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2002 grand am headlight won't shut off


lisarose
12-29-2011, 02:25 PM
I have a 2002 Grand Am with headlights that won't shut off even when you shut the car off. We replaced a headlight that had gone out but the new one was very dim. We put another one in thinking that it was the bulb. That one was dim also. Then we replaced the whole headlight assembly. It was still dim. We checked the wiring but it all was ok. The high beam lights and indicator doesn't come on either unless your hold the switch forward. Now the headlights won't go off unless you disconnect the battery. What could be the problem?

Tech II
12-29-2011, 04:21 PM
I have a 2002 Grand Am with headlights that won't shut off even when you shut the car off. We replaced a headlight that had gone out but the new one was very dim. We put another one in thinking that it was the bulb. That one was dim also. Then we replaced the whole headlight assembly. It was still dim.

Were both lights dim? on low beam? If you manually turn the low beams on, do they stay dim, or do they get brighter? If you switch to high beam, are they bright? If you manually shut the lights off, are they bright or do they dim?




We checked the wiring but it all was ok.

How can it be ok? If you have power(12V) on the low beam bulb(hot side), making the light dim, the wiring is not ok.....there has to be a voltage drop in the circuit to the headlight switch or the headlight switch itself...

The high beam lights and indicator doesn't come on either unless your hold the switch forward.

Are you saying the high beams only come on, when you move the lever forward? If yes,, that is the flash to pass feature....


Now the headlights won't go off unless you disconnect the battery. What could be the problem?

Sounds like a bad headlight switch to me....

thephantom1492
12-29-2011, 07:29 PM
or bad relay... I think it go to a relay somewhere...
Might be welded...

lisarose
12-30-2011, 01:34 PM
OK to update. My husband had wired the fog light to the head light to make it brighter. When he undid that the lights shut off like they are supposed to. But our problem is still that the drivers side headlight is dim. It gets a little brighter when you put the brights on but otherwise it looks like it is barely lit. When he wired the fog light to it it got bright like it should. We've replaced bulbs and the headlight assembly. Can you help??

Tech II
12-30-2011, 06:19 PM
I'd like to help, but I asked specific questions without answers, and now you tell us, you have been changing the wiring in the system.....

thephantom1492
12-30-2011, 07:17 PM
I'd like to help, but I asked specific questions without answers, and now you tell us, you have been changing the wiring in the system.....

yeah I hate when people do that... they tell you half the story, then you make some right assumption about the possible problem... to be told that they fucked up something...

So, for the dim issue: he need to recheck that he fixed the wiring correctly first, with no short and good contacts. The extra load on the system can also have damaged the switch or the relay. In some car it could even have damaged the BCM as some headlight are controlled by it. Swapping some wires could also cause weird issues.

lisarose
12-30-2011, 10:29 PM
I'm sorry. I do appreciate your help. The last help that you gave me on my heat problem was perfect. It completely solved my issue.
To answer your previous questions, no, both headlights are not dim. Only the drivers side.

When you put the brights on the indicator comes on and the passenger side gets bright, the drivers side gets a little brighter. The flash to pass (forward) also works fine now.

When we turm from auto lights to headlights nothing happens both stay the same drivers side dim, passenger OK.

When you turn to just the parking lights, just the parking lights are on like they should be.

I wasn't aware that my husband changed the wiring. He did that when he checking that the wires were not pinched or broken. That's why the headlights wouldn't go off. But now it's back to the correct way but what the problem originally was, the light being dim, is still the problem. The headlights do shut off after the car is shut off.

We checked the relays under the hood and have no idea if they are good or not. When we moved them the headlights (both) flickered and at one point the dim side (drivers) got brighter. When we left them alone it went back to the way it was.

I guess my problem is the dim headlight now.

Tech II
12-31-2011, 09:11 AM
Thanks for responding and clarifying a few things.....go to the Underhood Junction Block......that is the huge block that stores all the relays and fuses....with the lights on manually(don't need key in the ignition), the driver's side is dim......take the palm of your hand and lightly hit the top of the hole unit.....watch the lights....if nothing happens, grab the unit and move it slightly side to side.....also grab the harnesses going into it and give them a tug for a reaction to the lights.....if you have a reaction, I believe there are 3 bolts that you can tighten to pull the blocks(think there are 3) into the UBEC(underhood bus electrical connector)......if those three bolts were not loose, then you have a bad contact in the UBEC, and unless you are good at reading wiring diagrams, you will need to bring this to a dealership to fix(female contacts may have to be replaced.....if one of more were loose, they would arc and burn, and create resistance, which would cause a voltage drop)......if really bad, could melt the plastic housing around them.....

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