2012 Honda CRV headlight issue

Question

January 2024, I replaced my driver's side headlight as the low beam was not working, but the high beam was.

Pulling the bulb out, it showed a burnt filament and I replaced the bulb no problem. However, in the end of July, the driver's side low beam stopped working again.

I pulled out the bulb, but didn't notice a burnt filament and there was no rattling of the filament in the bulb.

Doing some quick research, I'm assuming it's either a bad fuse or a faulty headlight relay. I'd like to take care of this myself, but I don't know how difficult it is to replace a fuse or headlight relay.

Has anyone seen a similar problem and how simple/cheap is the fix?

Thank you

Answer 1

It could be a burned out bulb, even if you don't hear rattling.

Not sure if you are aware that you must not touch a halogen lamp with bare fingers before installation. Skin oils in your fingerprints can char on the bulb and create a hot spot, shortening the life of the bulb. Clean cotton gloves are ideal for bulb installation, but in a pinch you can handle the bulb with a clean paper towel.

Before you start changing parts, best to plug a known good bulb into the socket to see if the problem is with the bulb or with the electric supply. If you don't have a spare bulb, you can use the bulb from the other side.

Also, if you want to do anything involving the electrical system, it would help to have a basic volt-ohm meter or multimeter. You can test a bulb rather than taking one from the other headlight or you could test the bulb's socket, the relay, the fuse, etc., before replacing anything. A cheap multimeter is good enough for basic tests. The last one that I bought to keep in the car for emergencies cost less than $15.

To answer your question directly, it's easy and not expensive to replace fuses and relays, as long as they need changing. If they don't need changing, it is 100% more than you need to spend.