Date: 3 Jan 1999 16:37:33 GMT From: FEDavisnopsamdnet.att.net (Fred E. Davis) Subject: Re: Hi beam problem- '92 9000
On Wed, 30 Dec 1998 09:10:35 -0500, "Stephen McCracken" <stephenmccrackennopsaml.msn.com> wrote: >Does anyone out there know why my drivers side headlight will frequently be >out when set at high beam but works fine at low beam. I tried a new bulb and >felt around for a loose connections. The used car dealer that I bought it >from put in a used relay in the headlight fuse box but the problem still >occurs. What else could it be ? Although I have a '93, perhaps the headlight circuitry is not all that different. In my situation, the symptom was initially intermittent headlights, then finally a total loss of high beams on both sides - the high beams wouldn't turn on (only low beam), the high beam indicator would never come on, and the fog lamps wouldn't switch off when selecting high beam. I could hear the headlight relay click when I selected high beam, but they didn't come on. Here's the solution I found in my car: In my opinion, there *IS* a manufacturing flaw in the "Lamp Control" relay, aka "Filament Monitor," located in the small distribution/relay/fuse box near the battery. The headlight relay is the large, red, rectangular relay, and just to its left is the square, orange, filament monitor (obviously, the positions and colors in your car may vary). My part is labeled "Lamp Control 41 09 070 5KG005675-01". Inside is a small circuit board that's soldered to the metal contacts that protrude from the bottom of the relay. The problem is that there is only a minimal amount of solder joining the circuit board to the metal pins. These solder connections are mechanically supporting the circuit board, and since solder (a lead/tin alloy) has *very* little mechanical strength, these joints _will_fail_ given enough vibration over time. The good news is that the fix is quite simple. Pop off the orange relay cover, and resolder the connections along the edge of the circuit board to the connector pins. It has been about a year now, and the problem has not recurred. I honestly believe this to be a manufacturing defect, and potentially a design defect. There should have been either more solder to provide additional support, or, preferably, a different means of attaching the board to the contacts (like metal clips riveted to the pc board). The circuit board *should* have more mechanical support which could have been easily obtained by including board supports (card edge guides) molded into the relay cover. (The high beam relay *does* include such support!) Perhaps this would explain your problem as well. Good luck!
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