Headlight dimness

[EloM]

I've got an 06 wagon NA & especially lately, I keep getting flashed for my headlights being so dim. I have noticed that the difference in output between low bean & day time running is barely any...I was wondering, is there anything that can be done for them? Is this how they were from factory or is there like some power bank that's dead, thus, low output? I figured our hawkeye lights were the best...apparently not.

[silverton]

They're plastic, so how clouded are they?  my third gen is the same way though, barely tell a difference between DRL and low beam, still even with new housings, but I can see better!

[EloM]

No, they're not that cloudy, but I can see, the power output is negligible between drl & lb, so...

[aero901]

Are the bulbs loose or misaligned? If the bulbs aren't clipped into the reflector socket correctly it can have a big impact on brightness and beam pattern. Also, what bulbs are you using and how old are they? OEM bulbs are pretty lackluster but there are LED replacements that will put a lot more photons downrange.

I recently refinished my headlights (polished and new 2k clearcoat) and there wasn't a huge difference in brightness when driving at night over the old faded lenses. Looks a hell of a lot better though...

If not a loose bulb, what are the voltages at the bulb socket when in DRL mode vs. the low-beams?

[EloM]

Well, good ideas, I'll try to check, will be 2 weeks before I can, but no, they're in properly. Regular replacement bulbs is what I'm using, nothing special, but really, it's only my car with this problem? Other people using the same bulb don't have this issue.

[silverton]

You may have excessive resistance in the headlight plug itself, I know on the older models the plug would melt and the bulbs would be dim until you spliced in a new connector.

[EloM]

So...would you say that I remove the bulb, check the resistance between drl & low beam & go from there? How high we talking? (I actually work in electronics, so this is up my alley)

[silverton]

You can kinda determine it just based on the condition of the plug.  does it look melted? are the contacts clean and shiny or are they burnt and corroded?  You would put the multimeter leads and check what voltage is making it to the pins.  this is called 'voltage drop', they should be reading battery/alternator voltage, if it's less than that you have excessive drop and I would suspect the connectors.

[EloM]

Thanks for all the suggestions, my brain has been in baby mode for the past 19 months, not thinking at all!

I will check the resistance, then clean & recheck. If it was melted, I doubt it'd work, but you never know.

Could be as simple as a cleaning, just like the fix for when you've got no throttle or it's stuck, unplug the gas pedal, clean the contacts & fixed (which I did already last January). But you always start with the simplest things, before moving onto the other suggestions (like a new plug).

[silverton]

9 hours ago, EloM said:

If it was melted, I doubt it'd work, but you never know

I do know, and the bulb still illuminates, just dimly.

[blackobxt]

Do you know how to use a multimeter?
 

If yes- check voltage at the plugs themselves with headlights on while also checking for continuity at the ground to verify. You should be seeing at least close to charging voltage (greater than 12v) with the vehicle running and headlights on.

If no- take it to a shop or get lucky and find and replace burnt headlight connectors on both headlights (unlikely).

most of the time when headlight connectors melt from a slow fault they just stop working. For it to be dim is possible but highly unlikely as if it was lit dim it would probably be melting the connector and connection even further till it just stopped. The fact that both lights are dim leads me to believe there is a problem somewhere in the circuit which is going to require more than entry level wire poking. 

 

[EloM]

blackobxt...as stated earlier, my background is in electronics.

When I open it up this week, I'll report back, hopefully I can do it Tuesday.

[EloM]

Update, my driver side light burnt out. The connector was not melted. I cleaned it with contact cleaner, though it was pretty shiny anyway. But, I got the wrong light, will update when it's replaced.

If time permits, will look further down the wire road to see if I can find any other issues for the output being so low.

[aero901]

For anyone else that runs into a similar issue, I just had a dimness problem with only the drivers side headlight low beam. Thought it was the LED bulb/driver but when swapping the bulb/driver to the other side the dimness remained at the drivers side housing. Voltage at the connectors were both the same (~11 volts when key in the on position).  The problem was the reflective lining on the projector reflector was flaking off and not allowing the light to be pushed out the lens.  New housing is the easiest solution here.

[EloM]

You mean a whole new headlight? At 18 years old, is it worth it? I'll see about cleaning...

[blackobxt]

New headlights are fairly affordable at around $200. 

[KZJonny]

Cheap and plentiful at scrapyards these days as well. I've seen some in really good condition, considering their age. If this is a 'forever car' for you. And if it is, then what's $200?

 

Or... $150 CAD... so that's a handful of peanuts in freedom dollars yeah?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12456325&cc=1430733&pt=10762&jsn=392

 

[EloM]

Well, its got 281k KM, trying to squeeze as much out of it as possible, as I'm tight on cash, so...not forever, plus, wouldn't last that long.

Anywho, checked the lights, actually it's 13.5v DC at the connector. Still notice that between drl & low beam, not much more light is pumped. So, not sure what to say. I do need a pass side housing as I did notice it was flakey in there, probably from when I hit a Mercedes.

[GearJamr]

There isn't much difference between the drl and low beam, the drl uses the low beam bulb and not the high beam like most sane manufacturers.

I've noticed on mine, keeping the windshield clean (on the inside) makes a huge difference on how much light I can see.  Clean the headlight assembly, inside of windshield and see if the perception changes.  If not, upgrade the bulbs.  I put in Osram bulbs and I have more light than a stock or stock replacement bulb.

[EloM]

I put basic osram bulbs, nothing much changed...

[GearJamr]

Get the ones listed on page 1 of this thread:

[EloM]

Amazon doesn't have this one anymore, how about theses https://www.amazon.ca/KATUR-Adjustable-Brightness-Conversion-Waterproof/dp/B09SG5WR3R/ref=sr_1_15_sspa?crid=18PNHMVIC8CRG&keywords=osram%2Brallye%2B65%2Bh7&qid=1706858312&s=automotive&sprefix=osram's%2Brallye%2B65%2Bh7%2Cautomotive%2C62&sr=1-15-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1?

Or, where to buy this H7 rallye+65?

 

[silverton]

I don't recommend buying headlight bulbs with moving parts

[GearJamr]

Daniel Stern lighting is where I got mine.  There was another member on here also selling them a year or so ago, can't remember their name though.

[KZJonny]

@Zac88

He was in the process of moving out of the country tho. But I did get a set of high beams from him and they're crazy good. The IR coated type.

Low beams were an improvement, but not night and day.

I did all I could to get better throw with the low beam: cleaned and polished lens housings, 'properly' aimed the headlights on a very flat concrete surface with a plumb wall etc.... better bulbs.

 

It helps, but i think the next thing would be to stat ohming out all the wiring and see what that looks like. That, or just accept that 18 year old lighting is not as good as moderm stuff and either live with it, or spend up and get HID projectors, LED specific projectors, etc... Not options I am enamoured of, but what do you do?