Headlights will not work

[LLIHKAO]

Concerning my 1983 John Deere 750 compact tractor, my hazard, work, and tail lights all work perfectly but my headlights will not work. The sockets each have two contacts and I have power to one of the contacts in each socket but no power to the other contact in each socket. Any ideas as to why the headlights won't work? Also, there are three wires going into each socket, two smaller and one bigger wire. What are these designated for? Thanks.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Well I'm only guessing but two of the wires should have power. One wire on high beam and the other wire would be low beam. The third wire going into the socket is for the outer shell of the socket which would be ground.

Are the bulbs good? If you have power but no lights it's either the bulb or no ground.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Also check your fuses. If there is a separate one for the headlights, it might be loose or blown. A test light will help you find your problem quickly, if you know how to use it.

 

[LLIHKAO]

i believe my sockets are not connected right, especially the ground for the bigger wire and the hot for the 2nd contact in the socket. i will try it tonight but i beleive you are on the right track with this. thanks.

 

[Richard001]

Did the lights ever work?
If so, when did they stop working?

Richard

 

[LLIHKAO]

yes they did. they stopped working after another person installed and begin using external headlights instead of the factory headlights.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Follow the original light harness back to the frame area, to see it was unplugged at some point. Do you have and know how to use a test light ?

 

[LLIHKAO]

Follow the original light harness back to the frame area, to see it was unplugged at some point. Do you have and know how to use a test light ?

yes i do.

 

[pmsmechanic]

yes i do.

Hook the test light to + somewhere and touch the probe to the outer shell on the light socket. If the light does not go on then make sure the test light is working by touching a - somewhere. If the light works when you touch - then you know that the ground wire on the light socket isn't working. Happy diagnosing!