High Beams not Working, Low Beam Fine..

Sortez · 03-08-2009, 05:41 AM

Hi guys,

Headlamps are working on dim, but if i flick the lever foward to full beam they switch off, and alternitivly if i pull it towards me for pass, low beam stays on and nothing happens.... not even the light inside is lighting up in either situation...

Is there a fuse for highbeam?

91 Vitara 2 door canvas top 5 speed manual

so i just hooked up spot lamps. great. believe it is all hooked up correctly, Positive wire from terminal with in line fuse going direct to relay, two cables then going to each spotlight (for positive) and from there each spotlamp is grounded to the car.

There is then a switch on the high beam wire and the right headlamp earth that flicks the relay to activate the spotties.

It all worked for about 30 seconds and then the high beam and, in turn the spotties stopped working... sounds like a fuse for me, but ive checked them all under the drivers dash and they are all good?

Thanks!

jtgh · 03-08-2009, 02:42 PM

i have full set , ask for it if need be

but below , shows full HL ckt.

Sortez · 03-08-2009, 10:33 PM

Thanks jtgh! they are so much more simple than my 4 page fold out one i have!!

I have had a look at them and im still at a loss... Looks like if it were a blown fuse, the low beam would not work either as this common is the one that is fused... but the low beam work fine and high beam dont work at all... not even the instrument cluster indication light....

Any ideas what else it could be?? Every other eletrical component on the car is working fine.....

CodyJ · 03-09-2009, 12:34 AM

Problems like those are problematic. Get your volt tester out and see whats going on. Remove the bulb and make sure you are fused 10a on you're tester see if it could be the bulbs (happen before once). Does it short out all lights or just doesn't do anything to headlights when in high? Could be the switch area. See were the "short" is coming from or if the switch for the lights are just not working as you explained it doesn't show it on the instrument panel so it could more than likely be a bad switch. So hotwire it and see what you get! Don't know if they have a relay right off but another possibility.

jtgh · 03-09-2009, 01:06 AM

it is a very simple circuit.
the head lamps both low and high are HOT all the time, via 1 fuse.
so no, the fuse must be good if low work or the highs. ( Fuse is good)

see the combo switch simply grounds the filament, that it desires to be active. (your hand operation of switch)

if the hot side shorts, the fuse blows killing all HL. ALL.

if the Combo side shorts to ground then the lamps stay on full time, all the time. (more later)
so that leaves only the following.
1: bad combo switch.
2: wires broken to combo or the conn. to it.

notice on dwg. page 16 , c and d sections.
see pin 20 , that one ground feeds both functions. see it?
so the problem is at pin 1 , RED feed .

either pin one grounds the red wire or it does NOT. (by hand action on lever)
a voltmeter on pin 1 confirms this fact.
read12v on high, bad switch. (try grounding pin 1 to prove HL work on high)
read 0v on high beam , no Highbeams, then wire on pin 1 broken.

that is the whole deal.
how is that my friend.

cheers.
3:

Thiazolium · 03-09-2009, 01:32 PM

Do your headlamps use H4's or 9004 bulbs?

jtgh · 03-09-2009, 02:37 PM

again, the fuse is good. look at the schematic the SAME fuse powers both filiments.
why guess, diagnosis.

my simple 1 point test , solved the riddle.
just ground pin one on the combo. ( a jumper wire )

if the HL high beams now glow, then the Combo is bad.
if it dont glow, then the high feed is open.

1 simple test and no guessing.

look at the schematic and study how the HL function.

the bulbs PN dont matter at all
it is just a filiment , what gas surrounds the filiament is not important.

if you dought me, then just ground 1 at a time each headlight wire not.
first the red/white , behold, low beams
then
the red wire
ground that, below high beams.

the schematic dont lie , it is what it shows.

if someone put in the wrong lamps ,then this test (directly above) would prove this case. ( its called back probing)

Sortez · 03-14-2009, 11:31 PM

awesome thanks very much for the feedback, i'll go try it right now and let you know!

elonja · 03-15-2009, 04:26 AM

i had a similar problem a cple months back,the technician had to pull down the steering column and clean the switch and that was it.

riley · 03-15-2009, 09:02 AM

Did you try undoing any interconnection between your spot lights and headlights? If the problem started after they were installed I would look there.