HELP! My Vibe has NO LIGHTS!

[philndz]

I have been successfully using the drl mod for months now ( http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1188 ) but today when i turned the headlights on they didnt work...the high beams work perfectly but both low beams dont turn on??? I checked the two fuses in the engine bay and the drl wiring to make sure it hadnt loosened but everything is fine!??

[ragingfish]

If the high beams work, and all parking lights and tail lights come on, my guess would be both low beams burnt out...Mysterious, very. Possible, absolutely.

[philndz]

well i'll go and change a bulb right now and let you know what happens...back in a jiffy.....

[philndz]

HOW STRANGE!! that is the case....both low beams burnt out at the very same time...and i know they both worked...at least last weekend when i used them last. I came through terrential rain today with them on (well turned on, whether they were on or not i dont know) but could that have anything to do with it??could they have gotten a power surge or something that caused them to blow?i dunno....i need brains to help...i sure dont wanna pop every bulb i put in!

[ragingfish]

My first instinct would be voltage spike...but I couldn't tell you what could've caused it. I'm anything but knowledgeable in the intricate workings of automotive electrical systems...have you done any modifications at all, electrical or not, in recent times?

[Hot Vibe]

When ever you disturb the balance of what the designers and engineers intended for your vehicle you will have glitches. Some people get lucky and swear that their aftermarket thingy is the best. What happened with that mod is that just for a breif moment while the vehicle tried to turn on the head lights there was a different grounding element and timing issue. Since the system is different there was a surge that went through the system during the point when the daytime runnign lights and the sensor said to turn on the headlights in the rain. They system could not stop the entire signal and some of the juice flowed to the headlights. Have you ever turn on a light at home and the bulb burnt out exactly at that time. It is an electrical thing. I could explain it in those terms but it would all be the same. The system was designed not to let that happen but now your headlights will have a shorter lifespan.

[philndz]

nah...id say hot vibe sounds like hes got the answer....bummer....hmmmnn...what to do w/ those DRLs!?

[joatmon]

I wouldn't say that disabling your DRLs caused premature failure of your hedlight bulbs. For your set up, it's the same as turning your headlights on without the car running, which is something that you should be able to do without trashing the bulbs. I'd be more likely to blame the "APC Xenon Gas Headlights" you list in your signature before the DRL disable mod.I wouldn't blame the DRL mod until more people with the mod start losing headlight bulbs.

[johnsoax]

I most certainly agree with joatmon. I think that it is more the headlights then the DRL modification. With the wire grounded the DRL relay ALWAYS thinks that the car is off, so it never tries to turn stuff on.

[Hawke]

Are you sure you weren't driving around with one headlight before and now the other one burnt out? They may not have necessarily burnt out at the same time.

[ragingfish]

quote:Are you sure you weren't driving around with one headlight before and now the other one burnt out? They may not have necessarily burnt out at the same time.It can often be hard to tell that just one is out...I was driving around with only one low beam for about a week...only reason I discovered one was out is because i pulled up to a store and saw the headlights reflecting (or rather, in one case, not reflecting) in the windows...

[philndz]

well...the apc bulbs have been in for over a year now and both were working last weekend (last time i used them) but they could have blown at different times yesterday i suppose...still very coincidental