My headlamp died, Johnny told me which replacement bulb, the next time I started my car, the light worked fine, the warning light on the dash wash off.

What could cause this? Is it time for me to shop for a new ballast? Or is this just a random weirdness? How does one know when the ballast is going bad?

 

Just guessing: Maybe that bulb was replaced sometime in the past and wasn't properly mounted into the socket? I've changed "quite a few" headlight socket bulbs over the years, and of those, "quite a few" had been previously replaced and had a problem, and the problem wasn't the bulb but rather was the installation... clips not attached or not attached correctly... and yea, the new bulb worked for awhile and/or was intermittent. Unfortunately checking headlight bulbs on the right side (passenger side) of a continental is much more involved (in my experience) than the left side.

I'd say check that bulb's fuse as well... make sure it's firmly seated and such. I believe the headlight fuses are "under the steering wheel"... the padded cover covering the under steering wheel fuse box on the earlier models "hinges down" and the newer models, that cover "snaps off" (and the snaps holding it on are pretty aggressive). Point is: Don't try to pry the cover off if yours is the hinged type.

I've dealt with one dead ballast in a GT, and when it quit it quit... no messing around. Changing that ballast was a challenge... I posted my ballast change method (what I came up with) sometime back on this forum... not suggesting the method I came-up with was "the right way to do it", but it's what I came-up with.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the note. It's never been intermittent before, and it's weird to me that it quit working then started working again next time I started the car. One would think that a bad connection or poor install would flicker the light over rough pavement.

I'm going to keep my eye on it, I'm glad you don't think it's the ballast. I've driven it twice since the day it quit working and all is normal.

Thanks again for all the info, this message board is invaluable.

 

what "ballast" you are talking about?

 

@sazam ,
The headlight ballast...

Johnny

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