RS Headlight Problem - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Rocky1974 · 01-26-2019, 09:39 AM

I bought a 2010 Camaro SS in February of 2011 w/2k miles on it. It was equipped very similar to how I would have ordered one. 2SS, LS3, 6-Speed Manual, Red Jewel Tintcoat, Sunroof, Polished 20's, etc. The only exception was, no RS. When I bought the car, I didn't think that no RS was a big deal, and for the most part it wasn't. The vast majority of the RS stuff on a SS doesn't amount to much, with one exception, the headlights. Once I got a good look at the RS headlights, I realized that I had to have them, so I bought a pair of used ones. The first problem was that they weren't plug-n-play. I solved that with a pair of OttoBody adapters. I installed them, they worked and I was happy for the most part. The only problem with that setup was that my DRL's were still on the HID's and I read some stuff on line that lead me to believe that the PWM signal that operated the DRL's was hard on the HID ballasts, which made perfectly good sense to me, but they worked and I figured that if the ballasts burned out, I'd just replace them.
Later Ofer developed a harness that solved that problem. Not only did his harness move the DRL's to the Fog Lamps, like the factory RS setup, it still kept the Fog Lamp Switch functional. During daylight hours it had the DRL's on the Fog Lamps like the Factory RS setup. when it was dark, the HID's came on and and the DRL's went off, again, just like the Factory RS setup. But with his harness my Fog Lamp Switch still worked and I could turn them on at any time and they would work as long as the Headlights were on dim and go out when the Headlights were on bright, just like the Factory Non RS setup, so it was truly the best of both worlds. Life was good.
A couple of weeks ago, as I pulled in to the drive way, I noticed that my LH Headlight was out. I got out and checked and everything was still working except the LH Headlight and it was only out on dim. I thought that was strange, because I thought that HID headlights only had one mode of operation, bright and that they were dimmed with a shutter that partially blocked the beam. About a week ago, I put the car in the garage and swapped the HID Bulbs. No change, LH still out on dim. It looked like it would be too much hassle to swap the ballasts and new ones are real pricey. So I ordered a Used/Tested one on ebay for $30. It also came with the ballast to HID bulb cable. I installed it yesterday. No change, LH one is still out on dim. I've checked all the fuses. None are blown. I even swapped them all. No change. I do have the GM Service Manual w/wiring diagrams, but I don't have a wiring diagram for Ofer's harness, but I plan on contacting him either today or Monday, whenever he's available. I haven't done anything with the relays, because they both control both headlights.
But the other thing about this that I think is probably pertinent, is that when I dim the lights, I get an audible clunk from the working RH headlight, but the failing LH one is silent. So I'm assuming that the dimming shutter is working on the RH one, but not the LH one. The GM Shop manual doesn't break the headlights down and the online parts catalog dosen't break it down much either. The Shop Manual just basically shows it as a block with the wiring connections. I'm assuming that they did it this way because they just planned on their technicians replacing the Headlight as a unit. The parts breakdown just shows the headlight housing, the HID Bulb, the ballast, a couple of harnesses and some fasteners. I know that there's a lot more than that in there, because I know the there's the shutter and it's solenoid and I can see a circuit board.
So if anybody's still with me here, I'm wondering if there's anyone on here who really know's just how these things work. I'm thinking that if I'm correct about the HID's not actually doing any dimming, that maybe they have a safety circuit that disables the HID bulb when the solenoid fails, to keep from blinding on coming traffic. I have a degree in electronics, so I think I will understand an explanation, but my problem so far is, that I'm just not finding many details. Like I said earlier, I plan on contacting Ofer, he probably can answer my questions, but I also that there's a wealth of information on here, so I thought I'd give you guys a shot. Thanks.

camguynj · 01-26-2019, 10:43 AM

I don't have enough knowledge to provide an answer, but maybe you answer question for me ...what are OttoBody adapters ?

Adept Trystan · 01-26-2019, 11:04 AM

The same thing happened to me. I took it to a body shop and they told me there was a motherboard issue and they couldn’t fix it. Even the dealership can’t fix it. I still don’t know anyone that can.

Rocky1974 · 01-26-2019, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camguynj

I don't have enough knowledge to provide an answer, but maybe you answer question for me ...what are OttoBody adapters ?

OttoBody adapters were the first thing that came out that allowed RS Headlights to be installed in Non-RS cars. GM and their Dealerships wouldn't touch it. OttoBody was a Body Shop in the Mid-west, Nebraska I think, that was doing Trans Am Conversions. They were ordering in RS cars and they were removing the RS headlights while doing their conversions. They ended up with a huge pile of RS Headlights and there was a huge market for them, if someone could figure out how to make them work in Non-RS cars. And with necessity being the mother of invention, they came up with adapters which turned out to be a huge win-win for them. Not only did it allow them to cash in on their pile of RS Headlights, they were still doing a huge business in adapters long after their pile of RS headlights were long gone.

Rocky1974 · 01-26-2019, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adept Trystan

The same thing happened to me. I took it to a body shop and they told me there was a motherboard issue and they couldn’t fix it. Even the dealership can’t fix it. I still don’t know anyone that can.

Motherboard issue? I know that may be a terminology issue, but the only motherboard that I know of that's involved in this is the one in this laptop that I'm using. So are you just driving your car around with no dim headlight on one side? Fortunately for me, I have enough other stuff to drive and it's not exactly Camaro season here anyway, but I hate to drive a car with a headlight out, because the cops around here, particularly the ones across the river in Ohio, will use that as an excuse to pull you over, just to see what else they can find.

Rocky1974 · 01-28-2019, 04:41 PM

Well I did get a chance to work on this some more yesterday and while I didn't solve anything, I did learn that something that I thought to be true was not. I stated in my earlier post that the solenoid/shutter was non-functional on the LH headlight. I determined that was true by listening to the solenoids, but as it turns out, that may not be the most effective way to determine that. It is indeed functional, so I'm right back where I was. The LH Headlight is out on dim, but it doesn't seem to be the bulb, the ballast, the fuses or the relays and I don't know what else to check.

Adept Trystan · 01-28-2019, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocky1974

Motherboard issue? I know that may be a terminology issue, but the only motherboard that I know of that's involved in this is the one in this laptop that I'm using. So are you just driving your car around with no dim headlight on one side? Fortunately for me, I have enough other stuff to drive and it's not exactly Camaro season here anyway, but I hate to drive a car with a headlight out, because the cops around here, particularly the ones across the river in Ohio, will use that as an excuse to pull you over, just to see what else they can find.

I’ve been driving it daily for a couple of months since the issue. The cops here in Louisiana won’t pull you over instantly for a headlight but they will for taillights.

2SSRS@Gen5diy · 01-29-2019, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocky1974

Well I did get a chance to work on this some more yesterday and while I didn't solve anything, I did learn that something that I thought to be true was not. I stated in my earlier post that the solenoid/shutter was non-functional on the LH headlight. I determined that was true by listening to the solenoids, but as it turns out, that may not be the most effective way to determine that. It is indeed functional, so I'm right back where I was. The LH Headlight is out on dim, but it doesn't seem to be the bulb, the ballast, the fuses or the relays and I don't know what else to check.

If you have time call me at the shop, there is no Motherboard for the headlight, there is one for the halo, and all that is for is the ohms needed to run the one LED.

Rocky1974 · 02-07-2019, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2SSRS@Gen5diy

If you have time call me at the shop, there is no Motherboard for the headlight, there is one for the halo, and all that is for is the ohms needed to run the one LED.

I did call the shop. You guys asked me to swap the relays, which I did. No change. Then I got busy on other projects, put the car outside and haven't got back to it. I'll probably get back to it next week and I'll definitely call you again. Thanks

2SSRS@Gen5diy · 02-09-2019, 09:43 AM

This time ask for me.

Rocky1974 · 03-03-2019, 09:14 PM

My problems are all fixed. The problem was in the Gen5DIY harness somewhere. The HID lights work like I thought they did. There's no bright or dim in the bulbs themselves and they only have one mode of operation: Bright. They are dimmed by dropping a shutter down in front of the bulb, partially blocking the light beam. There's only one wire feeding power to the HID headlight ballasts, so if the bulb lights on either bright or dim, like mine did, the problem is not the bulb or the ballast. Once I figured this out, checked the voltages coming out of the factory harness and they were all good, it was obvious where the problem had to be. Thanks to the guys at Gen5DIY for giving me troubleshooting tips and promptly getting me a new harness. And BTW, I still love the way my lights work way better than either the RS or non-RS factory setups, so to me replacing that harness after 5 or 6 years is more than worth it.

01-26-2019, 09:39 AM	#1
Rocky1974 Drives: 2010 RJT 2SS M6 Camaro Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Garrison,KY Posts: 1,548 View My Garage	RS Headlight Problem I bought a 2010 Camaro SS in February of 2011 w/2k miles on it. It was equipped very similar to how I would have ordered one. 2SS, LS3, 6-Speed Manual, Red Jewel Tintcoat, Sunroof, Polished 20's, etc. The only exception was, no RS. When I bought the car, I didn't think that no RS was a big deal, and for the most part it wasn't. The vast majority of the RS stuff on a SS doesn't amount to much, with one exception, the headlights. Once I got a good look at the RS headlights, I realized that I had to have them, so I bought a pair of used ones. The first problem was that they weren't plug-n-play. I solved that with a pair of OttoBody adapters. I installed them, they worked and I was happy for the most part. The only problem with that setup was that my DRL's were still on the HID's and I read some stuff on line that lead me to believe that the PWM signal that operated the DRL's was hard on the HID ballasts, which made perfectly good sense to me, but they worked and I figured that if the ballasts burned out, I'd just replace them. Later Ofer developed a harness that solved that problem. Not only did his harness move the DRL's to the Fog Lamps, like the factory RS setup, it still kept the Fog Lamp Switch functional. During daylight hours it had the DRL's on the Fog Lamps like the Factory RS setup. when it was dark, the HID's came on and and the DRL's went off, again, just like the Factory RS setup. But with his harness my Fog Lamp Switch still worked and I could turn them on at any time and they would work as long as the Headlights were on dim and go out when the Headlights were on bright, just like the Factory Non RS setup, so it was truly the best of both worlds. Life was good. A couple of weeks ago, as I pulled in to the drive way, I noticed that my LH Headlight was out. I got out and checked and everything was still working except the LH Headlight and it was only out on dim. I thought that was strange, because I thought that HID headlights only had one mode of operation, bright and that they were dimmed with a shutter that partially blocked the beam. About a week ago, I put the car in the garage and swapped the HID Bulbs. No change, LH still out on dim. It looked like it would be too much hassle to swap the ballasts and new ones are real pricey. So I ordered a Used/Tested one on ebay for $30. It also came with the ballast to HID bulb cable. I installed it yesterday. No change, LH one is still out on dim. I've checked all the fuses. None are blown. I even swapped them all. No change. I do have the GM Service Manual w/wiring diagrams, but I don't have a wiring diagram for Ofer's harness, but I plan on contacting him either today or Monday, whenever he's available. I haven't done anything with the relays, because they both control both headlights. But the other thing about this that I think is probably pertinent, is that when I dim the lights, I get an audible clunk from the working RH headlight, but the failing LH one is silent. So I'm assuming that the dimming shutter is working on the RH one, but not the LH one. The GM Shop manual doesn't break the headlights down and the online parts catalog dosen't break it down much either. The Shop Manual just basically shows it as a block with the wiring connections. I'm assuming that they did it this way because they just planned on their technicians replacing the Headlight as a unit. The parts breakdown just shows the headlight housing, the HID Bulb, the ballast, a couple of harnesses and some fasteners. I know that there's a lot more than that in there, because I know the there's the shutter and it's solenoid and I can see a circuit board. So if anybody's still with me here, I'm wondering if there's anyone on here who really know's just how these things work. I'm thinking that if I'm correct about the HID's not actually doing any dimming, that maybe they have a safety circuit that disables the HID bulb when the solenoid fails, to keep from blinding on coming traffic. I have a degree in electronics, so I think I will understand an explanation, but my problem so far is, that I'm just not finding many details. Like I said earlier, I plan on contacting Ofer, he probably can answer my questions, but I also that there's a wealth of information on here, so I thought I'd give you guys a shot. Thanks. __________________ 2010 RJT 2SS M6, Kooks Long Tubes, NPP Exhaust, CAI Cold Air w/Jannetty Scoop, RotoFab Washer Bottle, Elite Engineering Catch Can, MGW Shifter w/ZL1 Shaft and Knob, 2015 SS Sedan Steering Wheel and Air Bag, 2012 Heater Hose Conversion, 2012 Power Seat Conversion, RS Head Lights,Gen5DIY RS Conversion Harness, LED Fog Lamp Bulbs, Backup Camera Kit, NLP Spoiler, SLP Splitter, ZL1 Rockers and Diffuser, Color Matched Shark Fin, RS Roof Mouldings, Painted White Stripes, WCC LS3 Emblems, Heritage Grille and Blacked Out Tail Light Panel w/Retro SS Emblems, 416 RWHP, 411 RWT, Tuned by BlueCat. Last edited by Rocky1974; 01-26-2019 at 05:06 PM.

01-28-2019, 04:41 PM	#6
Rocky1974 Drives: 2010 RJT 2SS M6 Camaro Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Garrison,KY Posts: 1,548 View My Garage	Well I did get a chance to work on this some more yesterday and while I didn't solve anything, I did learn that something that I thought to be true was not. I stated in my earlier post that the solenoid/shutter was non-functional on the LH headlight. I determined that was true by listening to the solenoids, but as it turns out, that may not be the most effective way to determine that. It is indeed functional, so I'm right back where I was. The LH Headlight is out on dim, but it doesn't seem to be the bulb, the ballast, the fuses or the relays and I don't know what else to check. __________________ 2010 RJT 2SS M6, Kooks Long Tubes, NPP Exhaust, CAI Cold Air w/Jannetty Scoop, RotoFab Washer Bottle, Elite Engineering Catch Can, MGW Shifter w/ZL1 Shaft and Knob, 2015 SS Sedan Steering Wheel and Air Bag, 2012 Heater Hose Conversion, 2012 Power Seat Conversion, RS Head Lights,Gen5DIY RS Conversion Harness, LED Fog Lamp Bulbs, Backup Camera Kit, NLP Spoiler, SLP Splitter, ZL1 Rockers and Diffuser, Color Matched Shark Fin, RS Roof Mouldings, Painted White Stripes, WCC LS3 Emblems, Heritage Grille and Blacked Out Tail Light Panel w/Retro SS Emblems, 416 RWHP, 411 RWT, Tuned by BlueCat.

03-03-2019, 09:14 PM	#11
Rocky1974 Drives: 2010 RJT 2SS M6 Camaro Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Garrison,KY Posts: 1,548 View My Garage	My problems are all fixed. The problem was in the Gen5DIY harness somewhere. The HID lights work like I thought they did. There's no bright or dim in the bulbs themselves and they only have one mode of operation: Bright. They are dimmed by dropping a shutter down in front of the bulb, partially blocking the light beam. There's only one wire feeding power to the HID headlight ballasts, so if the bulb lights on either bright or dim, like mine did, the problem is not the bulb or the ballast. Once I figured this out, checked the voltages coming out of the factory harness and they were all good, it was obvious where the problem had to be. Thanks to the guys at Gen5DIY for giving me troubleshooting tips and promptly getting me a new harness. And BTW, I still love the way my lights work way better than either the RS or non-RS factory setups, so to me replacing that harness after 5 or 6 years is more than worth it. __________________ 2010 RJT 2SS M6, Kooks Long Tubes, NPP Exhaust, CAI Cold Air w/Jannetty Scoop, RotoFab Washer Bottle, Elite Engineering Catch Can, MGW Shifter w/ZL1 Shaft and Knob, 2015 SS Sedan Steering Wheel and Air Bag, 2012 Heater Hose Conversion, 2012 Power Seat Conversion, RS Head Lights,Gen5DIY RS Conversion Harness, LED Fog Lamp Bulbs, Backup Camera Kit, NLP Spoiler, SLP Splitter, ZL1 Rockers and Diffuser, Color Matched Shark Fin, RS Roof Mouldings, Painted White Stripes, WCC LS3 Emblems, Heritage Grille and Blacked Out Tail Light Panel w/Retro SS Emblems, 416 RWHP, 411 RWT, Tuned by BlueCat.

01-26-2019, 10:43 AM	#2
camguynj Drives: '13 SS/RS LS3 BRM Cammed NPP Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 3,812 View My Garage	I don't have enough knowledge to provide an answer, but maybe you answer question for me ...what are OttoBody adapters ?

01-26-2019, 11:04 AM	#3
Adept Trystan Drives: 2011 Summit White RS Join Date: May 2018 Location: Louisiana Posts: 3	The same thing happened to me. I took it to a body shop and they told me there was a motherboard issue and they couldn’t fix it. Even the dealership can’t fix it. I still don’t know anyone that can.

02-09-2019, 09:43 AM	#10
2SSRS@Gen5diy Drives: 2014 Z/28 #82+#192, 18ZLE 66Nova Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: By the lake in AZ Posts: 15,719 View My Garage	This time ask for me.