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Headlight short/problem

Tiny
PAPPASMIRF69
  • MEMBER
  • 2014 FORD TAURUS
  • 3.7L
  • V6
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
Car listed above is a police interceptor. My front right headlight has a short, if you wiggle the pigtail the led light connects to the headlight will (come 9n, tun off, be dim).
I looked inside at the contact points of the connectors and it does look it got hot/shorted(should be solid white but has some grey like it sparked).

so I took off the bumper to access the back of the headlight. Now if you wiggle the mfg wiring harness (has 4 thin colored wires) that plugs into the back of the headlight assembly. The headlight (comes on, goes off and dims) as well and inside the connectors/contact points also look like it got hot/shorted.

All fuses look good, not burnt up or popped.

It's a pain to deal with because I have to take off my push bar and bumper and I only want to have to do that 1 more time.

Can anyone give me a direction I should go? I'm kinda lost and appreciate any feedback. Thanks for your time.
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Saturday, September 5th, 2020 AT 2:04 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
That sounds like the connector is faulty, usually what happens is one of the pins will get corroded, that creates a bad connection and that in turn creates heat. The heat will make the metal in the connector start to weaken and that makes the connection even worse. The end result can be that the internal parts or even the connector itself will melt from the heat and cause shorting or just lose connection completely. In your case it sounds like you may have caught it early enough where just replacing the connector pigtail at the light should repair it. (That is the part in the first picture) Check the pins on the headlight itself as well as the heat can damage them and the new contacts won't connect properly. If these are factory lights then I would check that they have the correct bulbs, they normally don't pull enough current to cause the melting unless the connector was somehow damaged. Apply a bit of dielectric grease to the connector once you are going to put it all back together to help keep moisture out.
If they are some aftermarket lights then it becomes a question as to if the repair will really help, some of them advertise they are brighter or more powerful and they do that by drawing more current than the wiring is designed for.
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Saturday, September 5th, 2020 AT 3:11 PM
Tiny
PAPPASMIRF69
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  • 4 POSTS
Thank you. Would you happen to know where I can get that part that you were talking about in my main question? Because that comes off the main wiring harness from the manufacturer in AutoZone in typical places like that don't have it. And this is the newest car I've ever known so I don't know if their stock headlights or aftermarket headlights. I know they have LED's and I think on YouTube I've seen them referred to as HID's. I've attached pictures of the headlight bulb itself and then the headlight bulb pigtail which only has the two wires as you can see has a burnt side as well and then a picture of the headlight itself the good side.
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Sunday, September 6th, 2020 AT 12:36 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
The bulb in the first picture isn't stock, it's an aftermarket LED unit. Those cars came with conventional halogen bulbs. That might be the reason the connectors burnt as well. Those units can draw a lot of power sometimes. Try Standard Motor #S523, Delco #LS254 or Ford
#3U2Z14S411EUA for that pigtail.
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Sunday, September 6th, 2020 AT 1:13 PM
Tiny
PAPPASMIRF69
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Thanks. Okay, so I should replace both pig tails or just the one? And put in a halogen bulb?
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Sunday, September 6th, 2020 AT 3:57 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
I would at least check the other ones on both sides and replace the bulbs with halogen ones. You might even be able to see better because most of the LED bulbs don't cast light as well as the bulbs the housings were designed for will. It's your choice though.
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Sunday, September 6th, 2020 AT 4:59 PM
Tiny
PAPPASMIRF69
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Alright, thanks! I'm going to order the headlight high/low beam connector with the 4 wire since that one looked kind of sketchy as well. So I only have to take off the bumper 1 more time.
I was going to take it to ford but they want 120 a hr to diagnose. I don't know if they would find the problem faster or if that would be more worth it.
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Monday, September 7th, 2020 AT 10:41 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,963 POSTS
Sounds like a plan.
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Monday, September 7th, 2020 AT 11:12 AM

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