What is with cars with one bright headlight and

[horse123]

one extremely dim?

My thoughts were either they got into an accident and went to some cheap junk store that repaired it poorly for very little money, so they took no time to aim the headlights after putting them back in. Or, people fiddle around with their lights too much when replacing their bulbs and somehow severely knock them out of alignment?

There's a third option I dismiss mostly because it seems less reasonable is that some cars just get out of alignment after so many potholes and bumpy roads for years.

Does anyone know the cause for sure or have their own theory?

 

[Need4racin]

One bulb is a new one and the other is a failing original. Hence why you don't see the problem on newer vehicles.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Ground, ground, ground connection!!
Please check you have a good ground connection. 99% of problems with poor lighting is just that, in my experience!

The others are not aimed correctly or damaged.(impacted or cracked letting water inside)

You should replace the bulbs in pairs, but most don't.

 

[horse123]

Yeah, some people apparently think $20 max for a pair of bulbs once a year or two (or often every 3-5 years) is way too much.

 

[901Memphis]

Old bulbs are dim and when they dim in pairs it's harder to detect the loss in lumens so the dim one is old and the bright one is a recent replacement.

Don't worry the dim one will fail soon after they like to fail close together

 

[SwampSurvivor]

What I've noticed with newer cars with HIDs you won't see them both equally unless you are standing directly infront of them. Whichever light you are closer to is the bright one

 

[Elevguy]

Yes grounds

 

[knerml]

One of the bulbs was not installed properly - not seated or aligned in housing.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I know what he's talking about. One bright headlight, one candle looking. Had a Mercedes do this. I uninstalled and reinstalled the bulb and it stopped, I have no idea what the issue was.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: horse123
one extremely dim?

My thoughts were either they got into an accident and went to some cheap junk store that repaired it poorly for very little money, so they took no time to aim the headlights after putting them back in. Or, people fiddle around with their lights too much when replacing their bulbs and somehow severely knock them out of alignment?

There's a third option I dismiss mostly because it seems less reasonable is that some cars just get out of alignment after so many potholes and bumpy roads for years.

Does anyone know the cause for sure or have their own theory?


Your actual location you're in would help. Up north where there is a decent amount of corrosion going on will have more ground issues than down south where there is less salt on the roads.

 

[Bert_c]

Or folks buy those [censored] hid kits and one fails ( which all those Chinese made ones do) and they replace it with the original halogen bulb.

 

[DBMaster]

As is true with the majority of the population - cranium in rectal storage.

 

[DBMaster]

My "favorite" is the vehicle with headlights in such bad shape that the high beams are lit on one side only. There is also the inconsiderate SOB whose lenses are so clouded that they decide driving with high beams on all the time is OK. I wish the cops would focus on vehicles that are potentially road hazards rather than just the money-grab of speeding tickets. If the headlights are in such poor shape chances are the rest of the vehicle isn't much better.

 

[asand1]

Aim, body damage, bad ground, water intrusion. Pick on.

 

[SatinSilver]

I have this going on with the Matrix. One replacement bulb was purchased at the dealer and the other at Advance Auto I believe. Same brand which is either Phillips or Sylvania, I forget. But the one bought at the dealer is older and brighter. A few bucks more but worth it.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
My "favorite" is the vehicle with headlights in such bad shape that the high beams are lit on one side only. There is also the inconsiderate SOB whose lenses are so clouded that they decide driving with high beams on all the time is OK. I wish the cops would focus on vehicles that are potentially road hazards rather than just the money-grab of speeding tickets. If the headlights are in such poor shape chances are the rest of the vehicle isn't much better.


I knew an individual who drove at night holding down his "flash to pass" switch(which illuminates both the highs and lows) because he claimed he couldn't see otherwise. He also had Ebay special LEDs wired up across the front of his '01 Daewoo as DRLs that he claimed were "brighter than his headlights." I suspect that the issue with main lights not being bright enough had to do with the fact that his "perfectly maintained" '01 Lanos had headlights so badly oxidized that they still would have been dim with lights twice as bright as legal.

The same individual also ranted endlessly about HIDs(even factory ones) because he said that they "burned his retinas."

There's no helping some folks...