Headlight problem?

ALLISON BROCKMAN

MEMBER
2010 CHEVROLET MALIBU
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
17,000 MILES

I always keep my automatic headlights turned on. Tonight, it was dark and after pulling out of a parking lot I noticed they weren't on. I pulled over and at first, I'm almost sure my high beams weren't working either, but that was only for a minute. The regular lights would not go on, so I decided to just drive with the high beams on to get home. When I got off the highway, I shut the high beams off to see if my headlights were working and one of them was. After driving about another mile, the other one went on. My son said that a couple of weeks ago the same thing happened to him. What could this be?

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,731 POSTS

Hi Allison,

That is an odd one. If you would have told me both low beams stopped, that would have made it easier, but for one to work and not the other and then both worked makes things a bit more difficult.

Since they didn't work and then started working, the first thing that came to mind is if there was an issue with one of the relays. The vehicle has a relay for the DRL, low beam, and high beam. If this happens again, if you are comfortable doing it, remove the affected relay. For example, if the DRL isn't working, remove and reinstall that relay.

I attached a pic of the under-hood fuse box below. I highlighted the low beam (number 38) and DRL relay (number 48).

Since the relay is nothing more than a switch, confirm the relay is tight and free of corrosion where it plugs in. If you want to check in advance, remove them now and see if they are in good condition.

Let me know what you find.

Joe

See pic below.

Image (Click to make bigger)