Hey - why does this happen? I noticed the LH headlight was dim on my L yesterday. I popped the hood and the connector is all super hot. I unplugged it, and it's all melted inside!! Why does it do this and what can I do to make it stop??

-Jacob

 

Throw away the Cool Blues and get some standard bulbs. Many of those aftermarket blue bulbs, even the stock wattage ones, run hotter than OEM bulbs and can damage your harnesses and connectors.
Read here about blue bulbs-
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...e/bad/bad.html

 

haha not so 'ccol,' huh?

 

Okay.. The only thing (I didn't mention this before) is that the plug looked kinda melted when I put the CoolBlues in. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but now it seems important. What would cause the harness to get so hot? I have one good bulb that was in the car before - I will put it in and tape up the plug w/ electrical tape tonight.

-Jacob

 

What kind of bulbs were in there before? If they weren't OEM or equivalent they may have caused the problem.
Now that the connector is melted it must be replaced. I believe your lights are H4, if so you can go to the parts store and buy replacement H4 connectors with wire pigtails, and cut the old damaged one off and replace it.

 

I dunno, they didn't look like anything special, and the girl that owned it was the 'do what the cheapo mechanic who changes her oil' type. I doubt they were anything more than OEM replacement.

They are 9003. If that's a standard plug you can get at a parts store, that would be great. I was thinking to just buy the most normal/standard 9003 Sylvania OEM replacement bulb, tape up the connector and keep an eye on it to see if the problem still exists before replacing the plug. Ugh..

Good tips though, thanks!

-Jacob

 

Pretty sure that 9003 and H4 are the same. I highly suggest that you replace the connector now, rather than try to rig it back together. Since it's already damaged it is probably going to be making poor contact with the bulb which will make it overheat and melt even more. You can't fix this with tape, only a new connector will take care of it.

 

I would trace the wires back from the plug and see if they are chafed or cut anywhere that would cause a short. Also, check your lighting relays.

 

If the melting happened at the connector then the problem is right there at the bulb. It won't be further back.

 

C'mon now....

That could just be where the problem surfaced (the weakest point). I had a fuel pump connector melt by wires that were shorted all the way under the driver seat, yet, the pump and car ran fine. If the bulbs were the problem, the right hand side connector should have melted also. The dimming of the headlight and hot harness sounds like a short on the wiring branch of that headlight. Of course, change the connector first, then work backwards if it still is getting hot.

 

Yes.. The RH side is, and has been fine - even with the Evil CoolBlue bulb still in place. I planned to search for a short, but the problems are stacking up much faster than I can attend to them with this car.

-Jacob

 

I finally changed out the plug. The plug was melted, and the wires had NO insulation in the plug, and an inch or so back into the harness. I replaced it all with good crimp connectors, and taped the heck out of it just like Subaru does. A few zip-ties and it's good as gold. Probably woulda been fine with the CoolBlues as this car had this problem when we got it, but what the heck. Why chance it.

Thanks everyone - I really appreciate it!!

-Jacob