Headlight Problem

[vdgmcool]

I was driving home from work last night and I had my brights on and all of a sudden they kicked off and the fog lights turned on. I clicked to the low beams and they were fine and then clicked back to the brights and they were back to normal. Does anybody know what would cause this and should I be worried?

[tenspeed]

I would expect that the lows would have come on with the fogs. Sounds like some Pontiac excitement.

The headlights have a 25 amp circuit breaker instead of a fuse. When there is too much current, the breaker opens and then resets when it cools down. Do you have aftermarket high watt bulbs? If so, you might be pulling too many amps or the circuit breaker is getting old.

The circuit breaker is small aluminum box that looks a little larger than a fuse. It's in the upper center part of the fuse box on a '96 Achieva.

[vdgmcool]

Originally posted by tenspeed
I would expect that the lows would have come on with the fogs. Sounds like some Pontiac excitement.

The headlights have a 25 amp circuit breaker instead of a fuse. When there is too much current, the breaker opens and then resets when it cools down. Do you have aftermarket high watt bulbs? If so, you might be pulling too many amps or the circuit breaker is getting old.

The circuit breaker is small aluminum box that looks a little larger than a fuse. It's in the upper center part of the fuse box on a '96 Achieva.


Yeah I have Xenons from street glow. Does this mean I have to get a new circuit breaker? Can I get a bigger one?

[Dragonwings]

Originally posted by vdgmcool
Yeah I have Xenons from street glow. Does this mean I have to get a new circuit breaker? Can I get a bigger one?

CAREFUL! The circuit breaker is there to protect the entire electrical circuit (components, wiring, etc). Getting a larger circuit breaker without making sure the other components can handle the additional current draw means putting your car at risk for catching fire. Just for emphasize, your car... ON FIRE .

People make this mistake all the time installing car audio components. I have seen a trunk literally on fire. When I asked about it, they said, "The fuse kept blowning so I got a bigger one." Good idea, now your car is on fire. Don't play with electricity, it plays dirty!

[tenspeed]

You could try replacing it, it might be old. I would not advise a larger circuit breaker, as Dragonwings said, the breaker protects the wires. If you go larger, you risk burning the harness. I don't know if a larger breaker would even fit in the space.

You don't know what your problem is yet. The breaker thing is one answer but may not solve the problem that you have. It could be in your switch or relay or some black box control unit hidden in the dash somewhere.

When it happened, did you have the manual switch on or were the lights on with the "auto on" feature?

[vdgmcool]

Originally posted by tenspeed


When it happened, did you have the manual switch on or were the lights on with the "auto on" feature?


I had the manual switch on I don't have the auto on feature

[tenspeed]

There was another thread about changing the switch in the steering column but I don't remember if it was for the lights or the turn signal.

It might be worn switch contacts or circuit breaker. It could be something else, like a relay but I would suspect the switch.

[vdgmcool]

So far its only done it once so i'm not to worried but I was just wondering if anyone knew what was going on.