If you were driving home late last night and discovered that your car's high-beam lights aren't working, then it is important for you to determine the cause of the problem and fix it as soon as possible. Working high-beam lights are a necessary safety feature for your car and you should not be driving your vehicle at night until the lighting issue has been repaired.

Follow this simple procedure to troubleshoot your car's lighting problem and resolve it:

Determine Which Lights are Working 

The first step in troubleshooting a headlight issue is to determine exactly which lights are working. Determine the answer to each of these questions by turning on and off the lights while a helper watches the lights for you:

  • Is there one high-beam light that isn't working?
  • Are both of the high-beams not working?
  • Are none of the lights working at all? 

If Only One High-Beam Light is Not Working

If only one high-beam lamp is not working, this is generally indicative of a problem with an individual bulb being burned out. You can buy a new bulb at your local auto parts store and generally their replacement is fairly straightforward. If you have never replaced a headlight before, you can find a tutorial for your car's year and model by searching on YouTube.

If Both High-Beam Lights are Not Working

If both of your high-beam lights are not working, then the problem is either with the electrical fuse or the switch on the steering column. The easiest thing to try is to replace the fuse with a new one. To do so, locate the fuse box for your car. It is likely found inside or below the glove compartment. Look at the fuse diagram on the fuse box cover and locate the fuse for the high-beam lights. 

Pull out the fuse for the high-beam lights and replace it with a new one from your auto parts store. Test the high-beam lights and see if replacing the fuse solved the problem. If this didn't solve the problem, then you should have your mechanic replace the lighting switch that is located on the steering column of your car. This is a fairly easy fix and should not be too expensive.

If Both Headlights and High-Beam Lights are Not Working

Finally, if neither the headlights nor the high-beams are working, then you likely have an electrical wiring problem in your car. You can try replacing the fuses for both the high-beams and regular headlights to see if this helps. If not, then the car needs to be taken to a mechanic to have the electrical problem identified and rectified.

To learn more, contact an auto repair shop like Cadwalader Service Centre, Inc. 

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