Headlight issue

[SlyBry]

1997 Cavalier 2.2L with 78,000 miles.

I noticed the other day that my driver's side headlight was out, so I went down to Autozone and got a pair of relacement bulbs. After changing both headlights, the driver's side was still out. So just to be sure that I didn't buy a bad bulb, I tried it with the working bulb I installed on the passenger's side, and got the same result.

Then I figured that it must be a fuse. I'm not that lucky. The fuse didn't look blown, but I replaced it anyway and got the same results. So then I grabbed my multimeter. I tested 12 volts at the fuse, and 11 volts at the socket. WTF? Why isn't this working?

Any ideas?

[Classicrocjunkie]

did you touch the bulb at all?

[SlyBry]

Originally Posted by Classicrocjunkie

did you touch the bulb at all?

Nah, it was cold out, so I was wearing gloves. Besides, I have 4 confirmed "working" bulbs that all work fine on the passenger's side, but don't do jack on the driver's side.

[Knifeblade]

And the socket that plugs into the bulb shows current, right? If so, does any of your park/sidemarker/tail/third brake bulbs fail to work? It is a weirds thing, but a failed bulb anywhere above can cause an intermittent fail at the socket when it is plugged in,

[cousincletus]

Check the ground.

[noshun]

is the socket clean?