Headlight Problem

[jrrobinson7206]

My headlight plugs were melting. So I replaced one after my mechanic replaced the other. Anyway now they're off. One is on high beam the other on low. My mechanic told me which one to switch but it's not working.
I live in deer infested country need my headlight to work. If I buy the replacement plug w/ wires the colors don't match so I have to guess.
My Vibe is an 04 base. Can anyone help

[andrewclaus]

Lacking a wiring diagram I would set up a test rig (carefully, with insulated alligator clips) to apply battery voltage to the two elements to find the brighter one, then test for voltage at the leads when high beams are on. Or if one side works right, note the positions of those leads and copy it.

[joatmon]

Not sure how much a wiring diagram will help though. Here's the relevant part from the 04 Matrix manual

headlight.jpg (34.45 KiB) Viewed 1500 times

I expect the wire colors are the same in Vibes, and if so the diagram shows the +12V side of the bulbs are the same colors for both low and high beam, red with white stripe for the left light, solid red for the right light.

In the diagram, the low beam ground side comes from the DRL module, which provides a ground for full low beam, and something above ground for DRL mode, that would be red with black stripe for both sides. Ground for the high beam would be white with a black stripe.

As far as I know, the only difference between this matrix wiring diagram and the headlight circuit in the Vibe, is that the matrix uses four headlight fuses, two low beam fuses and two high beam fuses, where the Vibe uses only two, a single fuse for both low beams, and a single fuse for both high beams

and jrrobinson7206 , since it says this is your first post, a belated Welcome to GenVibe!

[jrrobinson7206]

Thanks I've visited this site a time or two. Had our Vibe for a couple of years. I've replaced this year the starter, alternator, and last week I replaced the air condenser. Next I've got an oil change and spark plugs to do. By winter I want it all done.

[jrrobinson7206]

Joatmon. I need to wire in new Doorman after market wiring. The colors aren't the same. Blue, red, and black I think

[joatmon]

Well, that wiring diagram I posted doesn't seem right, as it shows four wires going to a three wire connector, so ignore that

I found this pic online of a standard H4 socket

headlight2.jpg (8.8 KiB) Viewed 1488 times

I had a spare 9003 headlight bulb and tested it with a 12V power supply, and the pinout in that diagram is correct, however that doesn't mean that the wire colors in that pic match the Dorman 84790. However, its pretty standard in automotive wiring that black is ground.

I currently don't have access to a Vibe, but a good chance I'll be working on one this weekend, and if so, I'll check the headlight wire colors, unless someone with an 03-08 Vibe wants to get us a pic before than

[tpollauf]

Probably not much help with this photo. Was not going to fully remove it. Drivers side headlight. You can see the three colors Red/wh, Red/blk, Red solid

[jrrobinson7206]

Topollauf that's correct for a factory installed headlight and thanks for taking the time. However my factory installed headlight wiring had melted at the bulb connection. So I'm installing a high temp after market option. Evidently Vibes are notorious for this problem because of the constant DRLs.

[tpollauf]

Evidently Vibes are notorious for this problem because of the constant DRLs.

Apparently so . My passenger side socket was already replaced by the previous owner. Good luck with your repairs

[joatmon]

OK, so due to many factors I wasn't able to look at a Vibe headlight yesterday.


Do you have the dorman stuff yet, and if so, does the back of the package provide any legend for the wire colors? I can't find anything online from Dorman that shows that.

However, looking at tpollauf's pic and comparing it to the pinout pic I posted, my best guess is that you should hook up the wires as follows
Dorman black to Vibe red with black stripe for ground
Dorman red to Vibe solid red for low beam
Dorman blue to Vibe red with white stripe for high beam
But as I said, that is a guess, which comes with no guarantee


Don't know if you have a multimeter, but if you did you could use it to check which Dorman wire goes to which pin on the bulb connector.
If you don't, then what I'd do is strip a small bit of insulation from the end of each of the three wires in the Dorman item, and plug a 9003 headlight bulb into the connector. Then, pop the hood of the vibe, and hold the black wire on the negative battery terminal, and touch the red wire to the battery positive terminal. See which filament lights up. let go of the red wire and touch the blue wire to the battery positive terminal. Hopefully the other filament will light up. If either time both filaments light up, then the black wire is not ground, and someone should sue Dorman for being stupid.

9003 bulb.jpg (28.32 KiB) Viewed 1467 times

[jrrobinson7206]

So I tried and failed to install a new socket. My problem is the vibe oem wiring. On the left side it's very different than the other one.
Red with big white stripe
Red with little white stripe
Red with black stripe
The other side is almost the same
Except there no little white stripe just plain red wire

[SSizler]

joatmon gave you the best starting point - generally black is ground / common.
If you connect the Vibe red / black to the Doorman black that should take care of the ground.
As for the other 2 wires, just hook them up and see what you get.
It will either be correct and the headlight low / high beams will match,
or the low / high beams will be reversed between the two headlights, visible by looking at them.
If they match, you are done.
If they are opposite, swap the 2 wires that don't have a black stripe and test again.
They should match now and you are done.
It is 12 vdc to either element, so you won't hurt them.

You can also figure it out with a test light or a meter if you have either one of those.

Keep at it, you can get it.
When troubleshooting you just have to try stuff.
(just don't blow anything up.... )

[jrrobinson7206]

So I wired the new headlight sockets (slow & meticulously). And I'll be damned if it still wasn't winking at me (one hi/ one low). I screamed cussed and stomped. And then I found the problem. The damn high beam was burned out!!!!
It's always the simplest fix. So new bulb and we're good to go.
I also replaced the exterior door handles, did an oil change, changed the plugs and coil packs and installed a dual trumpet electric air horn that toots at 130db. Not bad for a couple of days off worth of work.
Thanks to all who helped me