91 Carolla headlight problems.

[apunkrockmonk]

A couple nights ago I was driving, and all of the sudden there was a very VERY strong smell of like chemicals, or burning electronics or something of that nature, this happened just as I reached my destination so I thought nothing of it (I figured it was something outside) and turned off the car and got out. When I came back to the car to drive home I tried to turn on the headlights, and nothing happened. The tail lights and parking lights came on fine, but no headlights. What made this even weirder was, the headlights would come on if I turned on the brights, but the bright indicator light in the guages no longer turned on.

I drove home this way and haven't driven at night since.

I thought it was a dead relay, paid $70 something for a new relay and it didn't fix the problem, luckily I returned it and got a refund.

But I'm stumped, can anyone provide any insight into what may have happened and how to fix it?

Also, I was not running stock headlights, I was running some of those blueish ones from ebay that had a lifetime guarentee.

Thanks for your help.

[apunkrockmonk]

I realize no one has had any information to help me with my problems, I also noticed I spelled Corolla wrong.

But yes, I did some more reading in the instruction manual and it talks about another fuse box being behind the glove box along with some circuit breakers.

It also says that if your headlights stop working all together it is probably a circuit breaker thats keeping them off, is it possible that this circuit breaker is behind the glove box?

Oh I just thought of something. When i try to turn on the headlights I hear a click coming from the engine fuse box, could this be the circuit breaker setting to off?

The same click happens when I turn the headlights off.

Any insight will be GREATLY appreciated, it SUCKS coming home every night at 6 and being stuck at home.

Thanks.

[apunkrockmonk]

This will be the final and last post I make in this thread unless someone responds or I solve the problem, I will then post the solution.


So I noticed, everytime I messed with the headlights, the next time I started the car the car stereo had forgotten the time, like it lost power for some reason.

Well, after the last time I messed with the lights, the stereo will not work at all right now, and its not the fuse (at least the fuse in the passenger compartment, it could be some other fuse I don't know about)

I pray that my stereo isn't dead, that would be very, very depressing.

Also, my dome light used to work intermittantly, and then stopped altogether, so I finally changed the bulb and it still doesn't work, its not the fuse for that either.

Any clues on either problem, and answer would REALLY be appreciated.

[albertmdh]

a dying alternator maybe? goto pep-boys and have them run diagnostics on your electrical stuff. my alternator went a month ago, radio stopped working, then headlights, then it parked itself.

[karugs]

If you weren't running stock headlights then what were you running with? They might have burned out and caused that chemical smell. Check all electronics for any signs of burning (even smells). Did you replace your headlight after this? Or did you keep using your aftermarket headlights?

Try switching back to OEM headlights and check all electricals. I suspect the headlights because those draw alot of current.

Have you also checked your headlights if they're burned out?

[apunkrockmonk]

Okay, I replaced the alternator last week. As well as the horn, both the powersteering belt and the alternator belt so I've ruled that out. Also unrelated, I just replaced all four tires and everything in the front and back brakes, cost me an arm and an ass.

On to the headlights, I have since tried the stock bulbs which worked just fine before I removed them.

Infact, after the time I tried swapping in the stock ones and that ended up being unsuccessful was the time the radio decided to cease working.

Back when this first happened if I went up near the headlights with the hood open and I tried to turn on the headlights I could very faintly smell that same smell that I smelled so strongly when they died.

It was a VERY strong smell initally.

The place that did my tires and brakes took a look at the headlights and really couldn't come up with anything, they said if I can't figure it out i'd probably have to go to a dealer. If the dealer ends up fixing it I have a feeling its going to come at an absurdly high price.

I hope it doesn't come down to that, I'm 18, I dumped nearly $1,000 into the car this past week, I don't need the dealership raping me out of another $200+.

So help solve my problem and you will be my hero! haha.

Thanks for the responses.

[karugs]

So did the aftermarket lights burn out? Check the filament if it's broken. How about the fuses, are all of them intact? If not then something is burning them out. Prior to the incident, is it safe to say that the only modification recently done was the aftermarket bulbs?

If your headlights go off at the same time the first thing I would suspect is the switch. Between the switch and the headlights there are a number of other possibilities. One of them could be linked to another part of the system, hence the other electrical problems you're having. I can't really help you much since I'm no electrician, but I'll help you as far as I can.

But since you said the taillights are OK then the switch should be fine. Something forward of the switch going into the headlight system is surely at fault. Get a Haynes manual and check the wiring diagram. Search for what part of the headlight system is after the switch but only goes to the headlights and other electrical systems.

The click that you hear when switching on the lights is the relay. If this is going bad you shouldn't hear any click. The same kind of relay is what you hear when you turn on the hazards.

If you can, take it to the dealer for diagnosis only. If it's an easy DIY job ask them what needs to be done (if they'll be kind enough to tell u). From there you can work your way into fixing the car.

[bmw5002]

did you try new bulbs? i had a problem with my headlights: only the hibeams worked. so instead of searching for the break in the harness between the relay and the headlights, i just re-wired them. i bought 2 12v relays at radioshack and a bunch of wire and basically rewired them from the switch to the lights. works great. of course i have a 91 rolla and i dont mind doing mods to it like that. if your car is newer and worth more you should find the problem and fix it. i think its most likely a short in the wiring harness between the relays and the bulbs. i imagine this was what happened to my car with the previous owner. a short must have occurred and the wires burnt and smelled like you experienced. i you have any questions pm or email me.

[apunkrockmonk]

Out of the four fuses I've checked; dome light, radio, and one for each headlight, they're all fine.

I was trying to get the aftermarket bulbs out but I was having trouble, I couldn't get the retainer clip things to turn for some reason.

I think it should be noted that I've had no problems with the after market bulbs since I put them in, in July.

When I get another shot I'll try taking them out again.

To test the old bulbs I just plugged the harnesses in without putting the bulbs in the headlights themselves.

Also, I've been having the dome light problems since even before I was having headlight problems.

One more electrical quirk I have is some times the HVAC blower doesn't work whatsoever, seems to be when its really wet outside, used to happen kind of frequently about a year ago but its only happened once or twice that I can think of since July.

Edit: PM sent bmw5002

[bmw5002]

Heres pix of my job. ill get the schematics up. this is a pretty big undertaking. took me about 3 days. of course my job was very neat and i soldered into the stock harness and basically redid everything. It took a good amount of research with a voltmeter to find the proper places to tap into the switch cluster harness. SOme things seem redundant like 4 relays but because of the way the stock wiring system was designed i had to fit it in with that.

Heres the basics of what I used. The only thing i needed more of was those crimp connectors. For tools, I needed a socket wrench and sockets to take out the airbox and battery for easier access. I needed a screwdriver for some various stuff. Used some screws. A drill for holes for the relay and fusebox mount. Needed a crimp tool of course. Soldering iron. Used a labelmaker as you can see to make the hookups easier. That little relay cluster i put together in my workbench before i put it into the car. I used a good amount of shrink tubing to make it neat. As you can see the small low power reed relays are electrical taped to the larger 30A ones. All connections were either soldered or crimped. For the existing headlight sockets were the bulb plugs into, i cut the wires and took them to my workbench. I had to remove these little rubber insulators out of the back i think. THen i stuck a small screwdriver in the front holes and got the connectors out. I used needle nose to pry open the crimp connectors. I then soldered the radioshack 10 guage wire back onto them and stuck them back into the sockets. Same went for the stock harness. I took out the pins i needed to work with and uncrimped the wires. THen I soldered my own wires back onto them and stuck them back in. THe fuses I used were 30A because they were the lowest amperage fuses i could get for that size fuse block. Those blocks are meant for high power audio amplifiers so they are big. Plus i wanted the ability to add higher power lighting in the future. And also those fuses have a cool LED indicator that lights when it blows. And u might say 30A is a little much for a light, but if something is shorted you can be sure it will blow because current draw will definitely be above 30A. Btw the setup worked flawlessly the first time.

Mostly everything was purchased at radio shack. Here are most of the items i used:
RadioShack:
#275-226 12VDC/30A SPST Automotive Relay - $6.29 x2
#275-233 0.5-Amp SPST Reed Relay at 12VDC - $2.79 x2
#278-568 35-Ft. 10 AWG Automotive Hookup Wire - Red - $13.49
#278-569 35-Ft. 10 AWG Automotive Hookup Wire - Black - $13.49
#278-1221 UL Recognized Hookup Wire 22 AWG - $5.49
#278-1627 6" Heat-Shrink Tubing - $2.39 x2
#270-1133 Gold-Plated Fuses with Indicator - $5.29
#64-3131 Crimp-On Quick Disconnects 22-18 awg - $1.69 x2 or 3
#64-3135 Crimp-On Quick Disconnects 12-10 awg - $1.69 x2 or 3
#64-3120 Crimp-On Insulated Ring Connectors 12-10 awg - $1.69 x2 or 3

Ebay:
Boss Fuse Block ~$16
10 feet 6awg Marine/Auto Power cable from Genuine Cable and Power (this went from the positive battery cable to the fuse block.) ~$8
Crimp-on lug for 6awg cable. (it has a hole for the screw on the positve terminal to fit right through) ~$1

Other:
White nylon wiring ties from home depot previously bought
Streetglow Blue fake H.I.D halogen lamps ~ $20 (one filament later broke just cuz of bad quality)

Tools (mighta forgot some, the usual tools):
Drill
Screwdrivers
Socket wrench and sockets
Needle nose pliers
RaioShack #64-2055 Soldering iron and RadioShack #64-013 0.022" Silver bearing solder


Grand total was around $100, and less without the bulbs I bought.


Stuff i used:






Heres the stock wiring schematic. Its not very comprehensive but it gave me an idea:


Heres the schematic i made:


Notes:


heres the relay setup. both hi and lo lights are grounded to the chassis with those crimp-on ring connectors and a screw.
i constructed this out of the car on my workbench
the heat shrink you see is a 3-way junction of crimp-on ring connectors all connected together by a bolt and nut and heat shrank. this allows the wires from both bulbs to go into one wire into the relay.

basically heres how it goes: 6 awg wire goes from positive battery to fuse block. splits into two 10 awg wires and goes straight to middle connector of lights. a 22 awg wire also branches off the fuse block for switching power to the relays. from the lights, two 10 awg black ground wires come off each light and go to the relays. they are consolidated to one wire for the lo-beams and one wire for the hi-beams with those 3-way connections. hi beams into one relay, lows into the other. that path is then grounded out of the relays to the chassis. before i mentioned the 22 awg wire for relay power. that wire goes to the coil side of each 30a relay and then from there goes through the switched side of the low power reed relays. it them comes out of there and goes into the cabin and to the harness. where it is soldered to the pins for the lo-beams and hi-beams. the 22 awg power wire also goes to the coil side of the low power reed relays, and then into the cabin and is soldered to the headlight relay pin of the harness. and thats it. the headlight switch grounds the coil of both reed relays to turn on light power. then it grounds the coil of either the high or lo beam relays to control brightness. its pretty simple once you understand it.
this should help
fits perfectly behind the fusebox

routed the wires from the passenger side light in front of the radiator

Boss fusebox with 2 30A fuses from ebay
relay trigger wires come trhough the rubber speedometer grommet
soldered right into the stock connector
speedometer grommet in engine compartment

[apunkrockmonk]

Couple of questions, where did you buy all of that wire, what different gauges of wire do you use for the different parts of the circuit, and also, does your new setup illuminate the high beams indicator when you turn on the high beams.

Also, how much do you think your grand total you spent on this project?

Thank you so much for providing all this info for me, I'm very interested in doing this, I want to get started asap.


I've never done such dramatic work to a car before, I've done alot of soldering before and read very very basic scematics before.

After looking at your schematic for awhile I understand it, I haven't taken the time to understand the stock one, but that shouldn't matter because your's works.

One thing I don't understand though, the stock diagram called for 10a fuses, yours called for 20a, and you ended up using 30a. Any specific reason for this?

I'm really hoping to get going on this tomorrow, spending all day and maybe even completing it tomorrow or tuesday. I need this to pass inspection, which is overdue.

I wonder where I can get a reasonably priced fusebox not off of ebay, I don't have the time to wait.

Also, where is that wireing harness in your picture located?

[bmw5002]

you can get a fuse box like that at radioshack. they have clear automotive fuseboxes like that one. they also have one with a 2-fuse configuration which is perfect cuz i only used 2. go back and re-read my post i added more info. the harness is right under the steering column. it connects the multifunction switch to the rest of the cars electrical system. you have to remove the whole panel of trim below the steering wheel where the speaker is. and you have to remove the shroud of trim around the steering column. if you need to know the access points of the bolts to remve the stuff just tell me and i can scan a pic. this all costed me around $100. but that includes the same blue bulbs you have. they were streetglow. they actually blew out a month ago due to being poorly manufactured. one of the bulbs filament broke. so i put the stock lamps back in. and no, the hi-beam indicator does not work. i didnt look into making it work coz i really didnt give a crap. lol. i usually drive with my hi-beams on constantly and they still dont even match the brightness of other cars. its not the setup, just low wattage bulbs. i want to get higher wattage ones but i dont know where from. everything is like the standard 45w/65w or whatever. tell me how it goes. preferrably post more questions not pm, so other ppl can learn more. i wouldnt jump into it until you get all the parts you need together or ull be running out to the store every hour. there are some little intricacies that you might encounter. such as how to hook the wires up to the relays etc. just post. i cant explain everything as it would take me another few hours. most stuff just requires common sense and basic electricity knowledge. most important to remember on trying to understand car electrical is that 12v is never applied to anything by a switch. whatever needs to be done or turned on, is always grounded through a switch. that is also how electricity works almost everywhere. remember, always ground, dont apply. also one important thing i forgot to mention was that i soldered a bridge wire between the pins of the Red and Red/White/Blue wire since they are the same connection. you can see it, the green bridge wire in that pic showing the harness. and when i say R/W/B wire i mean that one wire is colored Red, with a white stripe, and a blue intermittent stripe.

[apunkrockmonk]

Okay, thank you so much for all of this info, I appreciate it very much.

The aftermarket lights I was using were the "Eurodezines" 9007 model I believe. They seem to be of decent quality and claim to be 50 state street legal and include a lifetime warrenty. I got them for $9 on ebay in june or july. Give them a shot if you want.

When I'm doing this over the course of the next few days I'd also like to put in the remote starter that I've had since September that I've been putting off installing. Hopefully that won't be too hard.

It didn't come with any instructions, it only has 7 wires (no keyless entry features or anything) and they're on a wireing harness, I have a feeling I'm going to have to cut off the harness and do some soldering though. Do you have any experiance in doing this?

The 7 wires claim to be as follows.

Red - Battery
Blue - Ignition 1
Blue/White - Ignition 2
Green - Acc
Yellow - Start 1
Yellow/Red - Start 2
Black - Ground

Its a Sunbird DG-003 starter

The red and black wires are obvious to me, but will the other 5 wires be attatched to the ignition and easily recognizeable? Isn't it odd there is no wire to hook up to the ignition coil so it can sense the rpms?

I am also looking in putting in some form of white lights under the dash to light up the floor of the passenger compartment to make up for the lack of dome light. The dome light was horribly dim when it worked anyway.

What do you think the best route to go on this would be? L.E.D.s? Do they make "neons" only in white that I could use? Would it be easy to get them to turn on when a door is opened or would that be unfeasible?

Now to why all of that is revelant.

I wanted to run them all of the same power line and fuse as well as running a new +12v wire to my stereo instead of trying to find out what the hell happened to that.
What gauge wire do you think that these three things would need (stereo, lights, and remote starter) and what kind of fuse?

I have to go buy a crimper as well.

[Tercel GTS]

Stereo stopped at same time as headlights? I'm betting it's related to the real problem.......

[apunkrockmonk]

Stereo stopped about a week later.