hey guys so my headlights seem to be really dim and arent lighting up much of anything. now they are probably the stock ones out of the factory, my truck is a '06 with 52k miles on it and im wondering if it is the headlights themselves or the wiring. the reason i think it might be the wiring is because i measured the voltage at the headlight plug and i got 12 volts. im pretty sure that is low but i could be wrong. this is with the truck idling in the driveway. any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

It should be right around 12 volts. Just buy some replacement bulbs at any parts store and put them in and if there is no change then take the bulbs back. I bet you just need some new bulbs though.

 

okay will have to try that tonight. i just always thought that a 12 volt system should be running at 13-14 volts but hopefully its just the bulbs

 

The alternator should put out about 14.4 volts that way the battery can successfully charge and provide 12 volts to everything else.