Fog Lights... HELP

[99MercMount]

Ok, so My sister took my truck through 2 feet of water, and got water in my fogs. So I decided to use this weekend to clean the rust inside of them out. Well, I took them out, got them opened, cleaned it, resealed it, then went to go put them back on today. Well, we got them all screwed back in and everything, admiring our work going wow, havent seen them so clean! Then we go turn them on. One of them works, but the other doesnt. The one we worked on just wont turn on. We tryed re -screwing in the bulb and plug, but nothing. So we took it out again and kind of lightly tapped it, to see if we could revive it, nothing. So we put it back in and nothing. So we are going to just drive around on it for a bit, see if it will kind of jar it into place, but I wanted to get some help just in case, Im not a wiz at wiring, is there anything we need to reset?

 

[fixxxer]

Nothing to reset but you might want to get a 12v test light or a multimeter (recommended) and check to see if you have power going to that fog lamp bulb socket or try swapping the left and right side bulbs with each other.

 

[99MercMount]

Well, If I understand correctly, The light was working before I unplugged it, but when I plugged it back in it didnt work... So it shouldnt be the bulb should it?...

 

[smurfxlt]

it could be, when i crashed my truck one of the headlights blew somehow while it was off of the truck... i still have no idea how it happened

 

[99ex22]

I have a feeling it's the bulb too. switch the bulb out of the working one into the one that doesn't work and see if it lights up.

 

[fixxxer]

Also check for corrosion at the electrical contacts of the bulb socket.

 

[99MercMount]

ok, I just attempted to exchange them but the right one wont fit in the left, so Ill loosen the screw, also, the right socket is different then the one ont he right???

 

[99MercMount]

ok, so yall were right thanks much, it definetly was the bulb, I exchanged the 2 and the one bulb still wasnt working, now, to find out why... It was working yesterday, why is it any different now? Im trying to clean up the bulb contacts, and suggestions? They really dont seem bad

 

[99ex22]

You could have bumped or shook the bulb or something...

 

[99MercMount]

Well inside still looks in perfect condition...

 

[storlied]

It's pretty easy to kill a typical halogen bulb, even jarring it slightly could kill it. No biggie though. Glad you figured it out, and it wasn't a complicated electrical issue.

 

[fixxxer]

Keep in mind that halogen light bulbs use a quartz glass instead of silicon glass for the envelope due to the extreme heat they produce. Contaminants such as grease and oil (including skin-oil from your fingers) on the bulb can cause premature failure.
Those contaminants can and will cause "hot-spots" on the quartz envelope so keep the bulb clean. Use clean cotton gloves to handle them when you replace the bulbs or you may end up replacing them again in just a few days or weeks.

 

[97sprt4x4]

there could also be corosion on the terminals of the bulb that are not letting it get a good enough ground you may want to check to make sure all the terminals are really nice and clean because they were drenched in two feet of muddy water.

 

[99MercMount]

Hmm, thanks for all the imput yall, please, keep em coming, Il give those a try in the morning and tell you how it did...

 

[Joe Dirt]

Glad you got it fixed Corbin. One of my old Mustang buddies always had a good answer for when things seem to break at weird times, like fuel pumps, lights, etc- "they have to break some time..." Just seems odd, the handling probably popped a weak filament though.

 

[99MercMount]

Eh, not fixed yet, in fact Im still quite perplexed... heres some pictures...

 

[fixxxer]

Your links are bad, no workie..

 

[99MercMount]

They should be fixed now...

 

[fixxxer]

Yup, that filament looks bad or about ready to go. It looks bad in the middle and at the very top.

 

[storlied]

Just get a new pair of bulbs and pop em in. (After cleaning all the contacts of course, clean em until they're shiny again.)