06 Columbia: Headlights on bright beam flickering, bright beam only.

All the exterior lights and interior lights, including dash panel instrumentation lights (and the circular blue bright beam indicator light) are functioning properly. When I turn on the low beam headlights they work all the time and never flicker.

When I turn on the Bright Beams they start off good. As they stay on the bright beam bulbs look like they are getting brighter (hotter and hotter). They stay on for a few minutes and then they start flickering.

When the headlights start flickering when in Bright Beam mode all the other lights everywhere are normal and do not flicker, including all dash instrumentation. They all stay normal.

I checked the wires running off the headlights (about 1.5 feet) running back to the frame. The wires look good right there. No pinches or frays or bare spots where the hood raises and closes at.

I think if it was a common ground wire problem then all the lights would flicker or cause some type of problem in low beam mode too. But I think this could be a specific ground wire just for high beams or a circuit breaker for headlights only.

Can anyone advise which circuit breaker is connected for the headlight beams at the fuse panel or somewhere else it may be located?

Or advise where the ground wire would be on the chassis or firewall?

 

Yes sir, I knocked that out when I bought the truck a couple of months ago. I saw the bright beam bulbs had a scorched brown stain on the glass surface. Also, the plastic covers were dull and hazy so I went over to the parts store and picked up new headlights and installed them.

This bright beam issue was happening with the old headlights when they were in too. Now that I'm home a few days I really want to figure this out.

By the way, your signature line is spot on.

 

Thanks everybody for providing recommendations on what to check.


I fixed the problem and it was the circuit breaker for the headlights. It was overheating and tripping back and forth (off and on) resulting in the headlights flickering off and on. I pulled the circuit breaker and made a jumper wire and plugged it into the fuse panel where the circuit breaker goes. I turned on the headlights and set them to bright beams. I left them on for about 20 minutes and they never flickered on and off. That tells me everything else in the headlight system connected to them is working normal with no ground problems or other wire problems. The problem is in the breaker. I got another and installed it. Then rechecked the headlights with the new circuit breaker and they work good.

In case you need to find it one day the breaker is on the same row as the headlight relays in the fuse panel. The headlight relays are 5 prong and plastic; the circuit breaker is a big metal looking fuse and its a 2 prong. Maybe that'll help out somebody down the road later if it makes any sense what I'm trying to say.