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Old 01-06-2010, 01:13 PM   #1
andron
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Default Both low-beams went out at the same time..help!

As I was driving yesterday, I noticed both of my headlights suddenly went out. High beams still work, as do the turn signals, but both the low beams and DRLs went out. I checked the headlight relays under the hood, and they both are good - I tried them in the horn relay slot, and it worked fine. The car is a 06 2.5i, btw.

Any ideas?
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Old 01-06-2010, 02:19 PM   #2
Bluefoton
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Did you check the fuse or the bulbs themselves?
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Old 01-07-2010, 10:34 PM   #3
joewinchell22
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i had the same problem both of my low beams and fogs went out would that be a switch or relay ?
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Old 01-09-2010, 07:59 PM   #4
04.STI
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my lowbeams dont work either!! help im driving around on high beams like a moron!
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Old 01-10-2010, 12:28 PM   #5
Cougar4
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There are several places the trouble may be at. First check fuses 13 and 18 in the dash fuse panel. If they both have power getting through them then you need to check the DRL relay and the DRL module for trouble. The relay makes a common ground for both the low beam and DRL modes so make sure that is ok.
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Old 01-10-2010, 10:19 PM   #6
billstein
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If you tapped into your headlights to power fog lights, another relay etc, it could have shorted and taken out the fuse, the bulbs, or the relay. Or could be sheer coincidence. Bulbs could have been both near their end and a voltage spike could have taken them out at the same time. Try playing around with a voltmeter/multimeter and see what's going on. See if there is any voltage flowing to the bulb socket.
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Old 01-10-2010, 11:28 PM   #7
gagliano
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Another possibility could come from running bulbs that are a higher wattage rating than the stockers. This will cause the wiring to burn up.
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Old 12-16-2010, 09:34 PM   #8
Impreza4Life42
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Lightbulb Headlight help

I know this is an old post but it happened to me. I bought my '06 WRX Ltd. in Feb. this year. 5 months later I lost 1 low beam and found both bulbs to be bubbled outward in same spot on bulb. Put 2 new "xenon" bulbs in. Looked/worked great for 6 months til I was leaving work the other night and as I turned my low beams on they both came on and cut out together in an instant. Replaced low beam bulbs now running lights and low beams both have passenger side dimmer than driver side by a lot and both sides have high beam bulb barely lit. When I switch to high beams passenger side low beam goes out completely along with barely lit high beam and driver side high and low are full power. Switch back to low and passenger side low beam slowly gets back up to dim along with high barely lit on both sides. Running lights behave same as lows.

Fuses and relays all seem fine. 12 volts getting to the bulbs. Tried grounding directly but didn't brighten the passenger low beam or change the behavior.

Any ideas?
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Old 12-16-2010, 09:51 PM   #9
Mulder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Impreza4Life42 View Post
I know this is an old post but it happened to me. I bought my '06 WRX Ltd. in Feb. this year. 5 months later I lost 1 low beam and found both bulbs to be bubbled outward in same spot on bulb. Put 2 new "xenon" bulbs in. Looked/worked great for 6 months til I was leaving work the other night and as I turned my low beams on they both came on and cut out together in an instant. Replaced low beam bulbs now running lights and low beams both have passenger side dimmer than driver side by a lot and both sides have high beam bulb barely lit. When I switch to high beams passenger side low beam goes out completely along with barely lit high beam and driver side high and low are full power. Switch back to low and passenger side low beam slowly gets back up to dim along with high barely lit on both sides. Running lights behave same as lows.

Fuses and relays all seem fine. 12 volts getting to the bulbs. Tried grounding directly but didn't brighten the passenger low beam or change the behavior.

Any ideas?
Either the passenger side headlight fuse is blown or the wiring is damaged. Fix it and then stop using crappy bulbs, replace them with OEM-grade standard wattage ones to prevent further problems.
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Old 12-16-2010, 10:37 PM   #10
Impreza4Life42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulder View Post
Either the passenger side headlight fuse is blown or the wiring is damaged. Fix it and then stop using crappy bulbs, replace them with OEM-grade standard wattage ones to prevent further problems.

"Fuses and relays all seem fine. 12 volts getting to the bulbs. Tried grounding directly but didn't brighten the passenger low beam or change the behavior."

and all three sets have been standard wattage
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Old 12-16-2010, 10:40 PM   #11
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If it's grounding fine and theres plenty of juice getting there then what other wire damage could cause this?
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Old 12-17-2010, 03:07 AM   #12
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The contacts in the bulb socket may be bad. Make sure there is no voltage drop on the ground side of the bulb indicating a bad ground connection.
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Old 12-18-2010, 05:45 PM   #13
Impreza4Life42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cougar4 View Post
The contacts in the bulb socket may be bad. Make sure there is no voltage drop on the ground side of the bulb indicating a bad ground connection.
Thanx. Will check out the socket.
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Old 03-03-2011, 05:47 AM   #14
04ts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andron View Post
As I was driving yesterday, I noticed both of my headlights suddenly went out. High beams still work, as do the turn signals, but both the low beams and DRLs went out. I checked the headlight relays under the hood, and they both are good - I tried them in the horn relay slot, and it worked fine. The car is a 06 2.5i, btw.

Any ideas?
bump. i have this problem now on my 2004 ts.
anybody have any ideas?

braved the cold and here's what i found:
there is a clicking noise under the glove compartment when i turn the low beam headlight switch to on position,
maybe the relay is ok (?).
i tested the pass. side low beam headlight with a light tester. when grounded on the chassis, there is power. but, when i use the ground wire that is connected to the bulb, there is no power.

Last edited by 04ts; 03-03-2011 at 08:45 AM.
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Old 03-03-2011, 10:10 PM   #15
Cougar4
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See if you can manually turn on one side of the low beams by turning the light switch on for them and then tie a jumper wire to chassis ground and touch it to the GROUND return side of the low beam light. If the light tuns on then the switch connection to ground is the trouble. The click you are hearing is most likely the the DRL relay that switches the ground from the resistor to the ground connection through the light switch. If the DRLs are working then the relay is most likely were the trouble is at. If it isn't then see if grounding the yel/grn wire going to the relay turns the lights on. If that works then the light switch contacts are the trouble and not making the ground connection.

Last edited by Cougar4; 11-21-2018 at 02:49 AM.
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Old 11-13-2018, 12:36 PM   #16
kuzindwight
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Default

Bumping this back up.

My car is having the same issue but the issue only started once my alternator crapped itself.

Thanks, Jaysen
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