2003 Pontiac Sunfire - Low Beams / DRLs

If both leads are hot your ground is missing or corroded. Are the lights the only problem? If so follow the wires back to where they originate. If it's to the switch thats the one should be hot (or to the relay) then check the other wires, that should be ground. You can also check to see if the ground wires from the motor to the chassis are also well connected. Sometimes the ground, like BMW's are the actual framework. If so searching will take a while. Check your maintenance manual for a wiring diagram. That should tell you which wires are ground. They are usually the black.

Thanks for your help...

I'll continue to check wires/ground the hard way as I do not have decent wiring diagram to work from. I know earlier owner had work done on wiring harness "re-call", but there seems to be no other problems as both the fog lights and hi-beams are fine.

Do you know which is the ground wire in the three wire connection to the headlights on the pontiac sunfire 98?

black

Check the power socket for the lights, they corrode faster than any other wiring part in a car. A little dielectric grease in the socket after cleaning is a good step.

Thanks for your help...light bulb unit on this model actually come with built-in male plug...female plug in wiring checks out (other than fact I got power on both wires)

Buy something german

Look at the wires used on your low beams, and your high beams. I believe that the black wire is used on both bulbs for the ground circuit. Try using a short length of wire to stick in the back of the black wire on the low beam and connect the other end to the black wire on the high beam. That should cause the low beam light up. If you have the light turned on. From that point, follow the black low beam wire till you find the ground point.

Do the same thing on the other side. (you can stretch the extra ground wire from one side to the other)

Other than what is here, I would look closely at the bulb connectors. What is the bulb number?

I'll try your suggestion...thanks for the help.

There should also be a DRL diode somewhere, my guess might be behind the light switch, maybe accessed by a door on the side of the instrument panel but that's just what I've seen on other Pontiacs. If the diode is on the ground side of the light both wires would be hot if the diode opened. I would have thought the diode would be on the +V side but don't know for sure. Good luck!

Shawn

Unsure about diode but will definitely look into it further...thanks for your help.

By applying the parking brake, you should turn off the daytime running lights, if that helps.

Do you have tilt steering in your vehicle? There has been a problem with turn signal/head light switch, the wires in the wiring harness will fail do to constantly using the tilt function on the steering wheel flexing the wire harness. I had the same senario with my chevorlet truck. The low beam circuit is the first circuit in the wiring harness and sees the most flexing. just thought, good luck.

Yes I do have tilt steering...I had changed turn signal/head light multiswitch and wiring seemed OK, but...regardless, I'll continue looking into matter...thasnk for your comments.

If you unplug both lights and still have power on both terminals there is a definant short somewhere if you only have power on left side when right side is plugged in then un plug right side if short goes away then problem is in harness between right and left side as the harness runs from left to right. FYI there is no diode behind the switch it is under the hood in the fuse block and is a power diode . hope this helps

btwthese are common for shorts in harness

Welcome to the Insanity. Could you explain that part about how having power at the headlamp connectors means there is a short?

He stated that he had power on both terminals at the high beam head light as they are wired together (left and right) It is possible that he has a short to power on the second terminal. maybe you should reread my response...

If he had a short to a live wire leading to the headlights, and had new bulbs, he would have both bulbs illuminated, or he would be lacking both grounds.

If he had a short to ground or grounded wire leading to the headlights, he would not have had a live wire would he?

He stated that the wire for the low beams was live.

sorry should have went back and seen (low beam) and if there is a short on the power to a non connected or bad ground is the only way you will have power on both term. of the socket .... NO GROUND MEANS LIGHTS WONT LIGHT..............................

We own two identical 2003 Sunfires, and the problem has occurred on both vehicles. In fact, I picked up one of the Sunfires today for this problem. Actually, this is the third time this part has been replaced.

It is one of two problems or a combination of the two:

Switch #22619955

or Harness 22722803

The switch is a $100 part. Unfortunately, I'm not a mechanic and paid for the third time to have the repair completed.

Good Luck!

Hi, I had the same problem, and it turned out to be my switch. To test it, pull the harness off your switch under the cover on the steering column, and jump hot wire(Black I believe) and your low beam(dark blue I think) if your lights come on, its your switch. Same deal with the High beams, I think its Pink. Your best to check with your repair manual to ensure you have the right wires.

your forward electrical harnness has water intrusion GM has a tsb on this -03029-it was issued july 15 2003 have your local dealer print you off a copy of it.

Hello. I have replaced the wiring harness on my Cavalier, which is nearly identical to the harness on the Sunfire. Just so people know, the ground cable attaches to the battery tray. If it is not connected, the turn signals will not function. It will also cause issues with the headlights. I found this out by accident, as I forgot to connect it, and went to check my mail, only to find my lights were all inoperable. Also, the DRL diode on most "J" cars built after 2000 is on the passenger side, above the horn.

hello, did you ever find out wat the problem was with your headlight problem? I seem to be having what i think to be the same problem with my sunfire as you had. my lowbeams and dtr lights dont work so i replaced the relay, the switch, took off and cleaned the grouns that i found under the battery box ( 3 of them ) but i still have constant power running to 2 prongs in my headlight connectors.also my high beam light on my dash stays on regardless if the lights are on or off... as soon as i turn the key it goes on and stays on. any help with this would be grately appreciated

hello Im tasha and i absolutly no nothing about cars... except i know my low beams are not working lol since this is a topic... 97 pontiac sunfire im going to attempt this lol i need to know can you get shocked from touching the wire and do you think someone who dont know what their doing to do this??? ive read all of the comments to this and im 50% cofident and 50% not to be able to do this... so dose this take alot of hours to do this

You can not receive a shock of more than 12 volts from anything in the headlight circuit on a 2003 Sunfire. But allowing an energised wire to touch anything that is metal and grounded will cause a short. A short can damage wiring on your car.

You can work out your problem, but you should have a wiring diagram before you start.

If you do not have a diagram, your experience should limit your repairs to testing for power at the headlight bulbs. It is possible that you just have 2 burned out bulbs. Good luck.

I also have a 2003 sunfire with the same problem and have traced the wires ,just behind the washer container on the drivers fire wall and I found the wires are all corroded .I have not found a good wire diagram as well.

The low beams on my 2003 sunfire have an orange and 2 blue wires running to them. One of the blue wires is shared and measures at about +11.8 V, then there are seperate wires (1 orange and one also blue) that are at +12.2 V. They measure the same even when the switch is completely unhooked. When the switch is turned on, the shared blue wire becomes ground. I checked the high beams and they operate the same way. In my case there was corrosion in the shared wire that ran between the headlights along the bumper and back to the harness. It was difficult to pinpoint because I still had continuity between the bulbs, just not back to the harness, but since I had two leads show +12v each I thought my problem was elsewhere. The wires are too small a guage and lack protection in the part between the healights, I put wire protector on mine and hope to not see the issue again. The harness has a connector right under the battery tray and in addition to being extremely hard to get at it also causes anything coming down from the battery tray to leak right over the connector (mine was dirty but otherwise in good shape). Last, the windshield washer fluid line runs around the battery and in my case had been pinched causing it to crack and leak washer fluid down onto the battery tray and then the wiring. I also had to spray contact cleaner into the sockets to get them to be reliable.

Hi there,

I have a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire - and the left Low Beam light stopped working. I'm assuming that the light bulb is out. But now the right Low Beam light has started flashing and the light signal on the dash is also flashing and making a clicking sound as if my flashers were on.

Does anyone know what this means?

Most American automobiles use circuit breakers to protect the headlight circuit. If your left headlight harness managed to get pinched, causing a short, it would make your left low beam go out as the current was allowed to go to ground instead of to the low beam. As the power to the right low beam was not as close to the short, it would continue to work until the breaker got hot, and opened. As the breaker cooled down, it would reset, with a click that sounds like a flasher. And then start the cycle over again. Check the harness to the left headlight for damage.

Thanks Bob. I'll give that a try. Something must be loose because when I hit a bump yesterday, both low beam lights went back on (no more flashing). Another bump, and the left one went off.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I see that you registered. Welcome to the insanity.

Well now, I am at my wits end as well, however my problem is with the high beams and not the lows... Got 12vdc to both terminals on the high beams, as discussed in the thread. When the lows are on, they work as advertised, but when you switch to high beams, the lights go dead, switch back and the lows come back on. I took the column switch out, seems to be working correctly, power to the blue wire when I select high beams, power goes off when I de-select. I noted in thread that pink was supposed to be for high beams though - now I am confused... Any help would be appreciated - Manic

Disconnect the harness from the back of one high beam. Now test the wires again. There should only be one wire live. Now follow the other wire at that connection, and find out why it is not grounded.

My Wife has a 2001 Sunfire. Passenger side low beam not working, driver side ok. Both highs work. There is a relay or something mounted to the front side of the radiator mount just left of the center of the car. Is this the diode that was mentioned before? If it is, could that be the problem? Also, I tested the leads at the socket and found that when the lights are switched on the blue wire that I thought was the ground has no current, but when I switch the lights off all three leads in both sockets have power @ around 12v except the passenger side blue that has 8v. Not sure what this means, any suggestions?

The most common cause of headlight bulbs not working is a filament that has fractured, or separated. Try switching the non functioning bulb to the other side. Then put the working bulb in the side that had no working light. If the non functioning light has moved to the other side, replace the bad bulb. If it is still on the same side, the car has a problem, and you need to consult a wiring diagram to sort it further. Good luck.