I recently purchased a 1997 Saturn SC1. The car wasnt well maintained so I have spent the last month sorting out it out.

The headlight saga began last week. Driving home I noticed that my right or passenger headlight was out. I replaced both bulbs, but the right side still would not light. Next, looking at the ground on the passenger -side, I noticed that it was very rusty and corroded. Today, I created a new ground.. I cut the four wires and grounded them with an O-ring to a bolt on near the radiator. It still didnt work. I probed the wire and found that both wires were hot. I thought the socket was bad. I replaced the socket. I now finally have lights- sorta. The right-side bulb lights, but is very very dim. The driver side is perfect. Then for kicks, I unhooked the ground - the lights remained on. I then removed the fuse for the right light, and the light remianed on!

I am at a loss, but here are my thoughts:

• Could the DRL relay have failed? My DRL aren't operational.
• Could the prior owners have "jimmy" the lights in some manner?
• Could there be a grounded wire?

Thanks in advance.

 

None of your headlights are directly grounded (unless the previous owner fiddled with the wiring).

The grounding is controlled by the Body Control Module (BCM), the DRL relay, and the headlamp relay all working in conjunction with one another.

You need to get a Repair Manual for your car that has the electrical diagrams for the headlights

 

Thanks for your response. However, I am still unclear how to diagnose the problem.
Is the problem I am experiencing consistent with a bad ground?
If the drl relay failed would the problem evidence itself by dimming one light and the drl being inoperable?

 

The headlights are wired such that with the DLR relay in one position, the lights each receive half-power, and with the relay in the other position, each light receives full power.

The wiring schematic in the book shows which wire(s) should have voltage dependant on the DRL relay position.....

 

Thanks. I will get cracking.