Dim Headlights Problem

**robbie26** · January 24th, 2021 03:25 PM

All lights are working fine, except for the regular low beam headlights. They have lights, but it's just too dim that I can barely see anything at night (need to use bright "high beam" just to drive at night). I already replaced the H11 bulbs, but its still the same.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

The car is a 2nd hand 2015 Altima.

TIA

**bxr monkey** · January 24th, 2021 03:39 PM

Baka po kailangang linisin ang projector or headlight housing?

**dr. d** · January 24th, 2021 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by robbie26

All lights are working fine, except for the regular low beam headlights. They have lights, but it's just too dim that I can barely see anything at night (need to use bright "high beam" just to drive at night). I already replaced the H11 bulbs, but its still the same.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

The car is a 2nd hand 2015 Altima.

TIA

... grounding?

also, can you check if the wires are delivering the appropriate power?
can you pull out the sockets and apply multimeter to the terminals?

errr,
careful, po.
you might blow a fuse or two...

**17Sphynx17** · January 24th, 2021 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by robbie26

All lights are working fine, except for the regular low beam headlights. They have lights, but it's just too dim that I can barely see anything at night (need to use bright "high beam" just to drive at night). I already replaced the H11 bulbs, but its still the same.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

The car is a 2nd hand 2015 Altima.

TIA

Assuming the lights are in order, the headlight housing is not yellowish/foggy and I noticed you didn't mention it but I would care to ask in this instance.

What is your car tint level? Medium Dark? Dark?

Second, have you also had your eyes checked if you need adjustment in your glasses, I am assuming you have them/use them.

Reason I mention the two is because you didn't mention them and they could be external factors that affect night time driving visibility.

Food for thought and I don't mean to offend by the question. Just wanted to ask as it may be something that can be explored.

**dr. d** · January 24th, 2021 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by 17Sphynx17

Assuming the lights are in order, the headlight housing is not yellowish/foggy and I noticed you didn't mention it but I would care to ask in this instance.

What is your car tint level? Medium Dark? Dark?

Second, have you also had your eyes checked if you need adjustment in your glasses, I am assuming you have them/use them.

Reason I mention the two is because you didn't mention them and they could be external factors that affect night time driving visibility.

Food for thought and I don't mean to offend by the question. Just wanted to ask as it may be something that can be explored.

i also do not know what he meant by "dim".

when my since-new 2005 innova's headlight housings started showing their age, they started getting hazy.
it came to a point that i could not see much in the dark using low beams. i had to use high beams. and even then, i could not see as much as i wanted.
i had since replaced the ancient headlight housings, with new non-OEMs. i can see well in the dark, again.
my front windshield tint is in the upper 12 inches only.

**ninjababez** · January 24th, 2021 07:53 PM

baka low voltage?

Sent from my Redmi Note 9 Pro using Tsikot Forums mobile app

**bxr monkey** · January 24th, 2021 08:39 PM

Baka medyo bago pa ang sasakyan (2015) para magkaroon ng electrical issues... pero maganda pa din ma checklist ang mga nabigay na suggestions para ma eliminate isa isa.

**oj88** · January 25th, 2021 10:22 PM

Is it really a brightness issue?

May gumalaw na ba ng headlamp alignment? Maybe it was in a front collision and the headlamps were aligned improperly.

If the lights are aimed too low, hindi mo na kita halos yung low beam.... the high beam then becomes the low beam. Your perception now is that the low beams are weak and the high beams (sort of) work.

**dr. d** · January 25th, 2021 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by robbie26

All lights are working fine, except for the regular low beam headlights. They have lights, but it's just too dim that I can barely see anything at night (need to use bright "high beam" just to drive at night). I already replaced the H11 bulbs, but its still the same.

Any ideas what the problem could be?

The car is a 2nd hand 2015 Altima.

TIA

i am now wondering,
is the bulb really not burning as bright as it should (electrical issues) ?
is the bulb fine, but the perceived output is sub-par because bulb is not properly seated (re-seat!) or headlight housing is poorly aimed (adjustment issues, previous fender bender)...
or is the front windshield too heavily tinted?
or does driver have vision problems?

**robbie26** · February 2nd, 2021 06:28 PM

Thanks for the comments. I wasn't able to check the site for several days.

Anyway, i recently went to a nearby car repair shop. They tried rewiring, it did not work. They tried checking the power delivery, it's working fine. They tried replacing again with new bulbs, same result. So they finally suggested that I replace the whole headlight assembly... still waiting for their quotation.

While waiting, I went to Nissan to seek 2nd opinion. The verdict... i need to replace the whole assembly. Here's the problem, each side will cost me Php 18k, so that's a whopping 36k just to replace the headlight assembly. Are they really that expensive? I was initially willing to shell out around 20k total...but i feel that 36k is just too much for headlights.

Any suggestions where i can get them at a lower price? Maybe order online (is this safe?), or consider surplus shops in Banawe or Evangelista?

Not much parts going around for 2015 Nissan Altima i guess...

Help...