My daughter says her & her mom are trying to figure out why the driving lights go off when the high beams are turned on. The guy at Auto zone told them the wrong bulbs are in the driving lights...Does this sound right?

Are the driving lights supposed to turn off when the high beams are turned on? Or are they supposed to stay on?

By driving lights...I am talking about the lower lights...They may be fog lights.[/align]

 

By the way, car is a 1998 Maxima

 

if your refering to the fog lights then yes they are soppossed to turn off when the high beams come on. and whatever you do dont let the retards at autozone diagnose your car they dont know anything thats why there working there lol. your maxima is fine.

 

That is exactly what I told my ex...keep in mind my daughter lives with her so her mom is the one doing all the AZ troubleshooting.

I told her before I posted on here last night that the fogs were probably supposed to go off when the highs are on. I was right! Their complaint is that there does not seem to be much light put out by the headlights...After driving it tonight, I agree!! There is actually more light with the low beams on only. I am not sure how to explain it but with the highs on, it seems like something is blocking or more like distorting the light. I checked the bulbs...they are the correct ones (per owners manual) & filaments are good. You can definately tell that the 2nd filament is coming on when pushing the lever for the highs, but it isn't more light...more like fuzzy distorted kind of light.

I hate for her to drive at night like this so I am hoping you can help...What can I check? Ever heard of anything like this before?

Oh...! Lenses are clear...

 

are they an aftermarket cheap blue bulbs cause i know the high beams on those type of bulbs suck cause i have them on my acura right now, you can try the silverstar bulbs cause i heard those are alot brighter then stock, and its worth a shot. but all nissan fog lights shut off when you turn on the hight beams. my 240sx fogs do the same.

 

They are regular 9004's (I think that is what they were) & I know they should definately be brighter than they are, I use the same bulb in my wife's Monte Carlo & they are REALLY bright.
My daughter did bring over a new 2/pack of bulbs. I will try changing them to see what happens. Otherwise, I am thinking there is another problem somewhere...I have never seen a setup like these, with some sort of thing actually in front of the bulb. It looks like it is to disburse the light back to the reflectors inside the housing. Maybe it needs adjusting, if it can even be adjusted.

I definately appreciate all your help with this car!!

 

I wish I would have seen this last night when it was dark, but this morning, I noticed the drivers side bulb was in there crooked...rather than being straight behind the reflector thing, it was angled & sticking out from behind it. I got it in straight & looking straight into it with the lights on, it looks better than last night but will find out for sure tonight.

 

Hello, I am new to the forum and found something that I now a lot about. So here is my .02. The reflector thing you mention is actually the light shield. The light shield actually keeps the direct light from the bulb from glaring on coming traffic. Think of it as having a flash light shined in your face, not real easy on the eyes, but put you finger in front of the bulb and you can now look at the light without being blinded. The 9004 bulb is a dual filament and the part that you actually put the bulb in is called the reflector. The light shines back on the reflector and then the reflector, which has a number of designed facets,throws the light out the front of the headlamp. So if the bulb is not installed correctly you will get a very different light pattern. As for the Silver Star bulbs, they actually are not as bright as your standard halogen bulb. However, since the human eye adapts to white light better you get the feeling they are brighter. I used to work for the company. Someissue with the Silver Star is the cost and the bulb life is shorter.

Have a good one!