[prickle]

Hi
Just finished putting on my replacement front on the Sierra .. one of the headlights is dull .. dull on low beam and little better on high .. not sure what the problem might be ... have tried a different headlight but the result is the same

Any ideas ? Is it an earthing problem?

Stuart

[Bruce]

That's where I would be starting.

[prickle]

Ok .. so how is the headlight earthed?

[killazook]

Have you tried checking fuses and like bruce said the bulbs

[fordem]

Start with the fuses - the headlights are grounded/earthed through the combination switch, if there's an earth problem, both lights will probably be affected - it's unlikely to be the bulbs, if you have a bad bulb, it typically will not light.

[dhula]

Yellow/dull light on one side usually means an earth/gound problem to that side as already said, but can also mean the battery smoke is not getting to the light.
Starting point for diagnosis is to power up the light from a known source, ie run wires directly from a good battery to the light, I have jumper leads made for doing this made of 4mm wire and really small alligator clamps like you'd find on a test light. If the bulb lights up as it should then next suspect is wiring to that particular light, if it is still yellow/dull then suspect the connectors at the back of the light or the light itself.
If the wiring is suspect then you'll need to check for a high resistance joint or bad connection along the wiring loom.

[prickle]

Thanks for replys ... I have a bit of time after work today so will have a look

[royce]

Pull the 4th and 5th (or is it 3rd and 4th cant remember) from the left hand side, top row fuses out and visually check them, I reckon 1 will be blown

[prickle]

Ok ... still nothing ... checked all fuses (most over spec so will replace with correct sizes)
Check the headlight ... wired in separate earth fixed the problem with that lamp but the other side went dull
Im running out of time to get this regoed for Christmas hols which is a real pain
Have the blinker / wiper / light unit off the steering column .. someone has bodged in some wiring will remove ( no wires cut just stripped back and new leads twitched in)