Along with your brakes, the headlights in your vehicle are one of the most important safety features of your car and one of the most easily taken for granted. Drivers rely on headlights to help them in low visibility conditions. Unfortunately, all sorts of issues can result in headlights that are too dim or fail to work at all.
There are a number of reasons your headlights can grow dim over time. Regardless of why your headlights might be going dim you need to make sure that you’re keeping them as bright as you possibly can. It’s a matter of safety not just for yourself but for other drivers on the road as well. Age, wear, and various mechanical problems can all lead to your headlights dimming on you eventually. If you let it go for too long, you could end up with the headlights burning out on you entirely leaving you in the dark at a critical moment. If you’re noticing that your lights are dimmer than they used to be, get them cleaned up or fixed as soon as you can.
What Is Causing a Dim Headlight?
1) Old Bulbs: Most headlights are halogen bulbs although you can buy aftermarket ones that are LED or something similar as replacements. However, if you still have your factory headlights then they are probably halogen. Halogen bulbs have gas inside of them which will discolor the actual inside of the glass over time. It takes quite a while, but it creates a hazy kind of smoky film on the inside of the class that will dim the light.
2) Corroded Ground Wire: The ground wire connects your bulb circuit to your car’s chassis. The frame of your car is what serves as the ground itself. When the ground wire that is connected to your lights ends up getting damaged because it’s corroded or it’s broken in some way then you won’t have a consistent flow of power to your headlights and that can cause them to dim before they seem to burn out completely on you.
3) Dirty Lens: Many times, headlight lenses can develop leaks, which can cause condensation to form on the inside of the plastic. This water collects dust, which over time dims the light. Also, Condensation that dries under the heat of the bulb and can leave deposits or etch the plastic if it contains sulfuric or nitric acid.
4) Bad Battery: This can cause the dimming of your headlights not when you’re driving so much as when you are first starting your vehicle or if you’re sitting in the car without the engine running. If, when you first put your key in the ignition to get your car started, the headlights come on very dimly and then, as the engine takes over, they brighten up then that’s a good sign that you have a problem with the charge in your battery.
DISCLAIMER AND RECOMMENDATION
These issues have to be looked at and repaired by an experienced ASE certified auto repair shop and not do the repairs yourself.
Nadia, the owner of Mobile Auto Diagnostics and Repair LLC has 18 years of hands on experience in repairing all kind of vehicles. She has 11 ASE certifications, one of which is an ASE Master Mechanic certification.
Nadia’s auto repair business is by invitation only and is not open to the public. Please contact Nadia by phone or e- mail found on this website. Nadia accepts cash, checks and/or major credit cards
