Could having a bad headlight switch in my '90 GXL cause me to burn out the bulbs in my headlights for any reason? I knew my switch has been damaged for a couple months now, and I replaced the bulbs when I bought the car and now today Im having to replace them again. Just checking to see if that's a very likely culprit so I know if I need to get that knocked out TODAY>
Thanks yall!

 

Burning out your bulbs does not come from a bad headlight switch, but rather a bad regulator in the alternator.

What voltage is the car running at? It should never be above 15 volts.

 

I can't recall the exact voltage but I wanna say that it was in fact more than 15 volts. Crap. The S4 alternator isnt strong enough for this car is it too? The only spare alternators I have at the moment are S4.

 

run 2 of them

 

Anything above 15 is very bad, and above 16 starts blowing bulbs and computers. 14.4 is the ideal.

And


The S4 alt wires slightly different, but is only 10 amps (peak) less than an S5 alt. S4 = 70 amp, S5 = 80 amp peak.

As a reference, just your headlights typically draw about 10 amps.

And alts typically only are able to put out their peak power for the first 50-60K miles... after that it is all down hill, so if you had a S5 alt with 60k miles on it, it probably was only putting out as much as a S4 alt with 30K miles does anyway.

 

Found out something very interesting and want to see what you think Icemark. I started to pull the passenger side headlamp bulb and I had removed the aluminum piece around the bulb and barely moved the bulb and both bulbs kicked on. BUT the passenger side was at regular strength and the driver's side bulb was lit but very very weak? Also almost immediately, when the bulbs kicked on I could smell melting plastic and tiny wisps of smoke were coming from the back of the bulb at the connector. I turned the lights off and pulled off the connector and noticed it had just started to melt a little! I dont know if that has anything to do with the alternator still but what should my next course of action be you think?

 

well if the connectors were overheating from too much voltage, then they would melt and short out.

You would probably want to replace the plug as a minimum once you get the alternator fixed or replaced.

 

Why would one light running do much more than the other when I turn the switch on? Like if the car is turned off, and I flip the switches the passenger lights up like normal but the the driver side is very dimly lit. If the car is turned off, would that make it a wiring issue somewhere? I was lowering the steering column and pulling the cluster surround to check on things back there and I noticed something. May be normal, but I have no idea because I dont know much about wiring. I noticed that the connector that plugs into the headlight switch didnt have a wire running into every port on the back of the connector. There was like 2 or three empty ports. Does that mean anything or is that normal? I've been trying so hard to get this last bug worked out so I can at least get it to pass inspection so I can keep it on property with me to work on the cosmetic issues the car has. help help!

 

Alright, first step in the right direction. I pulled the alternator out of the car, took it down to autozone.....failed 3 out of 3 tests. I sure hope this helps with the headlights....makes me wonder if I might see a change in the Sunroof motor as well.

 

the plug doesnt have wires at every port
it depends on the car and what options etc

 

I replaced the alternator today. Made them test it TWICE before I even took it home. Still having the same problem. What's the next place to look? Are there any sensors or specific wiring places to check or anything? It's so weird that only a month ago they were totally fine. There's no way it could just be a bad bulb is it?