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1999 Corolla Headlight Relay Clicking.

By Bad_dude, December 12, 2013



Bad_dude

Hello everyone,

Happy Holidays.

I have a 1999 Corolla VE. Recently, when driving the car I could hear clicking noise under the hood. Open up the hood with the car running, the clicking noise seem to come from the headlight brown color relay. As I turn the headlights on from the dash knob, the clicking stops. Some told me either I need a new relay or try cleaning it will fix the problem. I would like your input on this and get it fixed asap before the headlights don't come on at all.

This is my wife's car and I don't want the cops to pull her over for the headlights not being on.

Thanks.

I've had that noise for over 11 years on mine, but I just ignore it and it ignores me. Does yours blink the high beam indicator light to, and go away when you turn the lights on?

 

Bad_dude

All of a sudden, it stops now.

Bad_dude

Well it's back now. What do you guys think? Bad relay? Replace and be done or some thing else worse. Ground issue? If grounding then where do I start to look?

Thanks.

These intermittent electrical stuff can be a real pain to diagnose. Almost have to catch them in the act to find them. So far - did this seem to happen randomly or seem to follow a pattern? ie, does it only happen when it is cold, after snow/rain, after the car has sat overnight, right after it warms up, etc.?

As for relays - they can go bad - usually clicking on/off is a good sign. If you can swap them with a know good relay - see if the problem follows the relay or stays with that circuit. Grounding issue can also be a cause - this car is particularly sensitive to electrical noise and responses in weird ways to poor chassis grounds. The problem is finding which ground is causing you grief. Best way is to trace back the wires until you hit the first grounding block - check to see if that is solidly grounded.

Bad DRL relay, bad integration relay, or even a faulty headlamp bulb/bulb socket - can cause the clicking relay noise.



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