You'd think a headlamp replacement...

[Monk]

... would be simple, right?

Nothing ever goes as planned.:mad:

About a week ago, my headlamp burned out. Hi beam indicator LED stayed on constantly, hi and lo positions. (That was my first clue)
No biggie, right? I haul butt down to the Auto zone and get a nice new H-4 halogen bulb. NP, blister packed right on the shelf.
Get it home and disassemble the light housing, and the 3 prong connector is totally fried. Charred, even.:(
Okay, back to the store (in a damned cage, now) and of course, they have nothing even similar at Auto Zone, or the big hardware store next door.
I figure I can just get female connectors to slide onto the back of the bulb, it won't have the nice plastic charcoal cube protecting the connections, but no sweat... it's enclosed and pretty much water-tight, right?
Well, long story short, the male blades on the back of the bulb are 3/8" wide, none of he standard 1/4 inch stuff I carry and use everyday will fit it. Plus I go back to the hardware, but can't find any 3/8 females.
Now I'm gettin agitated... but I solder about an inch of 10 ga wire to each terminal and put 1/4 inch males on the wires... nice and solid, good heat shrink coverage; and new females (all heavy duty stuff) on the 3 headlamp leads I clipped.
Hook it all back up, and only the low beam works correctly! :eek:
And the stupid hi beam indicator is still on all the time! :mad:

The hi beam itself doesn't work properly, either. it only goes about half brightness when selected.
Like it's draggin' down the voltage or something.

Question is, was there anything more than the 3 connectors inside that toasted connector..?
It was pretty destroyed, I didn't notice any extra diodes or anything in it.

Or could the bad connector have shorted and damaged the lighting power regulator..?

Anybody?

I'm not sufferin' too badly, it's still rideable with just the low beam...

I've never been to an easy brake job, either...:rolleyes:

[Dan]

I'm thinking whatever heated up the plug was a short further down the line or maybe in the switch.

[Monk]

Just dug out the manual for the first time to consult... we'll take a look.
Sounds reasonable.
But my first thought is the connector got shorted and fried and took something upstream with it..?

[Dan]

That could be but usually when that plug gets heated up its a short downstream. Thats just my experience with cars and trucks. Unless it was due to moisture that caused the short in the plug.

[Monk]

That's my experience, too, but the only thing downstream (distal to) this is the actual lamp and there's a new one in the circuit now.
I was thinkin' the hi/lo selector switch is suspect, too.

[toorglide]

isnt that 3 prong on teh back of the bulb same as you could find in a junk yard off of an old ford pinto of maverick headlamp

[Monk]

I'd'a thought so,but then it surprised me AutoZone had nuthin' similar... I'd'a thought it was a common halogen bulb connector, it's a standard H4 (3-prong as you say) lamp.

I'm sure what I did is solid, though... there must be something else damaged in the circuitry. the Vreg or something.

[Crocodile56]

MONK, You baked that sucker good!!! That's what ya get fer running it on high beam all the time!!! Auto Zone should have the same plug, but it sounds like you may have over heated the switch as well. H-4 lamps burn really hot on highbeam bro. Did you check the old lamp and make sure it was burned out?

Call me if you can't finger it out, you got my #