How to Test Car Lights

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Jeff Wong with Expert Village and today we're going to learn the basics of maintaining your vehicle. In this segment we're going to be going through testing all the lights on the exterior of the car. So we'll be testing the headlights, the high beams, the turn signals and various other lights that maybe on the car. So the first thing you want to test are your parking lights. You can turn on your parking lights by turning your headlight switch to the first position. If you're unsure how to do this please consult your car's user manual. So the easiest way to do this test is have another person outside of the vehicle checking and seeing if all the lights are working all the way around the vehicle. So now if the parking lights work you can check and see if the headlights work. Again, if all these headlights are working, now you can check if the high beams work, both by having them constantly on. It seems like the work and also to have them temporarily on by just flashing and releasing. So next we'll test the turn signals, ensure that both sides turn on individually and then we'll press the hazard button light to ensure that both lights flash simultaneously. Now if one of the lights doesn't seem to turn on in any of these tests, such as one of the blinkers, the bulb may need to be replaced. Or when you push the switch and you don't hear any clicking sounds you may need to replace the turn signal relay. So that concludes the testing of the front lights and now we'll move to the rear of the car. Now that we're at the rear of the car, we'll repeat the same process by turning on the headlights and this should turn on the rear parking lights they should be red. Now you want to step on the brake, but should brighten the brake lights in the back as well as turn on any center brake light that you may have. Verifying that these lights work, we move on now to the turn signals. Again we check the left side and then the right side and then we turn on the hazards to check both of them. Verifying that all the lights work we take a look at the license plate, which should have lights above it and those lights should both be working as well. Last but not least don't forget to check that your horn is in working condition."