I have a 2002 SC and I noticed the passenger side low beam was out. Thanks to the great guidance on this site, I decided to drop the bumper and change all the all the bulbs on both sides while I had access. Naturally, I decided to check things before the arduous (for me) process of putting everything back together.

And....

Low and behold, the passenger side low beam is STILL OUT. I poked around through the manual thinking maybe it was a fuse but apparently the same 50 amp fuse controls both lights and the driver's side is working normally. The car is undrivable until I get the bumper back on to have someone look at it, so I'm hoping you folks have some advice before I do that. Is there something simple I'm missing?

 

It may need a new ballast
https://www.headlightsdepot.com/hid-...-blb1-b63.html

 

sorry Daryl…didn’t update the page until I posted…you called it sir ;-)
dont these lights have a ballast?

 

I've ordered a ballast (didn't know it needed one) and hopefully that fixes it. I never realized simply changing a darned headlight bulb would be so complicated.

 

My new ballast came in today and I installed it in hopes of FINALLY solving my HID headlight problem and the left headlight still doesn't work. I'm to the point of putting the front bumper back on, admitting defeat and taking it to a shop. Any final ideas?

It's hard to imagine it's a fuse since the drivers side low beam does work.

 

Test for power going into the ballast.

 

Take the bulb and ballast from the working side and try it on the dead side. See if it works. If it does, then you know some of your new equipment is defective. If it doesn't, then you know something before the connector is bad (maybe the wiring, maybe the fuse)

 

Please be careful with the installation of the ballast. It’s high voltage.

 

Each headlight has a fuse…please check them and while you are there, check for 12vdc on the fuse.
If you don’t have a multimeter just swap the fuses to see if it moves the problem…you still need to know if there is power at the fuse.

 

Latest on this frustrating project....
I took BGW's advice and checked the fuses and to see if current was getting to the plug and sure enough it was. I then checked to see if there was continuity to the plug that goes into the ballast and there was. So, rather that take the other light apart to swap bulbs I used the old bulb that was still operational and low and behold....It Worked. I'm wondering if the original ballast that I subsequently replaced could have somehow blown the new bulb. In any event, I installed another bulb and it lit.

Since I was this far in, I decided to replace the fog light bulbs. I removed the cap, and wire keeper lose but could not get anything else to budge. Pretty well fed up and spent, I said to heck with it and with a far amount of cursing and frustration, I got the bumper cover back on.

I very much appreciate everyone responding here. You kept me plugging along when I was ready to give up. Clearly Lexus just doesn't want people doing routine maintenance on this thing.

 

I am glad you stuck with it and got it fixed. Car repair is often frustrating, but that also makes it that much rewarding when you get it done.

My guess is your original ballast was bad. And the new bulb you bought was bad. It is just super frustrating because it all happened to you at once.

 

Half the battle with troubleshooting and "winning" is keeping level-headed throughout the process. It's a simple mind-over-matter equation that is most readily solved by thinking logically. Anger and emotion only make things worse.

I know it is easier said than done. I learned the lesson in the late 1960's, in my early teens, working on on Honda 50's and 90's. The older I get, the easier it is to not blow a fuse!

 

I agree. Do you think it's because we have more experience and naturally factor in a "frustration factor?" Or because we know it is never as easy as you see it on youtube? Or because we have much better quality tools and strip way few nuts and bolt heads?

 

All of the above, for sure Double-D! Too, one must keep Murphy's Law in mind. If one expects things to go wrong, one is not surprised and frustrated when they do. On a related note, take the "nothing is easy" mantra to heart. Expect every job to be difficult. While some jobs go perfectly well with everything going to plan, it's the exception...consider it luck!

It's funny because as we age, we generally become less dexterous, with poorer sight, hearing, touch, and mental proficiency. But as you alluded to, with experience and better tools (and typically more free time) we can overcome. Senior power!