My 95 T/A has a weird headlight problem that i can't nail. When i put the headlights on, the voltage gauge dips real low, the lights dim, then it jumps back and forth. The headlights don't even come up. Now if I click on the high beams, they go up and work fine. What the best possible reason for this happening? The front clip was off this past summer for repainting. Smashed wire? Headlight switch?

 

I would guess a grounded out wire. OHM out everthing and see. You dont have a big stereo wired straight to the battery do you? It will drain power. Also, underdrive pulleys?

 

No, no underdrive pulleys, there is a wire run straight to the battery distribution block for the Alpine stereo but I doubt thats doing anything. Its weird too because the last time i had drove it, I turned the lights on for the hell of it and they were fine, for like 10 minutes. Then they started acting up again. Seems like a weird short to me, but why wouldn't the motors go up, and why would high beams fuction normal?

 

Sounds like a short circuit to me. Check to see if there is a relay for the headlights It might be a faulty relay. If not then you jumbled somthing when the front clip was off.

 

In my best guess, after a liter of Jim and pepsi. I would guess that you low beam wire is shorting out somewhere. That is why you get hi and no low. The stereo is not a problem, I think, as long as it is just the head unit. OHM out everthing on the low side. From headlight back to switch. I will take a look at the diagram in the a.m., when things are less fuzy, and try to help more. My guess is a short though. Not trying to insult you, do you have an know how to read an OHM meter?
P.S. Not much experince with Pontica's. Mostly Camaros. Are the low and highs on a diffent wire as far as the motor are consern'd? Are you gear's for the headlamps ok?

 

Yea the motors are alright, and it was a body shop that had the front clip off. Yea I know how to read the ohm meter, I guess i'll have to start taking the headlight apart to get to the wires. I was trying to wiggle the wires with the switch on to see if they would perhaps go on but nope. These kinda problems just are just a PITA. And when I think about it, i'm wondering what signals the motors to come up. Because the harness for the headlights is a 3 wire setup: one for high, one for low, other for ground. Now even if that was shorting somewhere, I would just figure that the motor(s) would still go up. Freakin weird.
djk: I was checking for that too, but i didn't notice a relay for the headlights, foglights yea, but not the headlights..