Forget HIDs, I just want my headlights to work

[muncie21]

When I purchased by 2014 Yukon Denali (used) I noticed that someone had hotwired the fog lights to the high beams, essentially forcing the fogs to be available regardless if hi/low beams were active. One day I woke up to a dead battery, as the hack wiring job had jiggled a bit and forced the fogs on all night, even though the truck was off and key removed.

Fast forward a few weeks, I removed all of the wiring connect to the fog lights and noticed that occasionally my PS headlight is super dim, like barely a glow. When I removed the head light assembly to check the bulb (it was good) I noticed the electrical connector to the lights showed signs of overheating.

Anyone else notice this on their '07-14 suburban or yukon?
Also, aside from a bad connector, what else would cause one headlight to operate intermittently, when the other one works just fine (aside from the bulb that is) as they both use a common relay and fuse?

 

[kbuskill]

Melted headlight plugs are usually caused from have a high wattage bulb in place of the standard bulb.

Factory bulbs for the Tahoe/Suburban are...
Low beams are H11 55 watt
High beams are 9005 65 watt

Some.people get 80 or 100 watt bulbs and don't upgrade the plugs to ceramic or upgrade the wiring to accommodate the extra amperage draw.

Not sure which bulbs the Yukons use but I know they are low and high beam together.

Another possible cause for an intermittent bulb would be a bad/loose ground.

 

[muncie21]

Melted headlight plugs are usually caused from have a high wattage bulb in place of the standard bulb.

Factory bulbs for the Tahoe/Suburban are...
Low beams are H11 55 watt
High beams are 9005 65 watt

Some.people get 80 or 100 watt bulbs and don't upgrade the plugs to ceramic or upgrade the wiring to accommodate the extra amperage draw.

Not sure which bulbs the Yukons use but I know they are low and high beam together.

Another possible cause for an intermittent bulb would be a bad/loose ground.

Thanks for the feedback. You're correct the Yukon uses a single bulb (H13) for both the high/low beams, so I can pretty much rule out incorrect bulb wattage. Guess I need to start looking at the wiring diagram to see where the grounds are for this beast.

Thanks again for the comments!

 

[kbuskill]

Should be a ground on each side down on the frame rail as I recall... easier to pull the bumper to get to them.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks for the feedback. You're correct the Yukon uses a single bulb (H13) for both the high/low beams, so I can pretty much rule out incorrect bulb wattage. Guess I need to start looking at the wiring diagram to see where the grounds are for this beast.

Thanks again for the comments!

Well, if they were wired together at one time, there was too much wattage going through them.

 

[muncie21]

Well, if they were wired together at one time, there was too much wattage going through them.

The hack wiring job was done with at the relay/fuse box to provide power (via the switched leg of the relay) to fogs when high beam relay was engaged. The power leads to the lights were not physically modified, as a far as I can tell.

Good thought, as I have no idea if running both high beams and fogs would cause a strain on the factory wiring.