Essentially, I bought the car on August 27, 2020 for $2500. From the time I got it, I questioned the ability of my Headlights but since it was my first car, initially I wasn’t sure. Like I can barely see a cool 10 feet ahead of me. Good to note that when I got it, it didn’t have fog lights so I’ll be putting some of those in shortly. But Anyways I wasn’t completely sure what to think of my headlights until I started looking around but what really made it very clear to me that something was wrong was the sheer awe other people would be in when they’d see me drive the car at night cause they’d wonder how I could even see. Also said my high beams look like regular low beams. I think that was a bit of a reach BUT i could see where they were coming from.
So it’s been a couple months now and within that time frame the radio had went out (it was cheap though so ig it’s no biggie). I already knew something was wrong with it initially from the alternator wine it caused up until the day I took it out and was trying to diagnose the problem so I could listen to music in the car cause I be feigning. After being lost for a minute, eventually my dad came and he found a burnt out connection that was causing two pieces that needed to touch, to separate. Boom, he (Temporary) fixes it but when he fixed the radio, I also noticed a difference in my Headlights the same night. They were seemingly a lot brighter and full of life. Like actually usable, and even.
The way it’s been the entire time before that, my low beams were so weak that I couldn’t tell which one was doing more work from in the car cause it didn’t seem like either were doing much. And my high beams were much stronger ofc but only one of the “beams” actually became an elongated beam. It wasn’t one clean beam that covered the entire area of vision, just the driver side.
Shortly after that TempFix for the cheap radio, about 4 days, it went back out and my Headlights went back to the way they were, appearing tired. And it’s been that way since cause I’ve yet to try and fix it again, instead I ordered a whole new radio from CrutchField and I’m gonna put it in tomorrow when it gets here. I’ll keep updated on how it turns out and if the radio swap will give my Headlights their power back. Tomorrow (well today now since I took so long typing this Shit before I gts) is the day. If anyone has knowledge to offer, please bless me. Or any LED that’d be a good replacement.


Low beams far 20-30 ft away

Low beams close 5-10ft away Take notice of the driver side bulb not doing well

High Beams Far30-40 feet away Take notice at how the passenger bulb is bright enough to ignite a glare in the camera unlike the driver side bulb, yet the driver side bulb is the one you see more in the road. The confusion this brings me is beyond me

High Beams Close about 10ftv away

 

pics of a wall from 10-30 feet away please. Pics of the headlights directly at us do no good

 

After I did the big 3 upgrade everyone commented how bright my light got. Might be a power circulation issue. My grounds were nasty corroded. One light would just go out I did the big 3 because I upgraded the sound system. Bought ballast to put in but I no longer had the issue after the cable upgrade.

 

My passenger side light would occasionally flicker out, and I'd have to flick the lights on and off to get them both to turn on again. After doing the big three like Mustafa did, the issue is gone

 

Where'd you get your big 3 from and how difficult was the install?

 

Bought some 1/0 welding cable from the electrical supply house. You can get it off Amazon or the same. Get some mesh wrap (like a chinese fingertrap style) to protect it and shrink wrap for the ends. Install was easy. Just follow the wires and disconnect and reconnect the new. Everything in the battery, alternator, starter, fusebox loop with the body ground. Crimping the connectors on is the is just about the hardest part. There tons of write ups and YouTube videos 9n it.

 

As others have mentioned or hinted, the first place to start is with electrical systems integrity checks. Specifically, circuit paths with high resistance.

Note that you’ll need a decent/suitable DMM (digital multimeter). I would recommend a Klein MM700 if you don't already have one, and don’t wish to spend more on better ones such as a Fluke 87V (RMS dmm), Fluke 88V (Averaging dmm), Agilent, etc. The Klein can be had for $85 on a great deal, or $99 on a regular day at Home Depot, plus tax/shipping. Do not let the difference of $15 between the two deter or hold you back. You will find such a tool useful for other situations in the future.

Once you have your dmm, a fully charged vehicle battery, and vehicle electrical schematics in hand, get to work. Refrain from flipping said meter into Resistance mode and diving in to checking ohmic values (with the vehicle power source disconnected), as resistance checks yield little info in these scenarios. Instead, check for voltage drops. Check values before making changes (cleaning grounds etc.), then again afterwards. As always, maintain/practice care when work on live circuits and/or near moving parts.

If you’re unfamiliar with such electrical testing methods, I advise you turn your eyes and ears to this video, for the basic concepts of testing, and others like it from other posters (GoTech, ScannerDanner, etc.) on YouTube.

...if people pass by and ask why you’re pretending to be Ben Franklin, tell them you’re “trying to find the juice” (or lack thereof).