GT86: headlight low beam flickering - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

Wil · 11-09-2020, 02:43 PM

Hello everyone,

I need a bit of help.
My passenger side headlight (LED Toyota GT86 headlight) is flickering on low beam setting, from time to time. The high beam and the LED are fine.

The xenon bulbs seem to have the same intensity and color which makes me think the bulb could still be alright. But I'll try swapping them.

The ceiling bulb in the interior is flickering/buzzing strangely as well when I'm powering off the car. It always buzzes when fading off when stepping out of the vehicle (typical diming light sound), this is normal but here it flickers and buzzes even before which makes me think it could be a problem of fuse or something... or bad electrical connection.

Things I'll try as soon as I have time:
- swapping bulbs
- replacing the ceiling light bulb

Do you have any idea of what it could be?
I tapped a couple of times on the bumper near the headlight during the past months to replace the bumper as it sometimes pop off a little. Maybe it fucked something up somehow but it doesn't explain the ceiling bulb that acts strangely as well (the car is a 2012MY so maybe it's time for that bulb to go to bulbs paradise).

Thank you for your help in advance.
Wil

Sniepster · 11-09-2020, 04:21 PM

I'm also interested on hearing opinions on this. My interior light flickers as well (2013 GT86) but that could also be because it's got an LED in there that was put in by the previous owner (might be a crappy one). I have also noticed my driver's side low beam flickering once when the ignition was on. Also got one led on the DRL strip on the passenger side headlight that seems burnt.

allowe · 11-09-2020, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniepster

I'm also interested on hearing opinions on this. My interior light flickers as well (2013 GT86) but that could also be because it's got an LED in there that was put in by the previous owner (might be a crappy one). I have also noticed my driver's side low beam flickering once when the ignition was on. Also got one led on the DRL strip on the passenger side headlight that seems burnt.

So for led interior light,I got the same situation going. From what I can tell, the led itself is burning out. Every time I use em, they don’t end up lasting a long time.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ng-86 · 11-09-2020, 11:05 PM

I had the same problem with my dome light, being dim, flickering, and buzzing.

It turned out the metal arms that held the bulb were not holding the bulb tight enough. I removed the bulb, bent them a bit more toward each other, and put it back. It's now a lot quieter when dimming, and is much brighter with no flickering the rest of the time.

Edit: I'm not 100% the dimming buzz went away, but it is definitely quieter than it was. This was with the OEM incandescent bulb.

RZNT4R · 11-10-2020, 06:13 AM

A lot of people these days seems to think they have electrical issues when they in fact just have junk LEDs. If your interior light is behaving badly and is NOT an incandescent bulb, before your start searching for issues, replace what's in there with what should be in there.

As for the headlight... You mentioned a HID bulb, a low beam, a high beam and an LED... On a 2012 car... So I'm going to guess you've got some junk retrofit HIDs, which are always notorious for dropping dead at the drop of a hat. Start diagnostic by returning the system to stock.

Sniepster · 11-10-2020, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

A lot of people these days seems to think they have electrical issues when they in fact just have junk LEDs. If your interior light is behaving badly and is NOT an incandescent bulb, before your start searching for issues, replace what's in there with what should be in there.

As for the headlight... You mentioned a HID bulb, a low beam, a high beam and an LED... On a 2012 car... So I'm going to guess you've got some junk retrofit HIDs, which are always notorious for dropping dead at the drop of a hat. Start diagnostic by returning the system to stock.

All of the early models had HID's with LED daytime running lights from the factory

Wil · 11-10-2020, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

A lot of people these days seems to think they have electrical issues when they in fact just have junk LEDs. If your interior light is behaving badly and is NOT an incandescent bulb, before your start searching for issues, replace what's in there with what should be in there.

As for the headlight... You mentioned a HID bulb, a low beam, a high beam and an LED... On a 2012 car... So I'm going to guess you've got some junk retrofit HIDs, which are always notorious for dropping dead at the drop of a hat. Start diagnostic by returning the system to stock.

Thank you for your inputs.
The system is indeed stock.
Toyota GT86 came with LED Xenon headlights from the factory here in Belgium.
We don't have the cheap headlight version like the FRS has.

This is the headlight I'm talking about:

RZNT4R · 11-13-2020, 11:59 PM

Ah I see. Your mention of low beams flickering and not "headlights" or "projectors" made me think you had the other headlamps, as the low beams and high beams are the same in this one.

In this case, swapping the bulbs side to side as was mentioned can find a bad/dying bulb. But it could be the igniter or ballast, those can be swapped side to side too, but it's generally way harder. But you say the high beam is fine? Low beam is just a shutter that flips in front of the high beam. It's hard to imagine the light being fine one way and not the other, does the flickering look like a loose shutter?

Sniepster · 11-17-2020, 03:16 AM

I just wanted to let the OP know from the research i've been doing the HID flickering seems to come from the battery dying out. Will be testing this theory as my HID seems to flicker whenever i don't give the car enough gas from a standstill and it starts to stutter.

Wil · 11-21-2020, 07:24 AM

Hi,
Thank you for your answers.
I bought two new D4S 35W 4300k bulbs as the original one were 8 years old.
While there is now a bit less flickering, it now went to the passenger side!
Maybe the new bulb is defective. I'll try swapping the two new bulbs.

But since the cabin light sometimes flickers as well, I though it could be a more general electrical problem (battery is less than 3 years old but maybe connectors are loose or dirty).

I think I was wrong when I said that high beam were not concerned.

It happens sporadically at idle as well as when driving.
I don't get it.

Sniepster · 11-22-2020, 04:24 AM

Someone suggested to me that the ballast might be at fault. As my left HID flickers mostly when the engine is off and the lights are on

Wil · 12-03-2020, 03:24 AM

Thanks for the answer. I swapped both bulbs and the issue seems to travel from left to right, sometimes both at the same time. It's way less than it used to do with the old bulbs.
I thought it could be the alternator but since the cabin light slightly flickers when the engine is off, I think the alternator is not at fault.

Wil · 01-18-2021, 02:46 AM

Update: when idling, when I pull the windows switch when the windows are already up (making the windows motors "force") the engine RPM lowers. From 750 to 450 RPM approx.
I still can't solve this headlights flickering and I'm thinking it's a more global electrical problem. Still no light on the dash, though.
Have a good day

DarkPira7e · 01-18-2021, 07:32 AM

Have you considered throwing a jumper pack onto the battery to see if it continues? Check your grounds
At least change the battery to see if that helps at all.

11-09-2020, 02:43 PM	#1
Wil Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: Drives like a crab. Location: Belgium Posts: 101 Thanks: 2 Thanked 42 Times in 14 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	GT86: headlight low beam flickering Hello everyone, I need a bit of help. My passenger side headlight (LED Toyota GT86 headlight) is flickering on low beam setting, from time to time. The high beam and the LED are fine. The xenon bulbs seem to have the same intensity and color which makes me think the bulb could still be alright. But I'll try swapping them. The ceiling bulb in the interior is flickering/buzzing strangely as well when I'm powering off the car. It always buzzes when fading off when stepping out of the vehicle (typical diming light sound), this is normal but here it flickers and buzzes even before which makes me think it could be a problem of fuse or something... or bad electrical connection. Things I'll try as soon as I have time: - swapping bulbs - replacing the ceiling light bulb Do you have any idea of what it could be? I tapped a couple of times on the bumper near the headlight during the past months to replace the bumper as it sometimes pop off a little. Maybe it fucked something up somehow but it doesn't explain the ceiling bulb that acts strangely as well (the car is a 2012MY so maybe it's time for that bulb to go to bulbs paradise). Thank you for your help in advance. Wil Last edited by Wil; 11-10-2020 at 07:40 AM.

11-09-2020, 11:05 PM	#4
ng-86 Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Drives: 18' 50th An. BRZ, 79' RX7 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 24 Thanks: 47 Thanked 30 Times in 13 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I had the same problem with my dome light, being dim, flickering, and buzzing. It turned out the metal arms that held the bulb were not holding the bulb tight enough. I removed the bulb, bent them a bit more toward each other, and put it back. It's now a lot quieter when dimming, and is much brighter with no flickering the rest of the time. Edit: I'm not 100% the dimming buzz went away, but it is definitely quieter than it was. This was with the OEM incandescent bulb. Last edited by ng-86; 11-09-2020 at 11:22 PM.

01-18-2021, 07:32 AM	#14
DarkPira7e Rust bucket enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2017 Drives: 2013 Turbo Firestorm FRS Location: Vermont Posts: 3,954 Thanks: 3,215 Thanked 4,107 Times in 2,052 Posts Mentioned: 31 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Have you considered throwing a jumper pack onto the battery to see if it continues? Check your grounds At least change the battery to see if that helps at all. __________________ Turbo FR-S Build - Build Thread JDL EL Recirc manifold, Boostlab BL58x Turbo w/ T51R, 17x9 ARC-8, IAG block

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11-09-2020, 04:21 PM	#2
Sniepster Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Drives: 2013 Toyota 86 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 62 Thanks: 8 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I'm also interested on hearing opinions on this. My interior light flickers as well (2013 GT86) but that could also be because it's got an LED in there that was put in by the previous owner (might be a crappy one). I have also noticed my driver's side low beam flickering once when the ignition was on. Also got one led on the DRL strip on the passenger side headlight that seems burnt.

11-10-2020, 06:13 AM	#5
RZNT4R Professional Mechanic Join Date: Apr 2010 Drives: 2017 86 6MT Oceanic Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 789 Thanks: 17 Thanked 633 Times in 371 Posts Mentioned: 12 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	A lot of people these days seems to think they have electrical issues when they in fact just have junk LEDs. If your interior light is behaving badly and is NOT an incandescent bulb, before your start searching for issues, replace what's in there with what should be in there. As for the headlight... You mentioned a HID bulb, a low beam, a high beam and an LED... On a 2012 car... So I'm going to guess you've got some junk retrofit HIDs, which are always notorious for dropping dead at the drop of a hat. Start diagnostic by returning the system to stock.

11-13-2020, 11:59 PM	#8
RZNT4R Professional Mechanic Join Date: Apr 2010 Drives: 2017 86 6MT Oceanic Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 789 Thanks: 17 Thanked 633 Times in 371 Posts Mentioned: 12 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Ah I see. Your mention of low beams flickering and not "headlights" or "projectors" made me think you had the other headlamps, as the low beams and high beams are the same in this one. In this case, swapping the bulbs side to side as was mentioned can find a bad/dying bulb. But it could be the igniter or ballast, those can be swapped side to side too, but it's generally way harder. But you say the high beam is fine? Low beam is just a shutter that flips in front of the high beam. It's hard to imagine the light being fine one way and not the other, does the flickering look like a loose shutter?

11-17-2020, 03:16 AM	#9
Sniepster Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Drives: 2013 Toyota 86 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 62 Thanks: 8 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I just wanted to let the OP know from the research i've been doing the HID flickering seems to come from the battery dying out. Will be testing this theory as my HID seems to flicker whenever i don't give the car enough gas from a standstill and it starts to stutter.

11-21-2020, 07:24 AM	#10
Wil Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: Drives like a crab. Location: Belgium Posts: 101 Thanks: 2 Thanked 42 Times in 14 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Hi, Thank you for your answers. I bought two new D4S 35W 4300k bulbs as the original one were 8 years old. While there is now a bit less flickering, it now went to the passenger side! Maybe the new bulb is defective. I'll try swapping the two new bulbs. But since the cabin light sometimes flickers as well, I though it could be a more general electrical problem (battery is less than 3 years old but maybe connectors are loose or dirty). I think I was wrong when I said that high beam were not concerned. It happens sporadically at idle as well as when driving. I don't get it.

11-22-2020, 04:24 AM	#11
Sniepster Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Drives: 2013 Toyota 86 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 62 Thanks: 8 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Someone suggested to me that the ballast might be at fault. As my left HID flickers mostly when the engine is off and the lights are on

12-03-2020, 03:24 AM	#12
Wil Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: Drives like a crab. Location: Belgium Posts: 101 Thanks: 2 Thanked 42 Times in 14 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Thanks for the answer. I swapped both bulbs and the issue seems to travel from left to right, sometimes both at the same time. It's way less than it used to do with the old bulbs. I thought it could be the alternator but since the cabin light slightly flickers when the engine is off, I think the alternator is not at fault.

01-18-2021, 02:46 AM	#13
Wil Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: Drives like a crab. Location: Belgium Posts: 101 Thanks: 2 Thanked 42 Times in 14 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Update: when idling, when I pull the windows switch when the windows are already up (making the windows motors "force") the engine RPM lowers. From 750 to 450 RPM approx. I still can't solve this headlights flickering and I'm thinking it's a more global electrical problem. Still no light on the dash, though. Have a good day

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