One headlight issue

Alright guys I am kinda stumped here . I have a 1999 XJ and just today the passenger headlight stopped working . I replaced with a new one and still nothing . I tested the plug and it seems to have 9 to ten volts with the vehicle not running . I tried to different new lamps and nothing . When i pulled the old headlight off the connector plug it was a pain to pull it apart and the connection seemed pretty oxidized . Just wondering if this is common and if anyone has any ideas

Bad ground if there is voltage at the bulb connector. Try cleaning the contacts. Check the head light relay and fuse.

95 XJ 4.0/aw4/231 The lights worked coming home from work, I bought a new battery last night cause the one in it was a loaner from another vehicle. Now I have no headlights bright or dim. The bright indicator is on in the dash but no lights, I clicked the bright/dim with no change. The park lamps all work as do the dash lights etc. I pulled the light switch in/out several times...nothing. Is this a common XJ thing? Wher the heck do I start? Ok Check the grounds, past that where to look????

I posted it here in hopes it may be a similar issue. I did try swapping the relay with another to rule that out, the fuse was ok also.

I don't know about you year, era, but the old ones were notorious for burning out the head light switch. I also had the bright switch hang up once and had to replace it too.

Occasionally my headlights will fail to come on, but cycling the high beam switch gets them on. But just one light, it sounds like a local plug, dirty contacts, or a weak or non-existant ground. I spliced new plugs on to mine, as they were very corroded, and there's no good way to clean them.

I've burned though 2 of the factory switches, they really don't hold up well to the current that goes through em. If I had to guess I'd say your switch burned out/is burning out. I replaced my harness with heavy gauge wire and relays instead. Relays get their power from the battery and turn on from the old wiring. Works great, headlights are much brighter and I dont have to worry about my headlights conking out on me driving home (happened waaaay to often).

also is it the passenger side or drivers side headlight?

Tim99xj said:

the connection seemed pretty oxidized .

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that be the problem, post up in the wanted section, i got mine from arizona looked brand new

It was the plugs to the headlights themselves, The prongs on the back of the lights and the sockets they plug into had become corroded and weren't making a good connection.
Cleaned them up good with a picece of sandpaper and a wire brush, they work fine now.

It caught me off guard when it happened cause I had just driven it home from work, no problem, go back out to run an errand-no lights. Now I know.

trickjeep said:

It was the plugs to the headlights themselves, The prongs on the back of the lights and the sockets they plug into had become corroded and weren't making a good connection.
Cleaned them up good with a picece of sandpaper and a wire brush, they work fine now.

It caught me off guard when it happened cause I had just driven it home from work, no problem, go back out to run an errand-no lights. Now I know.

Click to expand...

You should have had battery voltage at the headlamps--that 9 to 10 volts was telling you something was wrong--either poor connection or your battery took a dump.

And yes--corrosion in those headlamp connectors is common on most vehicles.