Intermittent Drivers Side Low Beam Cutting Out

[Danno1985]

This weird issue popped up last night while pulling into my garage a couple nights back. I use the headlamp pattern on the back wall of the garage to judge when I'm fully inside the garage (garage was built for 1920s-sized cars and the super cab Ranger is a very tight fit length-wise). I noticed I couldn't see the usual light pattern, so I backed out and sure enough, the drivers side bulb was out. Weirdly, the high-beams lit up when I switched them on. Switched back to lows - no drivers side light again, but for some reason I decided to whack the headlight housing with my hand. Bingo, low beam comes back on. It happened again last night - got in my truck, flipped the lights on and noticed right away the drivers side low was out, got out, whacked the housing, and it stayed on for the rest of the drive.

Do y'all think this is just a bulb issue? The bulbs are Sylvania Silverstars installed last summer, but my first move is to install a set of new bulbs to see if that eliminates the issue. I'm always wary of the multi-function switch since my last one started having problems around the same mileage, but I can't see how that would be the the case if whacking the headlight causes it to come back on.

 

[sgtsandman]

Try swapping bulbs side to side first to see if it’s a bulb issue. If the same side continues to be a problem, check the wire harness and connector for corrosion or a break.

 

[Curious Hound]

Could be a loose connection or bulb going bad. Sandman’s recommendation is a good troubleshooting step. But, in doing that, you might correct the loose connection issue if there is one.

 

[Danno1985]

I swapped the bulbs side to side and the low beam on the suspect one stopped working completely, so it seems something about the low beam filament was intermittent. New bulbs in, problem seems to be solved.

Feel like the high-end Sylvania set should've lasted longer, but honestly, I wonder if all the potholes around here contributed to its demise. A while back I hit one that was so bad it actually caused one of the headlight retainer clips to pop out. The roads here are seriously ridiculous.

 

[bobbywalter]

i had a suspicion it was probably a poltergeist... but fresh bulbs could work i guess....