Driver's Side Headlamp Not Working

[KINNEY201]

97' Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 5.0 V8

Hi,

Having trouble with my driver's side headlamp (only).

Thought it was just the bulb, but replaced and still nothing.

Odd thing is that it comes on with high-beams activated.

Passenger side headlamp working just fine, with and without high beam.

Checked fuses and not sign of any blown.

Tried all I could think of and read.

Hopefully an easy fix and it's just something I'm missing.

Looking to the experts for assistance.

Greatly appreciate it.

 

[Rick]

Try cleaning the connector with electronic contact cleaner. If that doesn't help it sounds like you may have to follow the harness, looking for any obvious problems.

 

[DjDom]

Rick is right.
There is a separate wire for High Beam and Regular Beam.
The wire for your regular beam may have been pinched or damaged. Just follow the harness.

 

[budwich]

your LOM module likely has an issue with it. Some fix, some "modify", and some replace.

 

[KINNEY201]

your LOM module likely has an issue with it. Some fix, some "modify", and some replace.

UPDATE: Checked wire harness, etc.....no signs of pinch.

Removed Light Outage Module and board looked like it had a few trouble spots.

Tried soldering with no luck.

Ended up modifying by just jumping pin #1 and #11 together which fixed the low beam problem on the driver's side.

Although the light is restored, I am still getting the "Check Headlamps" warning which is annoying.

Not sure if I should disconnect one of the wires to stop it, but not sure which one it is as the repair manual does not have the schematic.

Otherwise, I'll have to spend the $65 to stop the annoyance.

 

[my white eddie]

jumper the passenger side headlight to get rid of the error message
(Pins 12 and 13)

 

[KINNEY201]

jumper the passenger side headlight to get rid of the error message
(Pins 12 and 13)

Ok, driving home this afternoon got 2 messages:

"Check Head Lamps" & "Check Brake Lamps"

Got home and found out that driver's side brake lamp was no longer working.

So, last night, jumping pins 1 & 11 fixed the driver's low-beam headlight, but now 2 errors and no driver's brakelamp when pedal pressed.

It DOES illuminate when headlights are on, so it's not the bulb.

Tried jumping pins 12 & 13, but then headlight went back out and brakelamp still out.

Passenger side and high lamp working as normal.

Any ideas?

 

[my white eddie]

I guess I have to ask, how exactly are you "jumping" the pins? The point
is to remove the LOM from the headlight system. You need to cut the wires
going to the LOM plug and tie them together. ( 1 tied to 11/ 12 tied to 13).
The brake light could be a bulb, that bulb is a 2 filament bulb. 1 for running
lamp and a seperate for the brake light. It is not uncommon for one element to go bad.

 

[KINNEY201]

I guess I have to ask, how exactly are you "jumping" the pins? The point
is to remove the LOM from the headlight system. You need to cut the wires
going to the LOM plug and tie them together. ( 1 tied to 11/ 12 tied to 13).
The brake light could be a bulb, that bulb is a 2 filament bulb. 1 for running
lamp and a seperate for the brake light. It is not uncommon for one element to go bad.

I jumped them on the board itself. That's what I read in one of the other posts.

So you're saying to cut the wires from the LOM plug and just tie them together? They don't need to be connected to the LOM any longer?

Maybe I'll swap the brake bulbs to make sure about the filament.

Also, do you happen to know the wire colors associated with the individual pins? I greatly appreciate the help. At this point, if I had hair, I'd pull it out.

 

[my white eddie]

Yes, just take the LOM out of the headlight "loop". I fixed mine with solder
3 times, it just would not work consistantly. I cut the wires, soldered my splice and shrink wrapped them. Works all the time now. If you do it this way
the LOM doesnt have a clue if the headlights are on or not so you will never get a headlight out message again. BTW, I did leave enough wire on the LOM
plug to splice back to it should I ever decide to find a clean LOM. As far as wire colors, I willpost that in about a 1/2 hour. Its on a piece of paper in my glove box.( if I remember its 2 blue 1 orange 1 green)

 

[my white eddie]

O.K., pin #1 white w/ light green stripe. Pin #11 dark blue w/ white stripe.
(connect pin 1 wire to pin 11 wire)
Pin #12 dark blue w/ light green stripe. Pin #13 dark green w/ orange stripe.
(connect pin 12 wire to pin 13 wire)
Don't have the colors listed, but pin # 14 is brake light power in to LOM
and pin # 15 is brake light power out of LOM to lights. But the fact you only
have one brake light failing leads me to a bulb or socket issue.
Hope this helps.

 

[KINNEY201]

O.K., pin #1 white w/ light green stripe. Pin #11 dark blue w/ white stripe.
(connect pin 1 wire to pin 11 wire)
Pin #12 dark blue w/ light green stripe. Pin #13 dark green w/ orange stripe.
(connect pin 12 wire to pin 13 wire)
Don't have the colors listed, but pin # 14 is brake light power in to LOM
and pin # 15 is brake light power out of LOM to lights. But the fact you only
have one brake light failing leads me to a bulb or socket issue.
Hope this helps.

Thank you so much. Will be trying this as soon as I get home after work.

Will repost with the results.

Thanks again!

 

[KINNEY201]

O.K., pin #1 white w/ light green stripe. Pin #11 dark blue w/ white stripe.
(connect pin 1 wire to pin 11 wire)
Pin #12 dark blue w/ light green stripe. Pin #13 dark green w/ orange stripe.
(connect pin 12 wire to pin 13 wire)
Don't have the colors listed, but pin # 14 is brake light power in to LOM
and pin # 15 is brake light power out of LOM to lights. But the fact you only
have one brake light failing leads me to a bulb or socket issue.
Hope this helps.

You are a lifesaver!

• Connected wires #1 & #11
• Connected wires #12 & #13
• Oddly enough, wires #14 & #15 were already spliced together so I left them alone
• You were right about the filament in the brake lamp. Swapped bulbs and symptoms followed it
• After the splicing and bulb replacement, ALL lights are functioning properly and NO MORE WARNINGS DISPLAYED!

I can't thank you enough. You saved me a headache and $70 bucks!

Kind Regards,

JK

 

[corkey]

time spent worth a module price yet ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271135370410?item=271135370410&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

 

[my white eddie]

time spent worth a module price yet ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271135370410...witem=&vxp=mtr
I would think so. His lights work now not in 3-5 days shipping time, and it didn't cost $65 for a part that commonly goes bad. Anytime I can fix it now and free or dirt cheap,well worth my time. just my .02

 

[Traillover]

Fixed low beam with this advice.....

O.K., pin #1 white w/ light green stripe. Pin #11 dark blue w/ white stripe.
(connect pin 1 wire to pin 11 wire)
Pin #12 dark blue w/ light green stripe. Pin #13 dark green w/ orange stripe.
(connect pin 12 wire to pin 13 wire)
Don't have the colors listed, but pin # 14 is brake light power in to LOM
and pin # 15 is brake light power out of LOM to lights. But the fact you only
have one brake light failing leads me to a bulb or socket issue.
Hope this helps.

This site rocks... Followed these instructions and results work like a charm... You guys are great... My 1997 Explorer EB 4.0 v6 loves you!

Thanks again, for saving me money, time, and the headache....

 

[abcducati]

I'm curious if this procedure would work on a third generation ('04) Explorer as well, or did they leave the wiring the same? I do not have a 'lamp out' light on my dash, but the left headlamp is still not working after replacing the bulb, and there are no apparent kinks in the wiring harness.