1990 Camry Weak headlights

[1122union]

My wife complained about her 90 Camry having weak headlights. I compared her car to my 91 Camry and she is correct. I replaced the bulbs with no success. Any ideas? One thing I noticed, the alterntor seems to be over charging as there is alot of battery acid residue around the battery. You would think that over charging would male the lights too bright.

Thanks in advance.

[timebuilder]

Acid on the battery is not always a symptom of overcharging. It could be a battery that refuses to accept the charge being placed across its trerminals.

Advice: 1) get a charging system diagnosis with battery test (I like conductance testing better, but many shops only have load testing equipment) and 2) try Silverstar bulbs.

[71Corolla]

How do you know the battery is being overcharged, did you test it when the engine is running?

Maybe the overvoltage is damaging the headlight lamps? Just a guess.

[HomeGrown]

I guess I'd be looking at the ground first... this is a common effect of a poor ground, which could originate from your battery terminal. Any other notable symptoms, like slow cranking?

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Or perhaps some water in the headlight housings where the reflector surface can rust and peel? Take a very close look, it's a common problem in areas with extremely cold winters (lucky me) or very wet and hot summers (lucky NC). The butyl (or silicone, or whatever the hell it is) around the rear of the glass lens can crack, allowing water in.

[monito]

have the charging system checked. I just replaced the alternator, and when i drove to autozone to return the core, i noticed that my lights were considerably brighter tonight compared to earlier in the week

[atobe]

face it the 9004 isn't the best bulb on the market just install some fog lights

[monito]

Originally Posted by atobe

face it the 9004 isn't the best bulb on the market just install some fog lights

agreed; i'm planning on doin the fog/driving light mod that 90 Gen2 did.