Low beam headlamps do not work....

I have a 98 Cavalier and my problems is that both of my low beams stopped working at the same time. My high beam and day light still work...Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance...

We have a 96 and we are having the same problem. Have you been able to find a solution to this matter??

And I too have a Cavalier, 1997, and all of a sudden both low beam headlights and the dash lights are not working (instrument lights, high beam lights, parking lights and turn signals are all working). We checked the fuses (in car and under hood) and headlight bulbs with a voltage meter and all were okay. It has us puzzled. Thinking it's in the light switch ?????

I have a 2000 cavalier and i have the same problem with my headlights. Any ideas? headlight switch?

I think it is the switch assm'y in the steering column. My 96 Cav is having a problem with no brights, they won't stay on, and the DRL icon flashes sometimes. Then it is hard as heck to get regular headlights on.

I just had a problem with my headlights goin out too, and I have a 2003.. (guess that doesn't say a lot for Chevy's progress), but my friend said that the problem was in fact in the switch. I don't know the answer for sure, but it's worth lookin into

well...at any rate, the car hits the dealer Friday for diagnostics and repair. Approx $270 if it is the switch.

Emtronics, how did your car turn out, was it the column switch or something else ?

Take Care
Roy

Roy, the dealer fixed it and indeed it was the multi function switch. $264.31 US The most was for labor, 1.5 hours. The car was there till noon, I stopped to see what was up and they ordered the wrong switch. Without cruise control. I told her she ordered the wrong one when I made the appointment, but she insisted they were all the same. I didn't hear her say anything about "with cruise control". At 1:30, they called, said it was done. It now works as it should.

Randall

Roy, the dealer fixed it and indeed it was the multi function switch. $264.31 US The most was for labor, 1.5 hours.


wow... thats why i hate dealerships set price rates....That shouldn't have been 1.5 hrs...heres probably what they did.. 5-10 min to remove dash and another 5 for steering colum cover...disconnect the multi-switch...get a cup of coffe and brake for 15... stand at parts counter and shoot the shit with their buddys 20 min... leave a 15 min shit... get your part and put it all back together... remaining time... those multiswitches are basically "plug and play"... remove the dash, steering colum cover.. unplug..plug in... put it all back together.... i must have over looked this post before...

A lot of them do the whole job, get paid their 1.5 hours for 15 minutes of work, and move on to the next job. The more jobs they can do in less time than the rate, the more money they make.

Thanks for the update. I'm cringing because it's difficult to get my low beams on and I may have to replace the switch. I'm a little leary because of the air bag ?

Take Care
Roy

A lot of them do the whole job, get paid their 1.5 hours for 15 minutes of work, and move on to the next job. The more jobs they can do in less time than the rate, the more money they make.

True.... but it was a demenstration of my way of saying he got Fu(ked over for really no work at all...


disconnect the battery and you won't have to worry about the airbag going off... that simple.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have stepped into the ass kicking machine and pulled the rope many times. The dash in the Cav doesn't have to be removed. Nor does the battery need to be disconnected. Remove the SRS fuse for the airbag and that's it. The whole thing is simple, involves just removing the airbag, then down the steering column. It is plug and play (as someone said).

What I did was panic. I couldn't believe it was the switch as the lights and the little green icon were acting to darn goofy. I thought it would be one of the 2 relays or the harness and the dealership would fix it in 10 minutes cheaper. I was a little wrong. It took ten minutes and it was the switch. My best friend is a mechanic and told me to go to Parts America (local parts store) and get the switch. He would have done it for me. He did his wife's GMC Yukon. Almost the same thing there.

Back to the rope.....

True.... but it was a demenstration of my way of saying he got Fu(ked over for really no work at all...



It was a good description. :grinno:

well ladies and gentlemen i am a gm tech and i say the problem is a corroded wiring at the splice for the low beam circuit feed you must open hood removed plastic shield around front hood latch assembly remove the right front headlight assembly removed the conduit from the harness that runs through there you will see it it is only one harness ,remove the black covering (tape) and find the section of the taped harness where multiple wires are (soldered together) cut section out if wire is green in color and strip and reconnect wires with new heat shrink butt-connector. wala concern corrected .. just a note ..hope this helps..

well I am not a GM technician and I say that I just had the same problem, went to autozone and bought a new headlight switch for 46 dollars took the steering column apart switched the switches and it was as good as new. I did also check all of my wires from my headlights and there was in fact no corrosion of any type. but my problem now is that I am afraid to put the airbag back into the steering wheel because I am afraid that it may deploy, any step by step descriptions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

on my cavalier as soon as i pressed the trunk release my daylights nightlights, doom light dash lights stoped working what might be the problem what is wrong with these cavaliers

hey what are the steps to removing the switch.......mines done and needs replacing.......how do you get it out from start to finish? thanks

What happened with my 1990 chevrolet cavalier z24 was as soon as i popped my trunk realease all my light when out and it turn out that the guy i bought it from did a shity wiring job so i look threw the wiring harness and found a rubber caseing with a mini fuze in it i dont know how this guy wiried this stupid thing but it something you should look out for if you bought your car seconde hand for stupid people who think they can rewire cars!!!!!

I have replaced the headlight plugs, the headlight switch assembly and still do not have low beams. Everything else works. Guess I will check the wiring harness next.

Just remove the bottom 3 screws found underneath the steering column and both parts pop right off. The switch assembly is held down by two bolts (about 3/8ths. head) ... and the two plugs-ins pop right out. Good luck

RockDude nailed this one!!!! I have a 1998 Cavalier LS Sedan. My low beams went out and only the drivers high beam was working. DRL light on the dashboard was clicking and blinking like crazy. First I replaced the multi function switch on steering column. No work! Then I replaced the DRL relay. No work! So I searched the net and found this forum. So glad I did! My problem is fixed! I found the wiring harness that feeds the headlights, turn signals and running lights for the front. The connector is located right below the battery. It is accessible from below and from the wheel well. I removed 2 of the splash guards from the front of the wheel well and removed the headlight units. I had to loosen the wiper fluid reservoir so I could pull the harness out after I disconnected it. There was a completely broken wire hanging from the firewall side of the connector and one that was severely corroded. And in the front harness side of the connector right below the drivers side headlight there was a badly corroded connection, a corroded in half connection and a wire that was broken inside the plastic cover. I used a low voltage meter to test the continuity of all the wires. Made the repairs to the harness and connector and it works like new again! Make sure you read RockDudes post and THANKS Rockdude for your post! It pointed me in the right direction! I hope this helps someone else in the future.

Sorry to re-open this folks but I could use an opinion.

What I have is no headlights working (DRLs, low/high)? Multi-function switch has been replaced, tested DRL relay, all fuses are good. Can this be an identical issue?

Use a 12 volt test light check for power to bulbs. If they get wet they burn out quickly. A finger print on bulb will burn them out in a weeks time. If you touch clean with windex and clean with a clean rag.
Check head light switch as they can go bad. Check electrical connections to bulbs. If you have power to bulb check ground wire.

I found the issue, it was the wiring harness plug beneath the battery tray. Completely corroded inside. Cut it out, spliced the wires back, wrapped it all back up tight, and it's fine. Although I do not have the DRL's? Just something else that could help out the next person save some time searching.

well my kid has a 2004 chevy cavalier, the low-beams will not work..uggh, my dad has tried the fuses, the bulbs, the switch, THANKFULLY, I fond this forum, and he is in process of checking for corroded wiring, fingers crossed. Shes going to be leaving for college soon and we gotta get this solved..thanks for all the feedback that I have read, it may be old feedback, but it has been a great help, in narrowing down ..I will let you now what the answer to our problem was hopefully shortly

I have a 2000 Cavalier,
There's Plenty of Evidence to suggest it's related to the wiring under the Battery- where corrosion compromised the Pin out Connector:
here's a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY3k94gALEc

I had called the Dealer, and was told that the recall for this was already done on my car- When I stated that I didn't believe them- that the wiring looked all original-I was told that the recall had expired! I had then said that Recalls don't expire... they then said there was no recall for my call!

I then sent an email via Dealership- but got no reply! V.I.N. 3G1JC5247YS112591

Some recalls do have time limits......

A lot of repairs are TSB's, and not recalls......TSB's cost the customer if the car is out of it's warranty....

You can go to ANY GM Dealership, and get a printout of what they call, a Vehicle Build......that tells you about any warranty work that was done on your vehicle.....if a campaign or recall was done, it will list the time and place where it was done.....

I appreciate your reply-, and Clarification on Recalls, Tech II.
I did read on the internet (somewhere) that there was no time limit on recalls... So, Sorry to have posted that comment.
As for calling the dealer and getting Mis-Information...and a bit of a RUN AROUND- perhaps they should be more Professional I would say.

Here's another link, which Clearly shows the Problem I am having.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/chevrolet-cavalier-2000-chevy-cavalier-daytime-running-lights (https://www.2carpros.com/questions/chevrolet-cavalier-2000-chevy-cavalier-daytime-running-lights)
I have also found this link to check for recalls:
https://recalls.gm.ca/#/ (https://recalls.gm.ca/#/) (which mine has none apparently)