Tips on How to Repair Inoperable Headlights
One of the most important safety features of a car is its headlights and if the headlights do not operate properly, accidents could occur. With this, you need to know how to at least repair the inoperable headlights yourself to prevent any accidents.
You can know that the headlights are defective when driving at night, you will notice that the road in front is brighter on the other side, or when switching from either low beams to high beams and vice-versa, the roads in front are darker on the other side. All the indications mentioned mean that you need to check the headlights.
To prevent any failure on the headlights, it is recommended to check the headlights and clean them of dirt every month. You can check by switching on the headlights and toil with the dimmer switch and at the same time watch whether the headlights are working or not.
In case you find that one of the headlights is defective at the low-beam position but works at the high-beam position, it is most likely one of the headlight bulbs has a burnt-out element. To fix the problem, install a new headlight bulb with the same number as the burnt-out one.
If you find that both the left and right headlights are not working, both in high-beam and low-beam positions, it is highly possible that the fuse has blown or the headlight switch is defective. Find the location of the fuse box from the car owner’s manual and check the fuses and the connections first before you proceed to replace the headlight switch.
The fuse box is normally located under the dashboard of the car or on the side or the back of the engine compartment. The fuse box cover normally has details of the relevant fuse circuit and the fuses are color-coded so that you can easily identify the rating of the fuse and replace the burnt-out fuse with the right one.
After you have identified which fuse is for the headlight that is not working, pull out the fuse from the terminal. You can easily know that the fuse is already blown if the wire at the center of the fuse is broken. If the fuse is still in good condition, the metal ends may require cleaning.
You can clean the metal contacts with a nail or sandpaper and reinsert back the fuse to its terminal in the fuse box. If the fuse keeps on blowing every time you switch on the headlights, there is a high possibility that there is a short circuit somewhere in your car. Send your car to a trusted auto mechanic to fix the problem.
Most cars come with a headlight dimmer switch mounted on the steering column but some older cars come with a foot-operated headlight dimmer switch. The foot-operated switch can easily get defective because the possibility of the wires becoming disconnected is high.
This will result in both headlights being out of order. The switch can also get defective because of the higher force directly acting on the switch from the foot. If either the foot-operated switch or the switch mounted on the steering column is defective, it is recommended that the part is checked and replaced by your trusted auto mechanic.
