Suddenly Lost Front Passenger-Side Head/sidelights

[Jackie11]

Hello ... can someone with oily fingers who knows all about what happens under my bonnet please help?

I got home from work yesterday, all was fine ... went to see my friend Sally later in the evening, still all fine ... left to come home after a couple of hours and my passenger-side front lights weren't working just the indicator. The car is a 1999 mondeo mk2.

Even my little hands can't find a way to take the bulbs out to check, though I'm assuming it is too big a coincidence for main/dip/sidelight bulbs all to go at the exact same time anyway.

So I checked the fuses when I found them in the box by the batery, and I'd thought each side would have a separate fuse but with the (one!) light switched on I pulled all the fuses waiting for that one side to go out and help me work out which fuse was for the other side, but after pulling every one of them the only reaction I got was from the one blue 20 fuse ... I assumed the other blue/20 one was for the faulty lights so I swapped the good fuse in to the same position to check, but nothing happened ... I put it back and the drivers side lights were fine again ... so I assume the one fuse serves both-side lights and is okay anyway.

So I am really stumped now what to check next ..

Could it actually be the bulbs after all even though it seems a huge coincidence? I have to work out how to get at them, but I don't mind doing that if it is worthwhile ... Or is there something/somewhere else to be checking still first? As far as I could tell everything else was working normally.

Also, on my other cars I've always just been able to pull the bulbs out from behind - the mondeo doesn't seem to offer this?

I do go out some nights and with my luck I am bound to get a ticket right away, so please can anyone suggest a fix for me? Thanks!

Jackie

[mintalkin]

there is another fusebox in the car which is behind the glove box,here you will find all the other fuses for left and right handed lights,are the lights ok at the rear of the car? with all the near side front lights failing at once its unlikely to be a fuse problem, it could be the bulb but you usually get one filament failing not both,its more likely to be the socket which fits onto the bulb which has become loose or corroded but without inspection its hard to say, the best was to get at the bulb/socket is to remove the headlight itself,see link.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=.%20Headlight+Removal+-+Mk2

[Jackie11]

there is another fusebox in the car which is behind the glove box,here you will find all the other fuses for left and right handed lights,are the lights ok at the rear of the car? with all the near side front lights failing at once its unlikely to be a fuse problem, it could be the bulb but you usually get one filament failing not both,its more likely to be the socket which fits onto the bulb which has become loose or corroded but without inspection its hard to say, the best was to get at the bulb/socket is to remove the headlight itself,see link.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=.%20Headlight+Removal+-+Mk2

Hello and thank you very much ...

Yes the rear lights are absolutely fine. I had assumed that rear lights too had their own separate left and right fuses, but I can see now that if the whole car is just fused left/right then the rear being on while the same-side front is off means it shouldn't be the fuse ... am I interpreting that right?

Though, just to be sure in my own mind I would like to check the other fuses you mentioned .. when you say behind the glove box, do I have to remove the glove box in order to be able to get to them? Seems like a strange approach to user-friendly design! But then again, if you actually have to completely remove the headlight assembly from the car just to change a bulb, seems like the same chap was involved, aparently someone with a grudge!!

Will I see which are the headlight's fuses or should I just pull them in turn and see what that affects?

I'll see how I get on with checking the things you mention, the physical things like wires and the bulbholder, but is there anything more on the *system* side of things that would give any useful clues? Like, there were some big square other things in the fusebox that I assume are just heavier fuses, which I didn't think I should remove when checking earlier, they looked like I might end up causing something I really didn't need to have happen as I know nothing about electricals and wiring etc apart from the very basics. Hopefully however it still might just be a bulb-thing ...

Wish I was driving my old falling-apart mini ... it took longer to open the bonnet and prop it up than to take the bulb out ...

[mintalkin]

the 'big' fuses you refer to will be the relays for different systems and these should be ok,you are right in thinking the fuse should be ok, you may be able to access the internal fusebox without removing the glovebox,check out the mk2 fuse layout link for more info on the fuse numbers and layout of the box.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=.%20Fuses+and+relay+information

[Snapper]

Which model of car?

Mk3 mondeo headlights have 2 metal slides that you pull up and the headlight comes out forward, you need to take the grill off which has 2 plastic turn catches.

Easy peezy

[sparky2076]

i had same problem,turned out to be a faulty printed circuit board that controls lights.cost me £150 to have repaired.