2012 Ram 3500 6.7L Headlight problem

[lseiger]

Hi all,

The right hand headlights (quadra) have stopped working. No Low Beam and No High Beam.

I'm having difficulty getting to the bulb housing. I can remove the air filter lid and filter but I can't get past the filter box.

Is there a better way to gain access to the bulb housing?

I had this problem shortly after purchasing the truck. Took it back to the dealer and they fixed it (magic) but the problem has returned.

I'd take it back to my dealer but I'm 1500 miles away enjoying the Arizona sunshine.

Will be at the May Madness event in Pahrump.

Thanks

Larry Seiger

 

[DonFitzwater]

You have to remove the headlight. Open hood, remove bolts on the inboard part of the light housing and then pull the plug or door inside the fender well to access the inside bolt. Once you've removed the hardware, you'll have to pull the headlight from the truck. It's held partially by a ball and socket arrangement that will pop out when you yank on it.

I'm not sure how 2012's are operated but if it's by tipm, you may have a wiring problem.

 

[lseiger]

Thank you for your quick response.

Today, I tried to reach it from the bottom and I was able to wiggle the harness.

Tonight the headlight is working. Obviously its not fixed.

That means I have to remove my heavy duty moose guard which is at least a two man job.

Oh well, could be worse I guess.

Thanks again,

Larry Seiger
Yuma, AZ

 

[Hoefler]

There is an acces door in the fender well that you flip down and can reach right in there to change.

 

[rncordy]

Larry,

Did you ever find out what caused your headlamps to both fail? Anybody else solve this issue?

I am having the same problem with my 2010 3500. Seems unlikely that both bulbs burned out. Are there separate fuses for left and right headlamps? How likely is a bad electrical plug?

Thanks!

 

[lseiger]

Bob,


Yes, I found the problem and corrected it. It was the connector that attaches the headlight pigtail to the wiring harness. I replaced the connector with a generic connector (Molex). I have a large, heavy brush guard on our truck so it had to be removed and replaced each time I attempted to find and fix the problem. Very glad that it is now behind me. I would appreciate a follow-up from you if you find that it is a connector problem. Larry

 

[rncordy]

Many thanks Larry for your prompt and helpful reply!

Fortunately I have no brush guard to deal with, just my advanced age and vast lack of mechanical and electrical skills! I think I will try, but I may chicken out after I get into it!

 

[rncordy]

Many thanks Larry for your prompt and helpful reply!

Fortunately I have no brush guard to deal with, just my advanced age and vast lack of mechanical and electrical skills! I think I will try, but I may chicken out after I get into it!

Hi Larry,

Well I got up all my courage and my collection of 60 yr old metric sockets and managed to easily remove the headlamp assembly. Oo.

I then turned on the lights and voila, all worked per new! Wiggling the wires around a bit revealed the issue was in the wiring, somewhere. I noticed that the connecting plug was not "latched" so I latched it and the lights worked. So I then endeavored to put things back into their proper places. But no, the vertically sliding white plastic clip that holds the assembly in position was broken in two. I had noticed it was loose when I was removing the unit. So tomorrow, Monday, I'll be off to the dealer and hope he (she) has a good parts inventory.

 

[lseiger]

Great job Bob, way to go!

I would suggest that you do another check on the connector. I fought this problem well over a year. My dealer rewired the wires on the main harness and we thought the problem was fixed. Nada! I checked the connector and found the latch was not snapped so after making sure that the connector was secure I was pretty sure that I had fixed the problem. Nada! Then, I unsnapped the connector and re-snapped it; during this process I noticed that the light would flicker. So, as in my first reply, I replaced the connector and I have not had any issues in 6 months. If you're not counting, that was 3 R&R's of the brush guard. My brush guard is super-duty and requires two people to handle it. Good luck my friend, this is a great forum. Larry

 

[rncordy]

Great job Bob, way to go!

I would suggest that you do another check on the connector. I fought this problem well over a year. My dealer rewired the wires on the main harness and we thought the problem was fixed. Nada! I checked the connector and found the latch was not snapped so after making sure that the connector was secure I was pretty sure that I had fixed the problem. Nada! Then, I unsnapped the connector and re-snapped it; during this process I noticed that the light would flicker. So, as in my first reply, I replaced the connector and I have not had any issues in 6 months. If you're not counting, that was 3 R&R's of the brush guard. My brush guard is super-duty and requires two people to handle it. Good luck my friend, this is a great forum. Larry

Larry,

Noted. I'll mess with it a bit more before I reassemble. Tx!

 

[rncordy]

Status report! I am my own hero! Lights are still working! Damn I'm good, for an old fart! (can I say that?)

Bob

 

[MRoberts]

This is something I just found by poking around my truck!

There is an acces door in the fender well that you flip down and can reach right in there to change.

 

[rncordy]

This is something I just found by poking around my truck!

Yep the door is there but I think one has to remove the headlamp assembly to replace the bulbs. I think!

So far my "fix" of my inoperative headlights is working! Oo.

 

[n7gxz]

Yes to remove the headlight assembly you have to open the flap door in the fender well. Inside there is a white plastic tab that has to be pushed up to release the outside edge of the assemble. Then you have to remove the grill to access 2 bolts that hold the inside edge. Then you have to wiggle the assemble out. The bulbs are inside an outer shell that you have to remove a cap to access.

Kevin

 

[rncordy]

Yes to remove the headlight assembly you have to open the flap door in the fender well. Inside there is a white plastic tab that has to be pushed up to release the outside edge of the assemble. Then you have to remove the grill to access 2 bolts that hold the inside edge. Then you have to wiggle the assemble out. The bulbs are inside an outer shell that you have to remove a cap to access.

Kevin

I found a You Tube video that shows how to remove a headlamp assembly without removing the grill. There are just two bolts that are easily accessed from in front of the assembly without removing the grill. One requires a skinny hand/arm or an extension for a 10mm socket. I put some sticky stuff in the socket to hold the bolt so I wouldn't lose it down into the nether. I also found that that white plastic retainer was broken and the two halves of the electrical plug were not locked together.

 

[MRoberts]

This is kind of related, get the Grill Removal Kit from Genos. It installs in less then 30 minutes and opens up a lot of space!