headlight problem

I have a 2002 cavalier. The passenger headlight doesnt work at all. The drivers side only the high beam works. The daytime lights dont work at all. I changed the switch. Checked the fuses. Not sure if it could be related but the horn doesnt work and I have had problems with the battery. The battery is only a year old. Sometimes I have to jiggle the battery around in order for the car to start. Ive already cleaned the battery terminals. I had a remote starter installed 2 years ago but havent been using it since january.

The first thing I do with these is pull the entire headlamp harness. It takes me about ten minutes. Then I pull all the plastic loom and tape off all the connections. Then I look for the green stuff. Wherever there is green there is corrosion and wherever there is corrosion there is a problem. Fix all the "green" spots and you'll likely have fixed all of your problems.

The first thing I do with these is pull the entire headlamp harness. It takes me about ten minutes. Then I pull all the plastic loom and tape off all the connections. Then I look for the green stuff. Wherever there is green there is corrosion and wherever there is corrosion there is a problem. Fix all the "green" spots and you'll likely have fixed all of your problems.

Thank-you for your input :) I have had the entire headlamp harness out. There wasn't any green spots. Is there anything else you can think of?

Do you have power at the orange wire at the right headlight connector. The pink wire should be grounded when the high beams are on and the dark blue should be grounded with the low beams on.

Do you have power at the orange wire at the right headlight connector. The pink wire should be grounded when the high beams are on and the dark blue should be grounded with the low beams on.


That im not sure about. My ex-husband is the one that is working on it for me. Im not sure if he found power at the orange wire or not. I will find out. Im not sure but I dont think there was any power going to the headlight at all on the passenger side.

That im not sure about. My ex-husband is the one that is working on it for me. Im not sure if he found power at the orange wire or not. I will find out. Im not sure but I dont think there was any power going to the headlight at all on the passenger side.


he wants to splice wires from the running lights to headlights and says then i will have headlights. Is that alright to do that?

Sure if you want to burn up wires/connectors/fuses. It might work for a while but long term it will do more harm. These are not difficult systems to figure out. If there is no power to the right side and the right side fuse is good (and there is power to the fuse) than the problem is either the wiring from the fuseblock to the headlamp, or the fuseblock itself.

Sure if you want to burn up wires/connectors/fuses. It might work for a while but long term it will do more harm. These are not difficult systems to figure out. If there is no power to the right side and the right side fuse is good (and there is power to the fuse) than the problem is either the wiring from the fuseblock to the headlamp, or the fuseblock itself.

thank you for that before I went ahead and let him do that.....is it the same thing for the drivers side with only the high beam working? and also the daytime lights not working?

Yup you need to know whats powered up and whats grounded. Once you know all the variables the solution is usually pretty simple.

A test light hooked to power will tell you if the ground sides are working. A test light hooked to ground will tell you if the powers are working.

Yup you need to know whats powered up and whats grounded. Once you know all the variables the solution is usually pretty simple.

A test light hooked to power will tell you if the ground sides are working. A test light hooked to ground will tell you if the powers are working.


now my car wont stay running...it starts to turn over and then shuts off....am i just having a lot of different problems or are they related? I was having to jiggle the battery at times in order to start the car because there was no power and now it will crank and start to fire and just stop. any ideas?

Is the security light flashing?

Are the battery connections clean and tight?

Is the security light flashing?

Are the battery connections clean and tight?


security light is not flashing....checked the battery connections already they are clean and tight.....so you think its the battery then...tried jumping it too....i have been having problems with the battery....not every time but sometimes i have had to jiggle the battery in order to get the car started....but it would be completely dead and then when i moved the battery around a little it would be fine....now it turns over starts to fire and stops.....and then i have the problem with the headlights....wondering if i just have major electrical problems :(

security light is not flashing....checked the battery connections already they are clean and tight.....so you think its the battery then...tried jumping it too....i have been having problems with the battery....not every time but sometimes i have had to jiggle the battery in order to get the car started....but it would be completely dead and then when i moved the battery around a little it would be fine....now it turns over starts to fire and stops.....and then i have the problem with the headlights....wondering if i just have major electrical problems :(


got car running again :) ..... thinking the headlights is maybe the ground but how do you find where its at?

ok call me silly, but i didnt see you post this or anyone else, did you check/change the bulbs/lamps?
and also if you have any slack on power and ground wires from the battery, you should check to see if they corroded from the inside. I had this happen once where they looked fine but when i cut a piece off it was all junk on the inside. also follow them to alternator and anywhere they go and check those connections for tightness/corrosion.

The headlights are either grounded by the DRL relay or the headlight switch. This setup is referred to as ground side control. Meaning there is always power to the headlamps and they are turned on by the switch/relay which supplies the circuit with a ground.