2000 Chevy Impala Headlights Don't Work

[LadyQueen61]

Help Me Please, My 2000 Chevy Impala Headlights Don't Work

[bigrod118]

mileage? symtoms? at night, or at all. Low beams or high beams? do your turn signals light up? do they flash fast? do your hazard lights work?

Answer all of those and we'll have a better understanding of what it could be.

[LadyQueen61]

Mileage is over 100,000 mile. Headlights don't work day or night Low or High Beam and their is no problem with any of the other lights. I never had any other problems until this. The car has been really good until now.

[bigrod118]

have you checked all of the fuses in the car? there should be a few under the hood, as well as 2 places inside the vehicle. for the places inside the vehicle, you need to open the front doors, and look on the side of the dash, there is a cover on each side, take that off and you will find many fuses on each side. Just use the panel that you took off, and check the corralting fuses that would have an eefect on the headlights.

[LadyQueen61]

All fuses have been checked and they seem to be fine.

[bigrod118]

ok, I'm sure you have checked, but I have to ask anyway... what about the bulbs, have you checked the bulbs?

You may want to take the headlight out, acn check the connectors to the bulbs themselves. I have a few more ideas, but i'll wait to see your response from those checks first.

[LadyQueen61]

The Headlights will come on sometimes but will not stay on or they will not come on at all. I also brought (4) new bulbs just in case I needed them and I also brought new fuses just in case

[bigrod118]

ok, now there are really only 2 options of what it can be... a gronding issue, or most likely, a BCM issue.

Now hope that it is only a grounding issue. What you need to do is check the ground for the headlights. I just had to fix this same problem, except it was just my turn signal bulbs that were acting funny.

Take off your driver side headlight, and check the ground wire, that attaches to the chassis. heres a pic...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...8/100_1262.jpg

Dead cetner of the pic, is the bolt that attaches the ground wire to the chassis, take that off, sand it and clean it up, also sand the chassis where that connector touches the car, that will make for a better ground. you also may want to follow those wires, to see if there are any other locations where the ehadlights are grounded, I dont know off hand, but I may be bale to find out.

Option 2: this is the one that you dont want it to be, but it is most likely what is causing your problem, the BCM. The BCM is what controls everything in the car except the motor. so all of your lights, chimes, window controls etc, all the creature features are controlled by the BCM, and it is VERY picky and is common to fry.

The only way to see if it is the BCM, is to take it to the dealership, they have to connect the Tech II to it. Also, the only way to fix a BCM is to take it to the dealership, it is a computer nad HAS to be new, it CANNOT be a used BCM, because it can only be programmed once, and it can only be programmed by the Tech II. for the part and installation and programming, it will run you about $300 - $400 to fix it, because it is only able to be repalced by a dealership.

I hope its just a ground issue for you, I got lucky and it wasnt my BCM.

hope it all works out well.

[LadyQueen61]

Thank you very much, you have been alot of help

[LadyQueen61]

When i pull the dimmer switch for the bright lights, it will not stay on, could that be my problem why my lights will not stay on.

[bigrod118]

ok, common misuse of terms so I need clarification...

the dimmer switch, is located on the dash, used to manually turn on signal lights, or headlights, has the ability to be pulled out twice.

MFS(multifunction switch) located on the steering column, used for turn signals, high beam activation, wiper controls, etc..

Which one are you talking about?

So even during the day, your DRL (daytime running lights) dont turn on? They would be the high beam (inner set of lights) on, but at half power, so they would appear a yellowish color.

I suppose it might be worth trying to replace the dimmer switch or MFS, since they are both cheaper than the BCM, and can be done by a handy do it yourselfer, so you would save on labor costs.

The reason why I jumped to the BCM being the issue, is because you said that your turn signals work, but just your headlights, low and high, do not work, but everything else performs as it should, and when the BCM fries, it has the tendacy to act weird, it can be on and off, and usually doesnt just go all at once.

[LadyQueen61]

It is the MFS switch, that controlds the brights, but everything else works properly. But when i pulled the switch the brights, it will not stay to the on position. I do have the switch that pulls out twice, but my headlights will not come on.

[bigrod118]

hmmm.

Well, in an effort to try to help you save money, I would have to say you may just have to take it to the dealer to have them look at it, it would only be about $80 - $100 for a diagnistic service.

Actually, hmmm, I have to ask someone that is smarter than me a questino, I think there is a realy that controls all the the headlights, not just the high beams, so I have some investigating to do, and i'll try to get back to you with a more definte answer.

[LadyQueen61]

Ok, Thank you very much, you have been alot of help. I really appreciate your help very much.

[bigrod118]

I just ahd to go out to my car and pull the driver side fuse cover. There is a realy, it's labeled headlamp realy. I would start there, it is probabaly going to be the cheapest thing you can do. I'm sure any local autoparts store will be able to figure out which realy you need, but it may have to be ordered.