How do I fix my left high beam

2002 FORD EXPLORER
143,500 MILES • 4.0L • V6 • 4WD • AUTOMATIC
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BKLYNBORN23
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I recently purchased the vehicle listed above it is the Limited model. My left high beam will not turn on. So I purchased new bulbs and the left high beam still will not turn on. Then I checked the blue 20 amp Bussman female maxi fuse at F1 19 via the see through plastic cap and the fuse is fine. So I pulled the fuse, checked the two flat contact points in the fuse box with my circuit tester with the engine on and grounded to my battery. Only one contact point made my tester light up. How do I fix this problem and did I test it correctly?
Aug 27, 2017 at 10:05 AM
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CARADIODOC
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There's all kinds of fuses in this system. If you found 12 volts on one terminal in the fuse box with the fuse pulled out, that is correct. The 12 volts gets to the other terminal through the fuse. If that is a spade-type fuse, there are two test points on top of it where you can probe with the fuse installed. That way you'll find 12 volts on both terminals, unless it's blown.

Testing fuses is irrelevant at this point. The two low beam circuits do have their own individual fuses, but both high beams are on the same fuse. Since the right high beam works, we know the fuse is okay. That's fuse 39, a 15-amp.

Before we get too involved, verify the left low beam is full brightness. If it is dimmer than the right one, there is a bad ground circuit. If that one is okay, there has to be a break in the light green / black wire. Check if the high-beam indicator on the dash works. If it doesn't, suspect the splice in that circuit. It's in the wiring harness, on the left front side of the engine compartment. That splice feeds all three lights.

If the high-beam indicator works, the break could still be a corroded splice, or a break in that wire between that splice and the left socket.
Aug 28, 2017 at 10:38 PM