What's wrong with my headlights?

Kim_kim

I got in my car tonight in a brightly lit multi-storey car park & put the lights on.
I drove through the town, where there was plenty of lighting.
I turned off onto the country roads & switched to full beam & carried on.

Then I had to dip my lights as someone was on coming.

I then realised my normal driving lights weren't working!

My fog lights work, my full beam works.
I got home using fog lights & full beam (at the point I noticed I was as near home as a town & it was too late to take it anywhere).

When I got home I put my dipped beam on & had a look, my back red lights come on, but only a tiny corner of the light of my normal dipped bean comes on.

Would both bulbs go together?
But is it bulbs? The full beams still work.

Any ideas?

MoneyMate

Any fuses blown ?
What car and year :beer:

Euphoria1z

is it a volvo?

Kim_kim

Sorry I didn't realise additional info was needed.

Grand Vitara & 57.

Owned from new.

No idea re fuses, nothing else seems to be off?

tim9966

First thing to try is replace both bulbs, they have both had the same amount of use, so could both go at roughly the same time.


If not the bulbs, then a fuse or wiring, or a problem with the switch.

Kim_kim

tim9966 wrote: »

First thing to try is replace both bulbs, they have both had the same amount of use, so could both go at roughly the same time.


If not the bulbs, then a fuse or wiring, or a problem with the switch.

Actually you're right about bulbs having the same use.
One blew last year & I changed them both for those new brighter ones.
So Halfords to see if it's a bulb or fuse?
If it's wiring or switch then a garage?
I've only ever taken it to Kwik fit for MOTs & service.
Nothing's ever gone wrong. Battery did, but my son in law changed it.

Strider590

Kim_kim wrote: »

Would both bulbs go together?
But is it bulbs? The full beams still work.

Any ideas?

Probably not, you've probably been driving with only one headlight bulb for some time.

Kim_kim

Strider590 wrote: »

Probably not, you've probably been driving with only one headlight bulb for some time.

Oh god!
I hadn't thought of that.
No one has been flashing me.
I guess with those extra bright bulbs I might not have noticed only having one.
Those expensive bulbs didn't last long....

Hopefully that it the reason, it's easiest mended.

Lorian

"new brighter bulbs" typically don't last very long. If they are Nightbreakers I find they often fail within a week or two of each other. I stick to Phillips in the dip beam now for this reason.

Kim_kim

Lorian wrote: »

"new brighter bulbs" typically don't last very long. If they are Nightbreakers I find they often fail within a week or two of each other. I stick to Phillips in the dip beam now for this reason.

I have no idea what ones they are.
They were the brightest in Halfords that fit my car.

Lorian

thye are probably marketed as +80 +100 +120 or similar. They all gain their extra brightness at the expense of longevity.

In this category I have best results with Philips Extreme bulbs. Try https://www.eurocarparts.com or amazon for better prices than Halfords typically.