounds like a longshot.

Thanks for your help btw I'm sure I'll figure it out sometime...

[guyaverage]

Is it possible that the lighting control/ headlight control no longer works for the right low beam? lol that sounds like a longshot.

Bingo! I had this same problem not too long ago and talked about it in a thread and I did a search and cant find it now, but anyway... the problem was in the switch on the steering column. Remove the upper and lower steering column pieces, unplug the headlight switch, remove the screws holding it to the steering column and proceed to take it apart.

There is a square semi-opaque piece of while plastic held on with small plastic 'rivets' that need to be filed or cut off to get the plastic piece off. Once that is off you can see the metal contacts inside. The switch comes apart fairly easily, take the contacts off, clean the contact surfaces, and bend the contacts slightly for better contact, then put it all back together. Use a couple of drops of superglue on the 'rivets' to hold the square plastic piece on.

Slap it all back together and you should be good to go.

[M3thod_Man]

I've been trying to get to that switch (I've been told it's either ground or that switch) and I'm having abit of trouble. What exactly are the upper and lower steering column peices? The trim around my cluster won't come out because the steering wheel elevation lever is in the way...

BTW thanks alot guys I feal much more confident in tearing my car apart to get at this switch. Maybe my repair manual will have a disassembling guide.

[M3thod_Man]

Problem fixed!!!!

guyaverage hit it on the head. It's hard to fine tune when things are supposed to turn on and off with the headlight switch though... I would suggest finding out exactly what contact turns on the front right headlight (or whatever thats not working) and only mess with that one.

[kouki-gymkhana]

I just removed these two pieces last weekend so I'll help you out. Open your driver's side door and stick your head under the dash. You'll see six phillips head screws on the steering column that you'll need to remove. You may need to drop the lower kick panel by removing six 10mm bolts to get access to two of the screws. Once they have been taken care of, gently try to separate the two halves of the steering column cover. There are little plastic clips holding it together so be gentle. You'll now notice that the two pieces won't fully separate. That's because there is a soft plastic ring surrounding the steering tilt lever that needs to be removed by pulling it out over the tilt lever. There is also another plastic ring surrounding the ignition that should also pop right off. Everything should separate after that.

Good luck

-kouki

PS: in reference to your multimeter findings, keep in mind that the headlights on the 240sx are ground switched.