Without Brights On

With Brights On

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

The inside light on the driver's side (US) doesn't work unless the brights are on. It seems like the yellow (fog?) part of it isn't working. When the brights are on, there is a slight yellow tinge at the top of the functioning light & not on the nonfunctioning lamp.

I'm getting a code B1471 Current headlamp - open circuit/short to ground.

In researching other threads, I noticed that this code can also be related to the air shock system. By all appearances the shocks work well. When I recently had the bumper cover off, I cleaned 3 grounding posts, one on one side and two on the other. I believe this problem existed before I cleaned the posts.

Any ideas? I suspect it could be the lamp; however, they were changed recently. If the description doesn't point to the issue, I will replace the bulb just to be sure before I try something else.

Thanks for your help,

Steve S.

 

They are called PILOT LAMPS and there is a separate small bulb that illuminates with the side lights.
WEDGE BASE 5W C2S15074 (it's just a regular 'peanut' bulb)

 

Thanks, MotorCarMan. So, this small bulb is actually a side light & when it is out, the headlamp won't work on low beam?

Best,

Steve S.

 

I just turned on the parking lights and the amber side lights came on on both sides. The inside front light on the right side was on at the top, too, The defective light did not come on. It seems that this "peanut bulb" goes in the headlamp assembly? I think I can see it on the light that is working.

Thanks and best,

Steve S.

 

Hi Steve,
When the headlights are on the first click this is known as 'side lights' in UK and 'park lights' here in NZ. Only the tail lights and the small 5 watt bulbs tucked into the top of the inner headlights are on. These low power lights are just to show the car up when parked at night. As these are usually W5W incandescent bulbs, they can look more yellow than the headlights. The owner's manual has the instructions for changing these bulbs, and there are a number of threads on it as well. Many of us have changed these bulbs to LEDs for a whiter light.
On the second click of the headlight switch, the 'low beam' outer lights are on as well as the park lights. Some cars have HID light units, and some have Halogen bulbs. This is partially a function of the trim level of the car, with higher trim levels receiving HIDs, but can also be due to the market the car was sold into. Some countries do not allow HID or Halogen bulbs. The U.S DOT has history of doing things like that.
When the light control wand is pushed forward, the high beams ('brights') are powered on. These are in the inner headlights. The outer headlights on 'low' or 'dip' stay on, and the high beams just add to them. If the outer headlights are HID, they (except for early cars) have no 'high' beam function and are 'dip' only. If they are Halogen, then they have the usual two-filament bulb that can be either high or low. The inner headlights are always Halogen bulbs as standard, but LEDs can be fitted to them (H7 bulbs).
Looking at your problem, I would check that the headlight connector (on the bottom of the headlight unit) is free of corrosion. I think a faulty earth connection would give a problem like this where a light is on when it should not be. There are a number of threads dealing with this issue on this forum.

Pete M

 

Hi Steve,

as your car IS an early one, it should have the high beam function for the outer HID headlights, so called "Bi-Xenon".

Best reagrds,

Thomas

 

Thanks, Pete & Thomas!

My owners manual doesn't have replacement insructions. I thought that I replaced the bulbs; will look for the invoice to see what bulbs I ordered. I'm pretty sure I did not replace these based on the installation instructions.

Don B posted this in a previous thread:

"I assume you are describing the parking lamp bulb which fits into the top of the headlamp assembly. I agree that they are a major pain to replace, especially the first time. I managed to figure it out by using a flashlight and a small inspection mirror to study the location of the bulb.

The bulb is mounted in a plastic holder/electrical connector, and you can follow the wires with your fingers to touch the plastic holder. I think you are supposed to rotate the plastic holder counter-clockwise (as viewed from the driver's seat) to detach the holder from the headlamp assembly. Installation is the reverse, but it's not easy either, and has to be done by feel. You can watch the front of the headlamp assembly to help you get the bulb into position, and it may help to position your flashlight behind the headlamp so you can see how you need to position the bulb to get it into its proper place."

On our '04 the bulb is a W5W / 2825 type. Our car has HID headlamps, and the standard W5W bulbs were very yellow compared to the headlight, so I tried a few LED bulbs and found one with a 5000K color temperature that is close to the color of the headlamp. I bought them from an eBay seller and they look like this: &

 

Hi Steve,
I just checked, and the manual instructions for the parking light bulbs is wrong. It mentions turning the holder, but that is incorrect, at least for my car.
After removing the circular cap with the bayonet-type lock... The bulb holder is a long plastic tube with the bulb socket at the forward end. At the back end of it, toward the inside of the car there is a plastic tab underneath that clicks into a groove on the bottom of the bulb holder. To extract the bulb, locate the two black wires that go into the bulb holder. Grasp them lightly and pull them gently to the rear. At the same time reach in with the longest finger of the other hand and gently lift the tab that is at the bottom rear of the bulb holder. The bulb holder should then release and be pulled out by the wires. Refitting is the reverse, making sure that the tab is at the bottom. You can look in the front of the headlight to ensure the bulb is in the right place behind the decorative cover of the parking light inside the headlight.
It's only tricky the first time because a. The manual is wrong, and b. You can't see what you're doing.

Pete M