Headlight issues. One loe beam out rest work

[Eddieandkat]

Hi guys. been a few years since my last post. Forum looks great.

turned on headlights today, noticed one low beam out. The rest work. Bulb checked out ok...got my tester out. have no power to bulb socket. fuse ok. At a loss. Any ideas on what to check next? Thanks

[akirby]

Are you sure the bulb is ok? Did you swap it for the other side to be sure? Try that first. If that's not it then it might be the smart junction box. Have you don't any wiring or other modifications recently?

[Eddieandkat]

Wow, surprised to see you still here AKirby. I remember you from the days of Lex and a few others back in 09-10..Im going to go back under the hood and recheck a few things. If it turns out being in the SJB what types of issues could that be...Anyway let me check under the hood....Thanks for the response AK

[akirby]

If it's the SJB I think the dealer can reset it or replace it. I don't remember it being a DIY part. Maybe one of the techs can address it. But definitely try swapping or replacing the bulb first.

[Eddieandkat]

Just got it. Bulb checked out fine. everything again looked good under hood. took fuse out whileit didnt show blown replaced it anyway and that was the problem. Odd. Unless something in the fuse i can see. But anyway. Thanks for the input. One last thing. Thinking about putting HID exeon lights in. Any preference from you guys on wattage ? color.
55watt for high and low beam and 55 for fog? Let me know what you think...

[akirby]

That's strange - you'd think a fuse would take out at least 2 lights, not just one. That's why i didn't suggest checking the fuse. Glad you got it fixed cheap though.

[omar302]

Its been like that for the last 10-15 years, I remember it on a 1999 Mercury Sable my parents had. In the old days, it used to be a circuit breaker that protected the headlights. Then they switched to fuses, one for each side, apparently so that you don't lose both your headlights at the same time.

[akirby]

That makes sense. I was thinking that both the low and high beams would be on the same fuse on each side.

[omar302]

For the Edge/MKX, it's one fuse fuse for each low beam (2 fuses together) and one for both high beams together.

 

Actually, for the projector system in the Edge, the high beam fuse is probably only for the solenoids that move the shield. The light bulb itself & it's illumination is the same for low & high beams.

[akirby]

Actually, for the projector system in the Edge, the high beam fuse is probably only for the solenoids that move the shield. The light bulb itself & it's illumination is the same for low & high beams.

 

I thought that was only for HIDs. Do the non-HIDs also use a single bulb and deflector?

[omar302]

Yes. Non HID Edge/MKX, 2011+, also use a single bulb and projector.

[PrinzII]

 

I thought that was only for HIDs. Do the non-HIDs also use a single bulb and deflector?

 

Yes. The setup is the same. I found this out when converting my 2011 to HID.

[mclellan83]

I Have A 2013 Ford Edge sport And Have The Same Problem. I Was running Aftermarket Hids For A Few Months But When On Auto When First Starting The Car The DriveR Side Would Fire Then Shut Off. I Had Read About voltage Flux Being An Issue, But Now Checked The Bulb On Both Hid And stocks And Both Are Fine But drivers Side Won't Work On Low Or High But everything Else In The Bezel Works. Looked In The Fuse Box But Can't Find The Fuse For Headlights, Found Both For Hids That Were Empty Since It's Not Factory. Any Help Would Be Appreciated.

[jross6]

mclellan83

I to replaced my stock headlights with aftermarket HIDs. Everything worked fine up until about 1 month ago about a year or so after install. I checked everything I could think of, fuses, voltage, you name it. I even swapped balast and bulbs from good side and still nothing on the drives side low beam even though i was getting 12 volts. When I would install a stock bulb it worked fine. To this day I still have not figured it out or ran into a solution from anyone.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

35W or 55W kit? Relay/harness direct to battery? BCM could need resetting/replacing.

[jross6]

It is a 55W kit that plugs directly into the stock harness.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

I would definitely try going straight to battery for the juice. The Edge can be finicky with voltage/power (could be as simple as a wire gauge issue, don't know), so better to bypass it at that level. Remember, 55W draw is what it is expecting with halogen or "incandescent" lighting. HID is more like fluorescent technology, and draws significantly more power than the rating on startup. That's why 35W is usually OK. 55W, not so much.

 

Don't see such tests mentioned, so thought I'd post (old, but still relevant) this link:

http://www.theeshadow.com/files/volvo/hidcomp.html

 

A brief writeup on HID ballasts:

http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/images/5024_HID_Ballast_Application_Guide_tcm201-21096.pdf

Edited November 10, 2014 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[vexer]

On 1/5/2014 at 2:56 PM, mclellan83 said:

I Have A 2013 Ford Edge sport And Have The Same Problem. I Was running Aftermarket Hids For A Few Months But When On Auto When First Starting The Car The DriveR Side Would Fire Then Shut Off. I Had Read About voltage Flux Being An Issue, But Now Checked The Bulb On Both Hid And stocks And Both Are Fine But drivers Side Won't Work On Low Or High But everything Else In The Bezel Works. Looked In The Fuse Box But Can't Find The Fuse For Headlights, Found Both For Hids That Were Empty Since It's Not Factory. Any Help Would Be Appreciated.

 

I know this is from 2014 - but any chance you were able to identify the cause?

I'm having the same issue except mine is on the passenger side - I've confirmed no 12v reading coming to the headlight wiring; I'm confident its not a wiring harness issue but either a BCM, SJB, or relay - as the fuse is also tested working fine (with power going to that fuse)

 

 

[Califman2000]

In researching this a bit it seems that the BCM and FLM need to be reset as first step in troubleshooting after you check the fuses and bulbs of course.  For the earlier models like 2007 and 08 ForScan does not work for BCM reset.  Maybe just undo the battery and cross the cables with headlights on to drain any residual and the total loss of power will reset.  But from looking at the electrical diagram it looks like there is a FET that controls both the low beams independently inside the BCM and I suspect those are going bad on these cars due to low quality FET within the BCM.  So it looks like with power verified coming to the fuse then the only other thing in the diagram is the FET.  Pull BCM and test FET and desolder and replace with higher quality from Japan....rated for more duty cycles.  Save 3 cents to screw customers for the repairs....buy Toyota or Honda next time?