Headlight Problem 94 Grand Am
tylot3
09-05-2004, 02:29 PM
I have a '94 Grand Am SE 4 door with the 3.1. I noticed last night that my headlights will not work when I turn them on. My foglights work, and if I HOLD the left stick back to turn on the high beams, my high beams work. But I have to hold them on. I drove around last night holding the highbeams on, then I got home and noticed my headlights worked again. Now, they don't work again. Any ideas?
AcuraGirl
09-08-2004, 11:54 AM
I was just told my headlight switch is faulty...something that happens with this car. I am currently looking for a good used replacement...I will let you know if I find one. I know from the dealer its close to $300.00 to fix if you have the same problem as me
richtazz
09-08-2004, 12:22 PM
I should be able to get that switch for you much cheaper than $300. I will need the last 8 digits of your vin#, or I need to know if you have cruise control and daytime running lights. From what I can see, they range from $90-$130 brand new in AC Delco. I work for an AC Delco distributor in Michigan, and can UPS it to you for $5-$10 shipping. Our toll -free # is (800)852-6933, ask for Rich
babygrl1021
09-29-2004, 07:47 PM
i am having the same exact problem as you are!
jeffk388
10-04-2004, 09:13 AM
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Disclaimer: The following remeady worked for my car. Please be aware that the following procedure can gamage your car and/or your body. Also, I do not garentee/warrant that this is safe. I am not responsible for any direct or indirect damage to your car ,property, or personal body caused by copying the following procedure. If you want to copy this, you must do it at your own risk. The increased electrical current by doing this way can cause fire on your car/automobile!!
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I had the same problem with 94 Grand AM. When I bring the car to a local shop, I was quoted $300. I guessed the problem is due to bad multi function switch. In my case side lamp switch is working fine, and so I thought that it did not need to replace the multi-fuction switch if the side lamp switch was bridged to the head lamp wire. I open the hood and found about 2" round elctrical connector located driver's side. After unplugged it, I tried to find which line is for head lamp by using a multi meter. I will tell you step-by-step.
1) Turn on side lamp switch and check which pin has 12 V when the switch is on. You need to use car room side connector not the connector to the lamps. Remember this pin. I will say it S-pin later. This is easy.
2) Hard part is to find pin for the head lamps. With the connector unplugged, find two separated pins in the car-room-side connector (I will say it R-connector). If you hold the R-connector with the two pin down, left pin is cathode (C-pin). Connect the C-pin to the matching pin in the other connector (E-connector). If you hold and look the R-connector the same way as before, S-pin is located on top-right side. By using a elctrical wire, connector S-pin to a pin in E-connector which corresponds the top-left pin in R-connector. See if the head lamp turned on. If not, see if the side lamp switch is on. If works, bridge the two pins by using a thin wire and try to avoid for the wire touching other pins. Plug the R- and E-connectors.
3) Since the power rating for for the two head lamps is about 110 W, the fuse for the tail lamp (in the fuse box) should be replaced with higher amp. What I found was maximum amp rating was 30 A and so I replaced the tail lamp fuse (20 A original) with 30 A fuse.
4) Carry 2-3 30 A fuse in your car for just in case.
Disclaimer: The following remeady worked for my car. Please be aware that the following procedure can gamage your car and/or your body. Also, I do not garentee/warrant that this is safe. I am not responsible for any direct or indirect damage to your car ,property, or personal body caused by copying the following procedure. If you want to copy this, you must do it at your own risk. The increased electrical current by doing this way can cause fire on your car/automobile!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I had the same problem with 94 Grand AM. When I bring the car to a local shop, I was quoted $300. I guessed the problem is due to bad multi function switch. In my case side lamp switch is working fine, and so I thought that it did not need to replace the multi-fuction switch if the side lamp switch was bridged to the head lamp wire. I open the hood and found about 2" round elctrical connector located driver's side. After unplugged it, I tried to find which line is for head lamp by using a multi meter. I will tell you step-by-step.
1) Turn on side lamp switch and check which pin has 12 V when the switch is on. You need to use car room side connector not the connector to the lamps. Remember this pin. I will say it S-pin later. This is easy.
2) Hard part is to find pin for the head lamps. With the connector unplugged, find two separated pins in the car-room-side connector (I will say it R-connector). If you hold the R-connector with the two pin down, left pin is cathode (C-pin). Connect the C-pin to the matching pin in the other connector (E-connector). If you hold and look the R-connector the same way as before, S-pin is located on top-right side. By using a elctrical wire, connector S-pin to a pin in E-connector which corresponds the top-left pin in R-connector. See if the head lamp turned on. If not, see if the side lamp switch is on. If works, bridge the two pins by using a thin wire and try to avoid for the wire touching other pins. Plug the R- and E-connectors.
3) Since the power rating for for the two head lamps is about 110 W, the fuse for the tail lamp (in the fuse box) should be replaced with higher amp. What I found was maximum amp rating was 30 A and so I replaced the tail lamp fuse (20 A original) with 30 A fuse.
4) Carry 2-3 30 A fuse in your car for just in case.
vinzul
10-05-2004, 01:36 AM
hey i have the same problem
rich your a cool dude hookeing some one up with deals from you work you could make a small profit from that if your deals are GOOD
rich your a cool dude hookeing some one up with deals from you work you could make a small profit from that if your deals are GOOD
Zelenke
10-08-2004, 10:23 PM
Disclaimer: The following post is a recantation of a procedure that worked for myself and my own vehicle. I do not warrant that what is described herein is safe or will work for you or your vehicle. I am not an automotive professional and what is described in the following post might cause damage to your vehicle and create a safety hazard. If you choose to repeat what is described in the following post, understand that you do so at your own risk and that you are not to hold me liable for any harm to your vehicle or person. I recommend that you perform repairs to your vehicle only with the consultation and guidance of automotive professionals.
I had the identical problem. Just today (Friday, October 8, 2004) I went out and got a replacement headlamp circuit breaker and it seems to have solved my problem!
To elaborate... I went to my local dealership (http://www.randyjones.com/ in Corvallis, OR) and they suggested the intermittent functioning of my headlights was most likely caused by one of two things: (1) a faulty headlamp circuit breaker or (2), a broken multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. They suggested I try replacing the headlamp circuit breaker myself first at a cost of $18.95 rather than the multifunction switch which they said would cost $116.45 plus an additional $95 if I wanted them to install it.
Obviously, I thought I'd try to replace the circuit breaker first and, so far, so good. The headlamp circuit breaker is located in the fuse box and it installs just like a fuse. It's silver and about three times as thick as a fuse (note: there's more than one circuit breaker in the fuse box so make sure you remove the correct one; its label is listed in the owner's manual). The headlamp circuit breaker is protected by a plastic guard that you have to squeeze to remove. Just pull out the old circuit breaker and push in the new one.
Hope this helps,
Brian Zelenke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CORRECTION!!!
Well, it turned out I was wrong. The return of the functionality of my high-beams after installing the headlamp circuit breaker was just a coincidence. I ultimately had to replace the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch and that completely solved the problem. I got a Wells brand replacement multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch from AutoZone (they refer to it as a turn signal switch) for $69.99 (AutoZone part # SW860; see http://www.autozone.com/).
If you're interested in the whole story... after I replaced my headlamp circuit breaker my high-beams functioned for about a month. Then my headlights failed completely. I followed the directions in my Haynes automotive repair manual and took off the entire steering wheel to get at the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. I later disassembled the broken switch and found that a part of the circuit board inside looked like it had been scorched. Inside the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch was this little copper/spring assembly within a plastic square. When compressed by moving the turn-signal lever, the spring was supposed to push the copper against the circuit board to make electrical contact. The plastic square that held the copper/spring assembly was so badly melted that it froze the spring in place, making it so that the motion of the turn-signal handle could no longer compress the spring to make the copper come into electrical contact with the circuit board and trip the headlights. As of today (October 22, 2005) it has been about a year since I replaced the switch and I've had no problems with my headlights since.
By the way, the reason I practically had to disassemble the entire steering column was so that I could get at the Torx screws that attach the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. This involved borrowing a steering wheel puller from AutoZone and purchasing a set of snap-ring pliers to get off the snap-ring that holds on the steering wheel. I later figured out that you can unscrew the Torx screws without removing the steering wheel by using a hex key (also known as an allen wrench). I discovered this after removing the new multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch to check that whatever had melted the old switch was not happening with the new one I bought. The new one never malfunctioned, but I just wanted to be sure there was not some underlying problem with the entire electrical system and it turns out there wasn't. Hex keys have a 90 degree angle bend in them and, if you use the short end of the hex key, you can slip it between the steering wheel and the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch to unscrew each of the Torx screws. This took about a half-hour since I could only turn each screw (I think there were about 3) a quarter of a turn each time before I had to reposition the hex key. I don't recall the size hex key I had to use, but it was pretty small; just buy a cheap set of metric hex keys and find whatever size hex head will fit inside the Torx screw to turn it. Once you get the screws out, just pull out the broken multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch, unplug it, plug in the new switch, and screw it back in (after all the practice I got unscrewing the Torx screws with the hex key, it was easier to screw them back on). I came across my old post today and I wanted to revise it to set the record straight. I hope my original post didn't mislead anyone.
All the best,
Brian Zelenke
I had the identical problem. Just today (Friday, October 8, 2004) I went out and got a replacement headlamp circuit breaker and it seems to have solved my problem!
To elaborate... I went to my local dealership (http://www.randyjones.com/ in Corvallis, OR) and they suggested the intermittent functioning of my headlights was most likely caused by one of two things: (1) a faulty headlamp circuit breaker or (2), a broken multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. They suggested I try replacing the headlamp circuit breaker myself first at a cost of $18.95 rather than the multifunction switch which they said would cost $116.45 plus an additional $95 if I wanted them to install it.
Obviously, I thought I'd try to replace the circuit breaker first and, so far, so good. The headlamp circuit breaker is located in the fuse box and it installs just like a fuse. It's silver and about three times as thick as a fuse (note: there's more than one circuit breaker in the fuse box so make sure you remove the correct one; its label is listed in the owner's manual). The headlamp circuit breaker is protected by a plastic guard that you have to squeeze to remove. Just pull out the old circuit breaker and push in the new one.
Hope this helps,
Brian Zelenke
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CORRECTION!!!
Well, it turned out I was wrong. The return of the functionality of my high-beams after installing the headlamp circuit breaker was just a coincidence. I ultimately had to replace the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch and that completely solved the problem. I got a Wells brand replacement multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch from AutoZone (they refer to it as a turn signal switch) for $69.99 (AutoZone part # SW860; see http://www.autozone.com/).
If you're interested in the whole story... after I replaced my headlamp circuit breaker my high-beams functioned for about a month. Then my headlights failed completely. I followed the directions in my Haynes automotive repair manual and took off the entire steering wheel to get at the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. I later disassembled the broken switch and found that a part of the circuit board inside looked like it had been scorched. Inside the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch was this little copper/spring assembly within a plastic square. When compressed by moving the turn-signal lever, the spring was supposed to push the copper against the circuit board to make electrical contact. The plastic square that held the copper/spring assembly was so badly melted that it froze the spring in place, making it so that the motion of the turn-signal handle could no longer compress the spring to make the copper come into electrical contact with the circuit board and trip the headlights. As of today (October 22, 2005) it has been about a year since I replaced the switch and I've had no problems with my headlights since.
By the way, the reason I practically had to disassemble the entire steering column was so that I could get at the Torx screws that attach the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch. This involved borrowing a steering wheel puller from AutoZone and purchasing a set of snap-ring pliers to get off the snap-ring that holds on the steering wheel. I later figured out that you can unscrew the Torx screws without removing the steering wheel by using a hex key (also known as an allen wrench). I discovered this after removing the new multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch to check that whatever had melted the old switch was not happening with the new one I bought. The new one never malfunctioned, but I just wanted to be sure there was not some underlying problem with the entire electrical system and it turns out there wasn't. Hex keys have a 90 degree angle bend in them and, if you use the short end of the hex key, you can slip it between the steering wheel and the multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch to unscrew each of the Torx screws. This took about a half-hour since I could only turn each screw (I think there were about 3) a quarter of a turn each time before I had to reposition the hex key. I don't recall the size hex key I had to use, but it was pretty small; just buy a cheap set of metric hex keys and find whatever size hex head will fit inside the Torx screw to turn it. Once you get the screws out, just pull out the broken multifunction turn signal/headlamp switch, unplug it, plug in the new switch, and screw it back in (after all the practice I got unscrewing the Torx screws with the hex key, it was easier to screw them back on). I came across my old post today and I wanted to revise it to set the record straight. I hope my original post didn't mislead anyone.
All the best,
Brian Zelenke
nullptr
10-11-2004, 03:01 PM
Brian, do you have a part number for the circuit breaker? My dealer was unable to locate this part for me. This is for a '94 GA. Many thanks in advance,
-Derek
-Derek
Zelenke
10-23-2005, 02:33 AM
Brian, do you have a part number for the circuit breaker? My dealer was unable to locate this part for me. This is for a '94 GA. Many thanks in advance,
-Derek
Hello Derek,
I'm sorry, but it seems I've misled you. You will need to replace your combination headlight & turn signal switch. Please see my corrected post above for how to more easily unscrew the turn signal switch and replace it yourself.
Best regards,
Brian Zelenke
-Derek
Hello Derek,
I'm sorry, but it seems I've misled you. You will need to replace your combination headlight & turn signal switch. Please see my corrected post above for how to more easily unscrew the turn signal switch and replace it yourself.
Best regards,
Brian Zelenke
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