Driver Side Headlights Working - ONLY

[Andrew83]

Hey Fellas,
Having some technical difficulty with headlights- coming to the end of a resto on an 83 Monte SS and have found that after reconnecting headlight harness and turning on the headlights, the only lights that work are the lo/hi beam headlight on the drivers side of the car?!? The running lights do not come on nor is there any voltage at the gray wire for INST PNL feed for the gauge pod- Turn signals (frt/rear & side markers), hazards, brake, back-up lights all working fine- With a long holiday weekend coming up here in the states I'm hoping to chase down this Gremlin and kill it- anyone come across this issue before or have any ideas?

 

[pontiacgp]

the power for the passenger side headlights feed from the driver's side so it sounds like a bad ground on the passenger side.

 

[Andrew83]

I'll check out the ground on that side, thanks for the tip- do you think the marking (running lights) would work on the drivers side if the headlights on that side are working?

 

[pontiacgp]

you might want to check all the grounds, For your instrument lights there is fuse at the top of the fuse box that could be burnt.

 

[Andrew83]

sounds good- I'll give the grounds and fuse panel a good look this weekend and let you know what I find- Thanks for the info pontiacgp!

 

[pontiacgp]

I just reread your first post, for the running lights they use the same grounds as the hazard/turn/brake signal lights so those grounds are good. If there is no power to the running lights then I would look at the headlight switch itself.

 

[Andrew83]

Ah- very true. If lights are working via other functions grounds should be good. I'll poke around on the switch and pass side of headlight harness with a volt meter and see what I come up with. I actually jumper'd the headlight harness grounds last weekend straight to the (-) side of battery and "no change". I'll bet you're correct in saying it may be the switch-

 

[pontiacgp]

come to think of it the instrument lights are also control by the light switch. When you have the lights on have you tried changing the brightness of the instrument lights? My switch has a dead spot and the instrument lights will go off in the bad section

 

[Andrew83]

Haven't tried that either- another good idea. I'll give it a try with a meter as well- I'll post findings. Thanks again-

 

[Andrew83]

Ok Pontiac- I finally found some time to do a little more investigation. Long story short the car has been sitting for about 1-1/2 years while a resto has been taking place and the result of my issues were two fold. Marking light issue was a corroded fuse- put the meter on the feed (orange wire to headlight switch connector) from fuse panel and discovered only 9Vdc. Pulled fuse, replaced and presto "parking lights". Passenger side headlight issue ended up being corroded spade terminals in connector- a trip to the local auto parts store and a new pigtail installed and bam all "headlights" working- thanks for all the tips and input. Having you here is an asset to the community. Thanks Again!

**Oh and I also picked up a new headlight switch from Mike's Montes- Thanks Mike!