headlights not working....

[Judas Iscariot]

Hello members, i have tried every search i can think of and nothing is helping.

a few days ago my headlights stopped working. i know this because i was driving at night and all was well, i remember using my highbeams on a particular road. anyway the next morning (i leave for work around 6:15) i started the car aND put my foglights on (i did the foglight w\ parking lights mod AND disabled DRL's) and when i was geting ready to pul out flicked on D\L and nothing.
Checked all fuses i could find and the bulbs are not burned out. Any help would be appreciated, before i take it to toyota.

[CTScott]

Check the bulbs first. It's not that likely that they both failed, but is worth a look.

Check the two H-LP fuses in the under hood fuse panel.

Check the ECU-IG fuse in the under dash fuse panel.

[Judas Iscariot]

Thx for replying. Will check tomorrow at lunch time.

[Judas Iscariot]

ok i checked and it was one of the fuses under the hood. unfortunantly when i replaced it, the fuse blew again... :thumbdown:

i think the next step is to rewire things to stock (Looks like someone was messing around underthere that wasn't me!) and se what happens
any suggestions are welcome THX again

[CTScott]

ok i checked and it was one of the fuses under the hood. unfortunantly when i replaced it, the fuse blew again... :thumbdown:

i think the next step is to rewire things to stock (Looks like someone was messing around underthere that wasn't me!) and se what happens
any suggestions are welcome THX again

Which one was popped? From there I can guide you as to which wires to follow.

[Judas Iscariot]

The extremely difficult one to remove and put away. . Lol. If your standing in front of the car facing towards the rear, the left of the two you said to check.

[CTScott]

That's the fuse for the right hand side (sitting in the car) headlight. The fuse feeds the black wire on the headlight directly, and then the green and blue wires are the switched grounds for high and low beam. Since you are popping the fuse, the short has to be between the fuse and the bulb.

[Betrivent]

Check the bulbs first. It's not that likely that they both failed, but is worth a look.

Check the two H-LP fuses in the under hood fuse panel.

Check the ECU-IG fuse in the under dash fuse panel.

I can't stress this part enough.

Oh nuts you already checked. Would a beefier fuse solve this problem? CT? I'm genuinely curious

[CTScott]

Would a beefier fuse solve this problem? CT? I'm genuinely curious

NOOOOOOOO! Putting in a bigger fuse generally results in doing far more damage. Wires have a current rating and the fuse value chosen for a circuit generally is a function of the ampacity of the wiring and the maximum current draw of the device(s) on that circuit. Installing a larger fuse often results in exceeding the ampacity of the wiring, and if there is a direct short in the circuit, the now underrated wires will get extremely hot, possibly hot enough to melt their insulation and burn other things (or create more shorting points).

[Judas Iscariot]

Agreed, i wouldn't think of using a larger fuse... and i did check to see if the bulbs are good, i can see both hi\low filaments, they are intact and the bulbs were less than a week old at time of origional post.

Thanks for the replys CT, but you were saying something about which wires to follow... if pictures will help i can have them on here tomorrow.

[CTScott]

Agreed, i wouldn't think of using a larger fuse... and i did check to see if the bulbs are good, i can see both hi\low filaments, they are intact and the bulbs were less than a week old at time of origional post.

Thanks for the replys CT, but you were saying something about which wires to follow... if pictures will help i can have them on here tomorrow.

Pictures would definitely help. The wiring harness to the right side headlight is housed in wire loom for all but a few inches on either end, so if the problem is with the OEM wiring it is almost definitely on one end or the other of the wire from the fuse panel to the bulb. The additional wiring, that you mentioned, is more likely where the problem lies, so pictures of that would help.

[Judas Iscariot]

Thx CT, i left my camera at home, so i'll take the pictures tonight and hopefully post them tomorrow.... i hate not having headlights!

[Judas Iscariot]

Ok. So I am still battling this problem. The headlights come on now. But the driver side light is acting funny, both of the filaments are coming on and they are dim in comparison to the other one. Which works correctly. I don't know how it got to the state it's inn now. But at least I can drive at night. Any more ideas CT? Thanks again in advance

[CTScott]

Ok. So I am still battling this problem. The headlights come on now. But the driver side light is acting funny, both of the filaments are coming on and they are dim in comparison to the other one. Which works correctly. I don't know how it got to the state it's inn now. But at least I can drive at night. Any more ideas CT? Thanks again in advance

The H-LP/AMT Relay in the small relay box, on the passenger side, under the hood, may be sticking. You can try putting the HTR relay in its place to see if it cures the problem. The HTR relay is the center one at the bottom of the under dash fuse panel. The HTR relay is the same shape as the H-LP/AMT relay, but may have a different color shell. The two are identical though in function, so they can be swapped.

[Judas Iscariot]

Thank you CT. unfortunatly that didn't fix it. And it's the left relay under the dash, because the middle one has five prongs while the other two have four. You are still very helpful. And I wish that fixed it, boo. I was so excited for that to work. What's next? (sigh)

[Altitude]

What's next? (sigh)

Make your peace with Jesus?

(sorry couldn't resist)

[Judas Iscariot]

Haha. :laugh:

[Judas Iscariot]

Oh. And now my heater won't work. Grrrrrr

[CTScott]

Do you by any chance have (and know how to use) a multimeter?

[Judas Iscariot]

Lol. Yeah. Got one at work. And I know how to use it. Funny thing is, who owns one and can't use it. Just joking around. I'm curious to know how YOU know all this stuff tho. Your knowledge base is incredible.

[CTScott]

Lol. Yeah. Got one at work. And I know how to use it. Funny thing is, who owns one and can't use it. Just joking around. I'm curious to know how YOU know all this stuff tho. Your knowledge base is incredible.

You'd be amazed as to how many people have one laying around, but have no clue as to what to do with it. I'm a EE with 20 years experience in robotics and medical automation.

[Judas Iscariot]

I'm a EE with 20 years experience in robotics and medical automation.

That explains the yaris snow plow. Haha

[Judas Iscariot]

Heater is ok. False alarm. I didn't put the relay in all the way. But about that multimeter....

[CTScott]

Heater is ok. False alarm. I didn't put the relay in all the way. But about that multimeter....

Here's where to start:

In the picture below (of the headlight stalk connector) measure the voltage on the sky blue wire (next to the pink wire) with respect to either of the white wires with the black stripe.

Headlights off:

Headlights on (low beam):

Headlights on (high beam):


http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/ctscott329/Misc%20Yaris/D4-Wires.jpg

[Judas Iscariot]

voltage numbers

off- 13.8

on- 13.7

hi- .04

that last one seems funny to me, but i'm no pro.

[CTScott]

voltage numbers

off- 13.8

on- 13.7

hi- .04

that last one seems funny to me, but i'm no pro.

That's fine, now same with the pink wire.

[Judas Iscariot]

uh i did the pink wire first... oops, but i went out and did the sky blue one just now

off- 12.6

on- 0, yes zero

hi- 3.4

???? oh man:iono:

[CTScott]

OK - The off- 13.8, on- 13.7, hi- .04 makes sense for the pink, which is the high beam wire.

The off- 12.6, on- 0, hi- 3.4 is OK for the light blue, which is the low beam.


So, the headlight stalk is working correctly. Next, measure the resistance between terminals 3 and 5 of the H-LP AMT relay (they are the two larger perpendicular to each other terminals).

Also, with the H-LP relay out, measure the voltage between the pin 5 position (the large blade that is perpendicular to the other 3) and ground.

[Judas Iscariot]

Ok. There is no voltage between 3 and 5 on the relay itself. But I am getting 12.88 on the housing ( where the relay plugs into) on 3 and 5. And on 5 and ground 12.88 again

[CTScott]

Ok. There is no voltage between 3 and 5 on the relay itself. But I am getting 12.88 on the housing ( where the relay plugs into) on 3 and 5. And on 5 and ground 12.88 again

On the relay, measure resistance, rather than voltage between those two pins.

[Judas Iscariot]

ah duh.... resistance is null, nothing at all

[Judas Iscariot]

but if its a relay, shouldnt there be no resistance until 12v is applied to the little prongs?

[CTScott]

ah duh.... resistance is null, nothing at all

OK that's good. Now, voltage on each of the three headlight wires (on one side is fine)

[CTScott]

but if its a relay, shouldnt there be no resistance until 12v is applied to the little prongs?

It's a normally open relay, so the resistance is infinite (displayed as OL, null, etc.) Then when the relay is powered, it goes to zero.

[Judas Iscariot]

OK that's good. Now, voltage on each of the three headlight wires (on one side is fine)

doing now

[Judas Iscariot]

brown and green wire on driver side 12.88

white wire nothing... i am testing each wire to a ground right?

[CTScott]

brown and green wire on driver side 12.88

white wire nothing... i am testing each wire to a ground right?

Yes. Also measure each with the headlights on and with high beam.

[Judas Iscariot]

i know you said one side will do but i tested the pasenger side too and the only one that reads it the black one, again 12.88

[Judas Iscariot]

going to test on and hi-beam now

[Judas Iscariot]

ok the picture is the wires and locations

Driver Side
----- White green Brown
off - 14 -- 14 -- 14
low 5 -- .4 -- 9
hi -- 4 -- 9 -- .5

Pass Side

----- Black Blue Brown
off - 14 -- 12 -- 12
low - 14 -- .3 - .3
hi -- 14 -- 8.77 -- .67


hoipe the chart is useful, Thanks for helping. i can't say that enough CT

[Judas Iscariot]

I forgot o load the picture. Sorry :rolleyes:

[CTScott]

No problem. Try pulling just the passenger bulb and then turning on the headlights to see what the driver's side bulb does in the three states with the other removed.

[Judas Iscariot]

gonna do that on my lunch break...

here is the picture

[Judas Iscariot]

these are the numbers taken with the opposite side detached. sorry it took all day.



Driver Side
----- White green Brown
off - 11.2 -- 11.2 -- 11.2
low .22 -- .22 -- .22
hi -- .02 -- .02 -- .02

Pass Side

----- Black Blue Brown
off - 13.8 -- 13.8 -- 13.8
low - 13.7 -- 13.7 - 13.7
hi -- 13.4 -- 13.3 -- .47

[Judas Iscariot]

oh and the white wire is actually grey

[CTScott]

Hmmmmmm. I am still reallllly thinking that the H-LP/AMT Relay might be the culprit.

With the bulbs both in, the charts should look like the following:

Driver Side
----- Grey Green Brown
off - 12 -- 12 -- 12
low 12 -- 12 -- .4
hi -- 12 -- .7 -- 12

Pass Side

----- Black Blue Brown
off - 12 -- 12 -- 12
low - 12 -- .4 - 12
hi -- 12 -- 12 -- .7


On yours, the low beam power is not being properly switched. On a working car, if you pull the relay, the high beams will work, but the low beams will not turn on at all (which is basically what you are seeing).

One last thing to try before replacing the relay is to unplug the DRL module's connector.

[Judas Iscariot]

I disconnected the drl box and nothing. If Toyota is open tomorrow I will go get a relay. Or auto zOne. Some place like that hopefully has it

[CTScott]

If you can find a way to jump the two large blade slots together, while the headlights are on, and on low beam, you can do a final check to make sure that that relay is truly bad (since it is a $30+ relay).

[Judas Iscariot]

Wow. Sparks! Lol I'm ok. But the headlight stalk was in off position and when I connected the two the lights came on. That was suprising! But it didn't fix it. Every time I think it will work It doesnt. Oh well. What's next?

[Judas Iscariot]

Another thing. I went put and pulled the relay. And the high beams do still come on, but the driver side lamp is still turning on both filaments. And they are still dim, really dim.

[Judas Iscariot]

ugly....

[CTScott]

Wow. Sparks! Lol I'm ok. But the headlight stalk was in off position and when I connected the two the lights came on. That was suprising! But it didn't fix it. Every time I think it will work It doesnt. Oh well. What's next?

I meant to say ONLY connect the jumper with the headlight stalk on and in low beams. In that state, did the lights come on?

[Judas Iscariot]

i fixed it! lol, Thanks CT.... all i had to do was total it. problem solved.

[CTScott]

i fixed it! lol, Thanks CT.... all i had to do was total it. problem solved.

No way! There seems to be way too much of that going around lately.

[Kwakwaversal]

i fixed it! lol, Thanks CT.... all i had to do was total it. problem solved.

I have exactly the same problem with my car. One minute everything was fine, next minute the low beams no longer work.

May I ask how you fixed it? I don't understand what 'total it' means in your summing up sentence "Thanks CT.... all i had to do was total it" :/ :)

Cheers.

[CTScott]

I have exactly the same problem with my car. One minute everything was fine, next minute the low beams no longer work.

May I ask how you fixed it? I don't understand what 'total it' means in your summing up sentence "Thanks CT.... all i had to do was total it" :/ :)

Cheers.

Unfortunately, by "total it" he means that he got in an accident and completely wrecked the car.

With your, have you checked the bulbs? The most common reason for no low beams is that both bulbs have burned out their low beam filament.

[Kwakwaversal]

Unfortunately, by "total it" he means that he got in an accident and completely wrecked the car.

With your, have you checked the bulbs? The most common reason for no low beams is that both bulbs have burned out their low beam filament.

Oh wow, sorry to hear it. I am, however, hoping to have a better resolution. :o

I was thinking that the fact they both stopped working at the same time was too much of a coincidence, but the cost of new bulbs makes the most sense to test first.

Cheers.

[CTScott]

Oh wow, sorry to hear it. I am, however, hoping to have a better resolution. :o

I was thinking that the fact they both stopped working at the same time was too much of a coincidence, but the cost of new bulbs makes the most sense to test first.

Cheers.


What tends to happen is that one bulb dies, you don't notice it, and then the other goes. Before buying new bulbs, you could pop one out to make sure.

[Kwakwaversal]

What tends to happen is that one bulb dies, you don't notice it, and then the other goes. Before buying new bulbs, you could pop one out to make sure.

Yeah I think you hit the nail on the head with that one. Picked up a couple of bulbs and everything is fine.

I think I should subscribe more to the principle of Occam's razor.

Cheers :)

[funky2nite]

Unfortunately, by "total it" he means that he got in an accident and completely wrecked the car.

With your, have you checked the bulbs? The most common reason for no low beams is that both bulbs have burned out their low beam filament.

sorry to bother you mate, I think this thread is the gold mine off the search on the internet, am still a bit baffled up from where to start from what I've been reading off your posts. I noticed our 2006 yaris/vitz has just had its dipped lights/ normal driving lights go off. Over the past weeks I noticed occasionally that the lights went off and on/ flickered a bit during driving but then back on and remained during the trip, which cautioned me but as long as they seem to be fixed I didnt worry much. but now they'er off, kinda the car's not drivable at night. I checked both 10A H/L fuses under the hood which are fine, and the under the dash fuse 10A termed d/L still fine. anything in particular that strikes your mind? all other lights do work.

[CTScott]

sorry to bother you mate, I think this thread is the gold mine off the search on the internet, am still a bit baffled up from where to start from what I've been reading off your posts. I noticed our 2006 yaris/vitz has just had its dipped lights/ normal driving lights go off. Over the past weeks I noticed occasionally that the lights went off and on/ flickered a bit during driving but then back on and remained during the trip, which cautioned me but as long as they seem to be fixed I didnt worry much. but now they'er off, kinda the car's not drivable at night. I checked both 10A H/L fuses under the hood which are fine, and the under the dash fuse 10A termed d/L still fine. anything in particular that strikes your mind? all other lights do work.

Does your 2006 have HID headlights? If so, it may be the ballasts, as another person on here who has a set of imported headlights recently had the same thing happen and ended up having to replace the ballasts.

[funky2nite]

Does your 2006 have HID headlights? If so, it may be the ballasts, as another person on here who has a set of imported headlights recently had the same thing happen and ended up having to replace the ballasts.

No it's stock still with it's japanese stock headlights, we guess since there was a previous owner before us, but again the headlights seems stock. Again as I mentioned, a few weeks ago I witnessed the dipped lights go off whilst drive but back on a few moments later.

[CTScott]

No it's stock still with it's japanese stock headlights, we guess since there was a previous owner before us, but again the headlights seems stock. Again as I mentioned, a few weeks ago I witnessed the dipped lights go off whilst drive but back on a few moments later.

Some of the Japanese ones had stock HID headlights and they really don't look much different than the non-HID ones. The picture below (from ebay) is a HID one. The main difference (besides the ballast mounted to the bottom of the housing) is the longer, narrower bulb with the HID ones.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUyWDYwMg==/z/mzkAAOxyUgtTOn0M/$_12.JPG


If you verify that they are not HIDs, then my next suspicion would be the headlight switch itself or its connector. On one of mine, a pin had gotten sloppy from too many times of the connector being plugged and unplugged, and my lights started flickering at night. I figured it out by driving with the lower steering column cover removed and when it would happen I could wiggle the wires and make them come back on.

[funky2nite]

Some of the Japanese ones had stock HID headlights and they really don't look much different than the non-HID ones. The picture below (from ebay) is a HID one. The main difference (besides the ballast mounted to the bottom of the housing) is the longer, narrower bulb with the HID ones.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUyWDYwMg==/z/mzkAAOxyUgtTOn0M/$_12.JPG


If you verify that they are not HIDs, then my next suspicion would be the headlight switch itself or its connector. On one of mine, a pin had gotten sloppy from too many times of the connector being plugged and unplugged, and my lights started flickering at night. I figured it out by driving with the lower steering column cover removed and when it would happen I could wiggle the wires and make them come back on.

Thanks CT Scott, managed to ask the missus to send me the following shots of the headlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjsLl8eSHPgbEU5aWtTUDFJUmp5ekwtOURsWERWd0lNN3ZF/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjsLl8eSHPgbjZTbFdHS3VSajhtR1A2TzdvREVCd3pmMUhB/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjsLl8eSHPgaGluelNXUm1qejNMOWVPR01ITWdYb0g1NVdj/view?usp=sharing

I understand your point on wiggling the wires under the steering column, from our end I can recall that the last time steering column has been opened is like 3 yrs ago to fit the FM radio thingy that unlocks the FM european frequency on the factory headunit. Although now I've just remembered that I've replaced headunit to an aftermarket one like a year and a half ago, since the stock one had the touchscreen stop functioning. in other words that fm frequency chip can be removed I gues.. but again..I dunno if this is related.

[funky2nite]

Some of the Japanese ones had stock HID headlights and they really don't look much different than the non-HID ones. The picture below (from ebay) is a HID one. The main difference (besides the ballast mounted to the bottom of the housing) is the longer, narrower bulb with the HID ones.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUyWDYwMg==/z/mzkAAOxyUgtTOn0M/$_12.JPG


If you verify that they are not HIDs, then my next suspicion would be the headlight switch itself or its connector. On one of mine, a pin had gotten sloppy from too many times of the connector being plugged and unplugged, and my lights started flickering at night. I figured it out by driving with the lower steering column cover removed and when it would happen I could wiggle the wires and make them come back on.

have already sent you a post with image links, and it's subject to moderation thats why the post didnt show up yet. I just confirmed that HID is a way longer bulb than the halogen one which has the black tip. mine's are definitely with the black tip.

also in the post subject to moderation because of the image links, I did mention that the last tiem I can recall of opening up steering column was once like 3 years ago when we still had the stock double din touch screen factory headunit, in which I fitted an fm european frequency unlocker on the stock headunit, but after that like a year and a half ago touchscreen did stop functioning and had replaced it with an aftermarket kenwood one, which reminds me that now I dont need that chip any longer which is still in the column. but again this is years ago and I wonder how it could interfere.

[funky2nite]

Some of the Japanese ones had stock HID headlights and they really don't look much different than the non-HID ones. The picture below (from ebay) is a HID one. The main difference (besides the ballast mounted to the bottom of the housing) is the longer, narrower bulb with the HID ones.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUyWDYwMg==/z/mzkAAOxyUgtTOn0M/$_12.JPG


If you verify that they are not HIDs, then my next suspicion would be the headlight switch itself or its connector. On one of mine, a pin had gotten sloppy from too many times of the connector being plugged and unplugged, and my lights started flickering at night. I figured it out by driving with the lower steering column cover removed and when it would happen I could wiggle the wires and make them come back on.

Thanks for your help mate, after I found out that our headlights are still halogen, had no other option and took it to a guy, instantly he presumed that its from the stalk switch itself, he swapped it with a genuine one and voila it worked. eur65 for stalk + eur20 labor cost.. pricey but a must do cos noone wants a car with no lights... I wouldnt figure how toyotas should fail in such manner..and the guy was kinda sure what's to blame in fact he was right, he said its a common occurence..and the island here is full of yaris/vitz japan imports so the fault would be rectified.

cheers for your help guys, especially you CTscott

Ian - Malta

[06YarisRS]

So, my wife and son come in from hockey practice and tell me that the hazard lights in our '08 started spontaneously flashing, accompanied by a fast "beeping sound". The doors were open and keys out of the ignition. Now my driver's side low beam and marker lights don't work. High beam does. Looks like I"ll be pressing my multimeter into service. Oh joy!