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Headlights Not Working

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Headlights Not Working
« on: July 06, 2010, 04:31:58 PM »
Hello, I just purchased a nicely restored 1987 Samurai.  Bought during daylight hours....  When dusk came I found that the headlights do not work unless I hold the brights in the ON position.  What a pain trying to drive and hold the brights on to see.  Any ideas on what is going on with the headlights?  Have power to both at this time.  Park lights work just fine and fuses are good.  Bought one new headlight to see if it was a light issue.  Same result....

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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2010, 08:53:33 PM »
Any ideas on what is going on with the headlights?  Have power to both at this time.  Park lights work just fine and fuses are good.  Bought one new headlight to see if it was a light issue.  Same result....

Be careful there - Suzuki headlights are probably like nothing else you've ever seen.  Suzuki, for reasons best known to them, use a switched ground on the headlights - the hot side runs through two fuses (left & right are fused separately) and then the headlamps themselves, and then through the switch to ground.

If both sides are out on both high & low beams, I would suspect the column switch itself or the connector where the switch joins the harness.
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Offline wildgoody

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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2010, 09:09:42 PM »
The reason is that electricity flows from negative to positive, the
wiring is technically correct, unless you are an American, then it
all seems backwards, it's just the way we look at things, so change
your thinking to understand Japanese wiring, (easier said than done)

Wild 
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2010, 07:18:45 AM »
  Thanks for the tips on the malfunctioning headlights.  Will look at the switch on the steering column.