My aching HEADLIGHTS

[richtrek]

Greetings.

My wife has a 1999 six cylinder Solara. We have been married three years. In those three years I have replaced her headlight three times. Today, again, her low beams are gone. I checked the fuses and they are fine. My minimal DIY skills are guessing it is the headlight relay, which is labeled "HEAD" on the inside of the large fuse cover (The relay does not have a headlight label on the actual relay).

Do the more mechanically gifted of this forum agree that it is likely the relay? Are there other culprits? Is this headlight issue a common Solara issue?

I would like to fix the cause of the lights going out before I buy new bulbs again.

Thanks,

Richard

[Gadgetjq]

Richard,

Is it always the same side? If so is the bulb fitting tightly into the housing? If not there could be a vibration issue. See if you can move the reflector with your hand even a tiny bit.

Another possibility is a bad ground. If it's always the same side take a look when you replace the bulb to see if that side is a little dimmer than the other. Just a slightly corroded contact on a connector can cause issues like you describe.

If it isn't the same side then what you may have come up against is fairly typical when owners don't replace both bulbs at the same time. All bulbs have a rated lifespan. If one side burns out it's reached the 'window' of that lifespan so the other side is going to fail fairly soon after (hour wise, not calendar wise).

Another thought. Unless you live in Canada or someplace where they're required, you might want to disable your daytime running light function. On your GenI I believe that involves pulling the plug on a gray box attached to the right side of the engine compartment.

Cheers