wierd headlight problems...

[lovely10]

ok so the other day i ran into a guardrail while going onto the freeway. it wasnt a hard impact cuz i was already slowing down and the damage wasnt too bad. all thats damaged are: drivers fender, drivers headlight housing (the black plastic thing), and bumper. ILL GET PICS LATER so you have an idea of what im talking about. looks minor. oh and just that my drivers headlight doesnt go down, but they still shine and all, TILL this morning. i noticed that the drivers headlight doesnt shine anymore, and that the passenger headlight wont go down either. also, i can only flash my highbeams rather than leaving them on. can anyone help me out? like why my headlight doesnt shine or why the passenger light doesnt go down? thanks!

*H4 bulbs are fairly new
*and idk if this has any connection but, a day after the impact my seat belt mechanism stopped working. just thought id mention that.

[alzahakar]

Check your fuses, relays and bulbs. Impacts can cause a short in the wiring harness if something was pushed into/onto your wiring, which will cause fuses, bulbs and relays to blow. Repairing the damaged headlight assemblies should be a priority as you will probably have the same bulbs, fuses or relays pop due to that one headlight not being able to come down.

Also, learn how to drive.

[lovely10]

i swithed the headlights around today and the bulbs are working fine so i know its not that. relays/fuses? im a noob so how do i test those out?

[alzahakar]

Find a copy of the FSM or Factory Service Manual. You can get those in pdf format if you google for it. That will give you some troubleshooting information. For fuses, pull them and look at them one by one. They will have a "Z" shaped piece of metal inside. If it's a continuous "Z" then it's fine. If it's got a gap, the fuse is bad and you need to replace it.

[lovely10]

ok thanks!

[g6civcx]

That will give you some troubleshooting information.

Unfortunately the S13 FSM is very stupid with wiring diagrams. You have to stare at it for a while. First learn how fuses and relays work. Then follow every single wire and see what each wire does.

For fuses, pull them and look at them one by one. They will have a "Z" shaped piece of metal inside. If it's a continuous "Z" then it's fine. If it's got a gap, the fuse is bad and you need to replace it.

This is not the correct way to test fuses. Sometimes there is a small break that is not visible to the naked eye. You need a continuity tester, like a multimeter. Test for continuity across both blades. If no cont., fuse = blown.

[lovely10]

so, i know its a long shot but...would wiring/fuses/relays be the ONLY possible problems since i know for sure its not the headlight or bulb that is broken?

also, would continuing to use my headlights make this problem (whatever it may be) more worse? because the only time for me to really troubleshoot is the weekend and i use my car during nights/early mornings for work...:(

[shift_240_s13]

dude I have the same problem.

I'm just starting to get pissed off from it. So ima try to find the problem. When I do I'll let you know. Vise versa.

Idk why mines doing it.... I didn't hit anything... :/??!!!

[lovely10]

^^^alright man sounds good! lol. im gonna check the fuses today. im hoping its just that so that i can get my light back again. lol. and if anything ill let you know

[shift_240_s13]

i pulled it out my shop the other day and it was working fine, then i was putting it back up and it stopped working:/

i havnt really tried fixin it yet....i just thought that was weird.

im guessing i have a short/

[lovely10]

ya weird?? i checked my fuses/wires/relays yesterday and they LOOKED fine. (i dont have a multimeter). im really lost. would that harness along the driver fender well have any connection to the head lights??...im gonna take it to a shop on friday hopefully. im sure they can figure it out lol