2003 headlight issue

[03VIBEswfl]

2003 base Vibe -- I have pretty standard bulbs installed - no xenon or halogen or anything; I think I'm using silvania or philips -- I think less than $40/bulb if I remember correctly.

Anyway, 3-4 days ago, all of a sudden and out of the blue, the driver side DRL and low-beam stops working, BUT, when i turn the high beams on, the driver side highbeam works fine.

(removed)?

[tribalman]

the bulb needs to be replaced. there is a filament for regular beams/DRL and one for Highs. the low is burnt out.

usually when you replace one bulb you need to replace another. drivers side sucks a bit cause you have to remove the battery to get access.

[03VIBEswfl]

Yea, tell me about it... funny thing is (I forgot to mention this), I just changed the freakin driver side bulb about 2 months ago. Jeez. Gonna search on GenVibe to see what people think are the best/reliable/longest lasting bulbs...

Good to hear this is probably just a filament/bulb and nothing more involved than that...

[vibenvy]

Whenever you install any bulbs, especially headlight bulbs, be sure you do not touch the glass part of the bulb. The oil from your skin can damage the bulb and decrease its life. I typically wear latex gloves to install bulbs. Wiping down the glass part with rubbing alcohol before installing them is also a good idea.

[Halo9809]

I don't know if you got it fixed yet, but the actual socket type thing that you plug the bulb into on ours had burnt up causing the same issue, we replaced it ourselves in less than like 10 minutes and it was maybe 5 dollars.

[joatmon]

... what people think are the best/reliable/longest lasting bulbs...

pretty much anything not made by Sylvania. And if you really want short life bulbs, get the combination of sylvania and the extra bright/blind other drivers bulbs.

I've had really good bulb longevity out of Federal Mogul's from NAPA

[Kelpie]

I'm having the same problem on the passenger side. I had an extra bulb, and it only works on high beam as well. I did hook the bulb up to a train transformer and it worked fine, so I am wondering if the socket is burnt up or something.

[Salsa Guy]

Take a DVM to the connectors and check you voltages at each condition.

[thebarber]

Plug could be corroded and the low beam is severed. I had to fix a friends 02 wrx wiring a couple month ago with that issue...