Afs Off Light Flashing After Bulb Change

[craig27]

Hi gang,

I have an 07 ES350 with about 88k miles on it. I had to swap out one of my HID lights because it burned out after only 1 year...grrrr. At least I had one of the originals to put back in until I can order a new set.

Anyway.. the bulb is working fine, however on the way to work this morning, the AFS OFF light was flashing on the dash. It also appears that the lights didnt turn like they used to.

I do recall seeing the lights perform their self-leveling check when I turned the car on.

As I was putting the bulb in, the light did rotate in its housing, but nothing extreme, just a quarter inch or so as I was trying to put the spring lock back on. I have replaced these bulbs before and not had an issue.

Any tips on what to check or how to diagnose?

Thanks!

[cduluk]

Upon start-up with the lights on, can you confirm whether or not both headlights do their "dance" both in the vertical AND horizontal directions? During the start-up check, both headlights should move vertically and also horizontally (sort of like a crisscross). Do yours move in both directions?

If the headlights are moving in the vertical direction but not horizontally (left and right around corners), then i'd be willing to bet there's a loose connection to the AFS motor on the headlight you were working on. Is it possible you accidentally removed or loosened the plug to the AFS motor? The AFS motor would be the geared box attached to the projector. If you were to hold the projector and swivel it side to side, you'd hear the "gears" of the AFS motor. Moving the projector side to side will not affect anything at all (no harm to the motor).

Just check for any loose plugs to that AFS motor and report back! ^_^

[craig27]

Thanks for the reply. I have not gotten under the hood yet to check the plugs due to an unexpected plumbing issue in my house. Lets just say that 10 years worth of grease/food in a 20 foot pipe make for a very messy afternoon.

Back to the lights... Yes, they both do the dance at startup. I can see this in the garage every morning when I start the car. Over the past couple of days, the AFS light has been intermittent. It will work for a couple of minutes (I can see both lights turning when I drive), then the light will start flashing. I have been turning on the headlights during the day as well to see if there is a pattern to the failure. There have been a couple of trips where the AFS light stayed off all together, so the system does want to work.

I will check the connectors in the next day or so. Another theory I need to run down is the possibility that some debris could have made its way down into the motor assy? The only reason I think this is because when I pulled out the bad bulb, it had actually shattered, so I am curious if any glass might have found its way down there. Thanks again.

[cduluk]

I'm sorry to hear about your plumbing issues; that's never fun! :cries:

As for the car issue, the fact that the AFS is working intermittently reinforces the idea that there might be a loose plug/wire somewhere. I'm doubtful that debris in the AFS motor would cause these symptoms... These motors have a lot of torque!

Another possibility is that there's an issue with the afs or leveling "sensors", however since this issue happened right after you worked on the headlights, i'd bet your issue is up front at the motor rather beneath the rear tire at the sensors.

I'd try wiggling the wires at the headlight you worked on, and see if you can find a loose connector or wire. ^_^

[craig27]

Hi cduluk, thanks for the reply.

Over the past couple of days I have observed that the AFS fault would occur when the lights tried to yaw to the right. So FINALLY this evening I was able to get back in there. When I manually tried to move the gimbal, it would move to the left, but was getting stuck to the right. So I applied a bit more pressure and heard the distinctive sound of glass being ground up. I moved the gimbal back and forth about twenty times until it sounded like it was all clear. I also took your advice and double checked the connections, which seemed to be solid. Tomorrows drive into work will be the true test. I'll report back.

Thanks again!

[craig27]

Well, that seemed to do the trick. The headlights behaved themselves on the way to work with no flashing light! :)

Now just to get that darned climate control back under control..

Thanks for the help!

Craig

[pedro moreira]

On 12/6/2012 at 2:01 AM, craig27 said:

Hi cduluk, thanks for the reply.

Over the past couple of days I have observed that the AFS fault would occur when the lights tried to yaw to the right. So FINALLY this evening I was able to get back in there. When I manually tried to move the gimbal, it would move to the left, but was getting stuck to the right. So I applied a bit more pressure and heard the distinctive sound of glass being ground up. I moved the gimbal back and forth about twenty times until it sounded like it was all clear. I also took your advice and double checked the connections, which seemed to be solid. Tomorrows drive into work will be the true test. I'll report back.

Thanks again!

Hey, sorry for the late reply, but could you tell me how you moved the gimball? im facing the same problem in my 2006 IS

thank you