Headlight low beam issue
02-23-14, 06:03 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Headlight low beam issue
Noticed my passenger side HID low beam went out about a week ago... 2008 ls460, out of warranty
1 - changed HID bulb, still out
2 - checked applicable fuses in fuse box in engine compartment, all seems fine
3 - changed to new ballast, still nothing
All the other lights in the headlight are operating fine, only the low beam is still out. Somehow the ballast is not receiving power
Anyone ever encounter this or heard of something ? Pretty much ready to turn it over to my indy mechanic or the dealer if necessary
1 - changed HID bulb, still out
2 - checked applicable fuses in fuse box in engine compartment, all seems fine
3 - changed to new ballast, still nothing
All the other lights in the headlight are operating fine, only the low beam is still out. Somehow the ballast is not receiving power
Anyone ever encounter this or heard of something ? Pretty much ready to turn it over to my indy mechanic or the dealer if necessary
Last edited by 1Putt; 02-23-14 at 06:33 PM.
02-27-14, 09:22 AM
#4
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Update-
As suspected, it's one of the electrical relays attached or integrated into the fuse box in engine compartment that went bad. Just my luck, it's very unusual for this to fail; my indy Lexus shop has never seen this before in our cars and hardly on other models. Strange, the power goes to this relay first then the fuse box, then headlight/low beam. That's why the applicable fuse was still fine. When diagnosing it, they powered the fuse box and the low beam was able to come on.
At least problem was identified
As suspected, it's one of the electrical relays attached or integrated into the fuse box in engine compartment that went bad. Just my luck, it's very unusual for this to fail; my indy Lexus shop has never seen this before in our cars and hardly on other models. Strange, the power goes to this relay first then the fuse box, then headlight/low beam. That's why the applicable fuse was still fine. When diagnosing it, they powered the fuse box and the low beam was able to come on.
At least problem was identified
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Dsmith625 (10-24-20)
02-27-14, 12:56 PM
#6
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Thread Starter
Yeah, the relay is about $50, plus minimal labor to install. Thankfully it's one of the items that are separately serviceable and not part of the fuse box itself. However, they did take about 2 hrs to pinpoint the problem, so that'll probably be added on
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02-27-14, 05:00 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
If it were me, I wouldn't have the same luck. With my luck, I'd go in for a turn signal that wasn't working and they'd tell me the car's computer was kaput.
03-07-14, 06:58 PM
#10
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Another update--
The relay part that was brought in was not the correct item. Ended up having to replace a junction box that contains multiple relays that are integrated to this piece. One of these integrated relays was the culprit. $300 part. Had to wait a little longer, at least now its done and back to normal
The relay part that was brought in was not the correct item. Ended up having to replace a junction box that contains multiple relays that are integrated to this piece. One of these integrated relays was the culprit. $300 part. Had to wait a little longer, at least now its done and back to normal
03-07-14, 08:32 PM
#11
Man, nothing is a cheap fix anymore.
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Doughb (03-25-20)
02-08-17, 04:05 AM
#14
Bringing this back from the dead... Is this the Engine-2 Relay Block? I'm in a situation with my '07 where I've replaced the Headlamp Assembly, Ballast/HID ECU, Bulb, Engine-1 Relay Block, and Engine-2 Relay Block, but am not getting power to the Pass Low Beam. I've tested the headlamp is good when connected to the other side, so something is not getting power to the HID Connector plug (gray lower). Is there something I am missing? This low beam is the only thing keeping me from passing inspection. It's frustrating to see this car sit for what should be a simple, not to mention much less expensive recurring problem, especially since I have replaced seemingly everything but the wire harness.
Last edited by tlk2megoos; 02-08-17 at 04:08 AM.
05-14-17, 11:52 AM
#15
Similar issue
2007 LS460L
just bought my second 460 about three months ago, since then I've done the minimum of maintenance (HID bulbs, LED interior/exterior, K&N filters, etc) and am now just running into an issue which is driving me nuts!
so I've always ordered my HID kits from DDMTuning.com and never had an issue. Did the same on this car, ordered my kit for the fogs as well as the D4S bulbs for the low beams. They worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago when the passenger low beam decided to just die. Not faint, not weak, just dead. It would come and go as time went on, but no steady performance has been noticed. I figured it was the bulb and having a few spares I played around a little. It's not the bulb. So since there was quite a bit of condensation in the headlight I figured I'd check the ballast. Before removing it I ordered a new one, it arrived, took the headlight out, sure enough the wires and connections were soaked. Drained the water out, dried it up as much as I could, put the new ballast in, the light fired up perfect. Then last night, out of nowhere it decided to start all over again.... I've checked and rechecked the fuses, they are intact. I don't know what else to check!!!
I've read here that one guy had "relay" issues and he had to remove his fuse box to get to it and fix it. Anyone have any input on this? Similar issues with anyone?
I've run out of ideas...
Please and thank you.
just bought my second 460 about three months ago, since then I've done the minimum of maintenance (HID bulbs, LED interior/exterior, K&N filters, etc) and am now just running into an issue which is driving me nuts!
so I've always ordered my HID kits from DDMTuning.com and never had an issue. Did the same on this car, ordered my kit for the fogs as well as the D4S bulbs for the low beams. They worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago when the passenger low beam decided to just die. Not faint, not weak, just dead. It would come and go as time went on, but no steady performance has been noticed. I figured it was the bulb and having a few spares I played around a little. It's not the bulb. So since there was quite a bit of condensation in the headlight I figured I'd check the ballast. Before removing it I ordered a new one, it arrived, took the headlight out, sure enough the wires and connections were soaked. Drained the water out, dried it up as much as I could, put the new ballast in, the light fired up perfect. Then last night, out of nowhere it decided to start all over again.... I've checked and rechecked the fuses, they are intact. I don't know what else to check!!!
I've read here that one guy had "relay" issues and he had to remove his fuse box to get to it and fix it. Anyone have any input on this? Similar issues with anyone?
I've run out of ideas...
Please and thank you.