Headlight issue
 

Hello folks!

I discovered a strange problem with my litronic headlights. The driver's side headlight fog lamps were very weak compared to the brightness of the right side fogs. I thought the bulbs were going bad so got some replacement bulbs. However, it didn't help and the driver's side fogs were still 'weak'. Also, when the fogs were on and I signal left, the fogs and signal light appear to be 'relaying' with each other. Grounded?

The right side lights were working fine.

I suppose the wiring inside the headlight assembly itself is going bad. Is there a way to replace the wiring only? Any thoughts on how to fix this?

Sounds like a grounding issue. Check in the connector or at the body ground. A bulb will either light up, or it won't. Dimness is a current flow problem.

It's easy to see the fog lamp wiring if you remove both the back cover and the fog lamp cover. A visual inspection should tell you if the wiring is going bad. Check for brittle or cracked insulation and all wire/connector joints.

My guess is that it's a bad connection at the headlight socket, though. Check and clean both socket connectors with contact cleaner and make sure that the car side of the socket is firmly in place.
Headlight side of the connector and pin layout...

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...20C5098C03.jpg


Here you can see that the fog light and turn signal wiring do run close together as they pass by the main reflector. If the wiring is bad, it would be simple to run new wires by removing only the rear and fog lamp covers.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...944C85E0D9.jpg

Wow! Thanks Particlewave! Very helpful.

That last pic should not be necessary, right? I mean, i don't need to remove the entire headlight cover but just the backing? Just conscious that if this is done, it never really seals back like OEM.

No problem ;)

No, that picture was just to show the wiring(what you can see of it anyway). The wires are only about 10-12 inches long and could easily be replaced without disassembling the headlight.