Headlight not working

[Averitt]

The low beam on the driver's side on my 99 Carrera stopped working so I removed the headlight and replaced just the low beam bulb and leaving the high beam HID lamp untouched. When I replaced the headlight none of the lights in that assembly work, low beam, high beam and turn signal. When I use the turn signal it binks rapidly in the dash and not at all in the front and just a sold light in the rear as though there is a break in the current or bad ground. I've removed and inspected. Reconnected the clip inside the housing and the one that attaches to the back of the housing. It easily slips in and connects with the fixed connection on the rear as well. What happened with a simple bulb replacement? If the switch, wouldn't both headlights quit working? Thanks!

[rfuerst911sc]

Put the light assembly back in the car . Lock it in . Turn the key on and put that side blinker on . If it blinks fast in the rear give the headlight a few good smacks with your hand . If the blinker now works you know the issue is poor contact in the connector to the headlight frame . It's not unusual for the connector frame plastic to crack , when you slide the light in the cracked plastic allows the connector to push back making a poor connection . I hope that makes sense .

The frame that the headlight assembly slides into is adjustable. There are three ( I think ) brass knurled nuts that hold the frame in the car . Unfortunately you can't get to the front two unless you remove the bumper . The one at the back can be reached by partially removing the inner fender liner . Hope this helps .

[Correyyt]

The whole headlight unit plugs into a multi-pin connector in the fender. If that plug doesn’t seat perfectly when you slide the light back in, you’ll lose the whole assembly low, high, and turn signal exactly like you’re describing. The rapid blink on the dash is just the car telling you front signal not connected.

[NeoAura]

Your driver-side headlight issue on the ‘99 Carrera is most likely due to the headlight assembly not being fully seated or making proper contact with the car’s connector. Even if it feels connected, these headlights are picky and won’t work unless fully locked in. Also check for bent pins, dirty contacts, or a loose internal plug. A fuse issue is less likely since only one side is affected. Reinstall the headlight carefully and make sure it clicks in securely, that usually solves it.

[Anothray099]

Verify you have power going to the low beam bulbs. If you do, then bulbs, if not then troubleshoot the circuit.

[rfuerst911sc]

I have had intermittent issues with my passenger side headlight for 2 years . I smack the headlight with my palm and it works . Run over an ant and it doesn't work . Last week I was fed up . Pulled the headlight and all looked good . There was nothing broken and the connector in the car was locked in place . Now what ?

I then noticed the connector on the headlight housing is held in place with two screws . I removed the screws and gently pulled the connector away from the housing . I then installed one aluminum rivet washer between the connector and the housing . I then installed the two screws . In essence I spaced the connector away from the housing which means it goes deeper into the connector in the car . Bingo ! Locked the headlight in and I now have a solid electrical connection .

I previously had pulled both headlights ( bi xenon ) and installed all new bulbs . Surprisingly all wire insulation looked perfect . I am glad my headlight saga is over .

[Averitt]

Thought I'd let all know the end result. When putting assembly back into car I checked the harness that is attached to the cage the headlight slides into. It was loose and difficult to get locked back into place. I took the cage out and inspected and all appeared to be there and nothing was broken so reinstalled the plug into the back of the cage before reinstalling as it was easier to clip the yellow lock into place when you can watch the whole process. Then reinstalled he cage and slid the light back into place and locked. It worked. Sometimes it's the simplist thing... Thanks for all the advice.

[Fuchs]

I found this Reddit post particularly helpful when I had the exact issue. It seems to be common and drivers side specific. No such thing as a unique problem when you consult the internet.

Wanted to leave a note in case anyone else is dealing with this issue now, or in the future.
My front left turn signal would sporadically stop working when it was warm out, and once winter hit, it fully quit. I figured it was a bulb and bought a set of four to replace them all at once. After replacement the front left was still not working. This led me through a series of forum posts that lead me to believe this is a common issue on our cars, but I hadn't heard of it before.
The fix was very straightforward, after removing the headlight from the car's body you pop out the bulb holder. On that bulb holder there are two metal contacts that stick out from the edges, these make contact with the metal inside the headlight housing. I noticed on my bulb holder that one side was pushed in further than the other. By pulling on that contact with a needle nose pliers it came back out to the same depth as the other side. Some forum posts suggested dielectric grease, but since I didn't have any on hand, I tried just plugging the bulb back in with that contact pulled out.
This fixed the issue!
I retried my old bulb and sure enough it wasn't even broken, the contact must've just shrunk into the housing over time / with temperature change.
I personally head to Reddit before other forums, and even though this info is available on places like Rennlist, I couldn't find it on here. So I figured I'd throw this out there for you guys in case anyone else comes here first when looking for fixes!