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2008 pontiac g6 sedan headlights issue

55K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  dstryr 
#1 ·
Hey guys I'm new to this website and maybe the answer to my question has already been answered, but I haven't found it yet, if so, sorry for repeating it. I currently have a 2008 pontiac g6 gt sedan. My headlights keep going out(low beam, not high beam), I checked the fuses, and the fuses are good (headlight lowbeam fuses), and i replaced the headlights already. The first time they lasted about a day and then boom one goes out, then the next one goes out. this time, i replaced them and only one worked, and the other one never turned on. I have 3 fuse boxes as you all know, trunk passenger side and under the hood. What other fuses would I have to check besides the headlight low beam fuses? What can be the issue? I took it to an electrician and he checked wiring, and voltage to it ,and he said everything was fine. What can be the issue? or what is the issue? Thanks guys.
 
#2 ·
I had the same problem on my 2009. I would change the bulb and then a couple days later, it went out. I got stopped for it twice! First time, the guy let me go with a warning. I changed it, then a few days later I was coming home late and a female officer stopped me and I showed her the receipt saying I had it replaced by a technician (I changed it once and was too lazy to change it again...lol). But she gave me a fix-it ticket. So, I had to take it to the dealership and they said I was using cheap lights, but then also, they found a wire that was in bad shape, causing the bulb to go out all the time. Unfortunately, it wasn't under the warranty so it cost me almost $500 bucks to have this fixed. But, the reason I brought this up is because this isn't the first time where the headlights have gone out on me. It wasn't the bulb or a fuse, it was the electrical wiring...
 
#3 ·
This would've been my first guess anyways. One of the wires is exposed and the cars vibrations is making the wire hit a ground and causing a short circuit. Follow the power wire of the headlight bulb and look for anything unusual. Replacing the wire is easy and should not cost anymore than a few bucks if you don't have wire laying around.
 
#4 ·
I currently have a 2008 pontiac g6 gt sedan. My headlights keep going out(low beam, not high beam), I checked the fuses, and the fuses are good (headlight lowbeam fuses), and i replaced the headlights already. The first time they lasted about a day and then boom one goes out, then the next one goes out. this time, i replaced them and only one worked, and the other one never turned on. I have 3 fuse boxes as you all know, trunk passenger side and under the hood. What other fuses would I have to check besides the headlight low beam fuses? What can be the issue? I took it to an electrician and he checked wiring, and voltage to it ,and he said everything was fine. What can be the issue? or what is the issue?
You took it to an electrician or a car repair shop?

It only takes a small increase in resistance in that high current circuit to heat up the connector terminals & melt the connector plastic. Check your pigtails for melting. If melted you'll need to replace them. It's a pretty common problem.

Best practice is to apply dielectric silicone grease to all the terminals on the high current side of the headlamp circuit. It prevents corrosion from occurring in the first place.
 
#5 ·
So I replaced the sockets (cost about 8 dollars each), and the right lowbeam light works perfect. It doesn't go out anymore, but the left one keeps going out! I replaced the socket and then put a new lowbeam bulb and the bulb turns on at first, but after a while of being on it turns off again, light bulb isn't burned out, but idk wtf to do now! Replaced fuses, 3 pairs of bulbs, and now sockets..I figured sockets would be the problem because they werre melted in the inside..right one works, but left one doesn't..it turns on but after a while it goes out...any other suggestions?
 
#7 ·
What do you mean the male connector as well?? Sorry I'm kind of new to this....
I took out the light bulb and looked inside where you plug it in, and the plastic was melting and coming in contact with the "teeth"..I took the car to a mechanic that deals with electrical problems in cars...he said to replace the sockets where you plug in the light bulbs..so I replaced both passenger and driver sockets for lowbeam..the right one works perfect now...but left doesn't..it turns on for a bit then the light bulb goes out after a while, but if you look at the bulb it still looks new the inside of it isn't fried or anything..so I'm really confused..what else can I look at???
 
#14 ·
You usually need to replace the harness-side male connector as well. The corrosion builds up on both sides of the contacting terminals. If the male isn't melted, you might get away with pulling the connector apart & cleaning the terminals til they shine.

I hope you took to heart the advice about using dielectric silicone on the terminals. Makes all the difference preventing corrosion in the first place.
 
#16 ·
Good call greenman.

My '08 was dropping the pass. side headlight all the time. I tried cleaning the terminals inside the connector but they are very small and by the time I realized what was happening the terminals were too far gone. Cleaning them did not help, there was too much metal corroded away. Both sideshad terminals burned out so badly they blackened the connector body.

I went to a dealership, NAPA distribution center, & a CarQuest distribution center to find an appropriate plug/connector. The dealer's solution was to replace the harness, not under warranty of course. The parts places, including a Radio Shack did not have an off-the-shelf connector for damp/wet location, or anything really, suitable for a repair.

I ended up clipping the connector out altogether and crimping on new butt connectors using plenty of dielectric grease. I did the fix in April, 2011 on both headlights and just last week the pass. side started acting up again.

Here's another thread on the issue. I feel it should be warranted by GM. Please use the link to file a complaint and maybe we'll get some satisfaction.

http://www.g6ownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9405
 
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