Pontiac Sunfire Headlights

theyellowdark

My girlfriend has a 2000 Sunfire and the lights are terrible. We drive with the high beams on all the time and still can't see 15 feet in front of the car. It's getting dangerous, especially in the rain. Does anyone else have this problem with their Sunfires and what do I do to fix it? I'm not sure if the lights are getting dimmer, or if I just need to adjust head lights.
How do I adjust the headlights?

Thanks in advance

rdk1

Everyone thinks my headlights are on high, but they aren't. Constantly get flashed, even by semi trucks??? Help!!!!

peaches9

I own 2003 pontiac sunfire my headlight both went out yesterday i replaced the bulbs and still nothing all the other lights work fine any ideas on what may be wrong????

woof_indy

i have a 96 sunfire and the headlights were all 'foggy' looking. it was hard to see. i went to autozone and bought a kit that has adhesive pads and a bit for a home drill. you attach the pad and mount this on the drill and buff the lenses. it really works !!!!! it cost me about $12 for 6 pads [all in the kit]. be sure to read the directions [ i dont have the name for the company right here, but can retrive it if you need it] . just ask the counter guy. it really works

laxking17

did you think to check your fuses? 90% of the time when 2 things stop working at the same time its a fuse.

laxking17

two options A)diagnose wether to buy new light bulbs/fuses/wires B)buy either a halogen bulb kit or an LED bulb kit and you will never have problems again with brightness.

rsaucier

check below the battery tray their is a connector that may have a bad connection from battery acid.

bone3160

MY DAUGHTER HAS A 99 PONTIAC SUNFIRE A MAY BE STUPID BUT I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE LIGHT BULB OUT PLEASE HELP

euphorbia

Even though they may not be burned out, the bulbs turn black over time. Try new bulbs. Also get a plastic polish and clean the lens. You may need to get them aimed.

euphorbia

The "turn signal/dimmer multifunction switch on the steering column is probably the problem. Usually the brights continue working.

brujita

I have a 2000 Sun fire Convertible and last week when i started it up the headlights flashed, and its been doing it every time i start it up now. I wish i knew what was going on. this car has had nothing but electric problems since day one. i wish they would of had some recalls on it. does anybody know what it can be or had this same problem,

slaweko

How to change low/high beam bulb in Pontiac Sunfire 2002? Thanks

silva_dogg

how do i change sunfire 99 headlights????? can anyone help pleassssseeee! :sick:

tarheeltom

'98 Convertible 2.4L

The headlights no longer come on when I turn them on. The reduced beam comes on when I put the car in gear, and the high beams come on when I pull on the wand, but go back off when I release the wand.

Have checked the two fuses marked headlights inside the car, and all fuses under the hood. And, I work nights, so really need the headlights.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks

slackerman

Hope you mean the headlight bulbs and not the entire headlight set. If it's the bulb then (At least on my '96 this is the procedure):
Turn off car.
Pop the hood.
Remove enough of the the long black plastic covering that stretches across both headlights (It unscrews or requires the removal of plastic, breakable plugs) so you can get your hand underneath.
Remove the next cover.
Reach underneath, to the back of the headlight, and unscrew the nob holding the headlight in place.
Disconnect the headlight bulb, put in a new bulb, and screw it back in.
Try to aim the headlight as well as you can by pointing it at a wall.

Try putting the plastic covers back on. You should be OK as long as it's still attached.

slackerman

Have you tried replacing the bulbs? That's the cheap thing to do first.

Owner of a bright red 1996 convertible, 2.4L, and 5-speed.
Today a woman at work told me how much she liked my car.

Go Seminoles!

tarheeltom

The bulbs work, at least on high beam when I pull on the wand and hold it. But they don't work the rest of the time.

slackerman

If I remember right, when I replaced my bulbs the high-beams and day-time running lights still functioned while my low beams did not. Two bulbs later and I was back in business...and yes, when one bulb dies the other usually goes within a week.

slackerman

Did replacing the bulbs work?

tarheeltom

No. The bulbs worked all the time.

Had to change the headlight switch. About $180, if I recall.

silverhair2

My 2003 Sunfire headlights also started flashing. One of the headlights no longer work. The flashing seems to be a warning that a light is out.

curran85

curran85

i own a 2000 sunfire GT and i put in high end replacement bulbs. yet when i installed them they are by far brighter than the stock ones but they cause my service light to apear. as well as that when i turn on the high beams only the passenger side lights work. Im thinking this is due to the larger wattage of the bulbs, which would mean that when they are in high beams there is only enough power to activate one bulb.

Vicki28713

I had posted previously (but I don't see my entry - so here's a recap) that my 01 sunfire headlights would flash on and off quickly about ten times every time I started my car and also when I turned off the engine. The dims and the daylamps of course would not work either - only my highbeams would come on. Well, slackerman's 6/20 comment got me to checking out my bulbs as the fuse was fine. So I purchased new bulb set and took it to the oil change guys. They charged me $5 to put in the bulbs; what a deal b/c it took two guys about 20 minutes to change them. The little plastic clips that cover that front area were "delicate" and a pain to pop out. I failed to have them wipe out the inside of my plastic headlamp cover, oh well. The bulbs worked. My daylamps came on like always. The man said that I had a gliche in my left dim light, which had went out first. Since both dim lights are on the same circuit, this caused on overload and my right dim went out a week later, like slackerman said. The high beams are on a different circuit so they were fine. Ta-da. I was expecting something more expensive to be wrong, but this was taken care of for less than $30! Cool.

slackerman

Wow, thanks for the update. Nice to know it worked.

papajohninerie

I replaced the bulbs but no high beam

xxmoboxx

My low beam headlight on the driver side stopped working so I replaced the bulb which didn't work (the original bulb looked fine) I checked my fuses, they're all fine. when I didn't have my lights on the low beam that works flashes and the car clicks as if I have my turn signal on. What might the problem be?

74runner

I work in a parts store...9 times out of 10 one head light was already burned out and no one noticed untill the other light died. Sounds like a faulty daytime running light box or relay.But I'd check all the ground connections first.

tarheeltom

If I understand your question, you have a headlight blinking, and are hearing a clicking sound.

This is, quite likely, an overloaded circuit breaker.

Headlight bulbs are usually protected by circuit breakers rather than by fuses. These circuit breakers reset after a brief cool-down period.

You probably need to take this car to a competent auto-electric shop and have them look at it. I'm guessing that this is a wiring problem.

Tom

wes_68

ok i have a 96 sunfire which should be the same what you have to do is take the plastic cover off that goes across the front it is held in with little plastic screws after you take that off there will be the two bolts on the top of the light take out the light and unscrew the back and replace the light

baker12

The wires to the head lights are very small gauge. What narmally happens is a wire breakes right at the plug at the head light. Had to fix this problem a couple of times.

kpaint

passenger side headlight does not work on low beams. changed the bulb still does not work .high beams work but passenger side is dim

jswihart1

Every time I turn on my car and put it in drive the headlight indicator on the dash flashes about 5x and then the service light comes on. I noticed the other day my passenger side headlight was out but today there were both on but very dim. I bought a new headlight that still needs installed but I'm afraid its not the headlight but the connection. I only say this because the lights on my shifter (R,N,D,2,1) and dash are starting to short out. Has anybody had the same problem? Also how much do you think it would be to take it to a shop?

roadqueen2012

I have had my 2000 Sunfire GT for about 8 years now and have had the lights issues since about after the first year........after the forth time taking to GM I found mechanic that knew what issue really was.........the routing of the wiring harness is a design flaw........the wires are routed behind the washer fluid jug so when you overspill it drips onto wiring harness causing it to short out and also travels across car behind rad so rubs against rad and frays wires...........had current mechanic reroute the whole harness and had no issues........it used to also blow my revese & fog lamps.........and it does burn out the switch in the steering column every freaking time!!!!!!!!!!! contacted GM to advise and they were nasty about it
this way I can tell those who have one this is issue and stop paying big coin to dealership for their mess up to begin with.............btw easy fix........get crimping hose and wrap wiring with it and the chances of reoccuring are gone

sinclake01

I know this is an old topic, but I had this same issue with my 2002 Sunfire, and it turned out to the the Turn/Hazard/Headlamp switch assembly on the steering column. I replaced that and it solved the problem.

Claires

Thanks, sinclake01 - even though it's been awhile someone's likely to need this information.

ClaireS, Host
Automotive News & Views | Coupes & Convertibles

alderson

I have had this issue three times and "fixed" ($200) each time...Now has happened again. Headlights work fine as do running lights, but when I switch on the high beams, headlights go out (as do the small round fog(?) lights below the main headlight).
The fix has previously been a wiring problem, though my mechanic did not tell me where the shorts (or loose ground) were found, other than they think it was near the battery.

Any ideas where specifically I should look, and what to look for?

Thanks!

jammer63

I replaced the combination unit-turn signal,high beam/low beam,cruise control,hazard-yet the problem persists. Therefore, I am led to investigate the wiring array.