I bought my '90 GXL from my aunt with a reconstructed title. I have the documentation from the body shop that did the repairs from the damage done by a deer slamming into the driver's side quarter panel. I know at least the front bumper, left quarter panel, hood, and left headlight assembly have been replaced.

Since I got the car, the high beams have not worked on the right side. The left side lights fine on high beam and flash to pass. I've replaced both headlights with no change. Low beams work fine, as do the turn signals. I'm thinking something is screwed in the wiring harness, but I really don't know where to start with it.

Any suggestions on things I should be checking?

 

See the attached jpg. See the HEADLIGHTS at the bottom of the dwg. See the R/W wire going to each headlight. Notice how each R/W wire comes from the Dimmer Relay and how each R/W is spliced together after the Dimmer Relay.

So since one headlight works, but the other does not, it cannot be the Dimmer Relay but must be a open wire b/t the headlight plug that does not work and the dimmer relay. Sooooooo you go to the area that was damaged and look for the R/W or red wire with a white stripe and sorta poke around til you find where it's been broken or spliced back together poorly.

Of put a meter on the lights plug that does not work and see if you get batt voltage on the R/W wire when the headlights get turned on and work it out from there.

Again, can't be a Dimmer Relay and has to be a open R/W wire....or burnt out bulb. I take it the instrument clusters light that indicates high beam is coming on when you flip to high beam. I'm not sure why I ask that.

Just try tracing the R/W wire back from the light plug and see what's broken/spliced poorly.

You say the low beams work, so I'm assuming the black wire, which is the gnd wire, is good.

 

full headlight troubleshooting procedures are in the FSM...i was doing it for a few hours this weekend

 

Yeah, that's about the conclusion I was coming to. My main problem is finding physically where the cables run, since a lot of that part of the harness has four or five connectors that all run in the same sleeve.

I appreciate the help though, that at least narrows it down a lot.

 

Alright, so after banging my head on the front bumper for the better part of two hours wondering why I have perfect continuity between the plug and the dimmer relay and seeing battery voltage, I decide to switch the bulbs.

...Of course the brand new bulb had a blown high beam filament. D'oh!

 

Yeah, I was going to say, the last time I had this problem was when the light was bad. Replacing it was the fix