UK Car Repair: wheel bearing or drive shaft ?, wheel bearing, hyundai coupe

Question
hi,
I have a hyundai coupe se 1999 1975cc petrol, i have 2 problems with the car
1 there is a knocking coming from the front left hand wheel. I have jacked the car up and taken the wheel and breaks off to check its not that. I wobbled the wheel cuz that how i was told you can check the bearings, but that seems fine too. how would i do further checks to see what the problem is. when i drive it it knocks at the speed of the tyre revolution. the faster i go the louder it gets. I have not drove it more than a mile incase i damage it more, as it came on suddenly.
2 the main beam lights have stopped working. I have replaced the bulbs and checked all the fuses, everything else works and lights up but not the main beam.
Any help would be appreciated
sean

Answer
check the driveshaft on that side for play, grab it and try to wobble it.. if not bearings could be C.V. joint is worn/chipped etc.

you can try jacking up that wheel and turning it 1/20th or so of a turn then try to wobble it up/down side/side, then turn it a bit more + repeat test: the play may only become apparent at a certain position. turning the wheel slowly by hand you may notice a 'notch' or stiff 'moment' as it turns, or 'crunchiness/grating' this would almost certainly be a bearing

same with the driveshaft, turn it a bit+try to wobble.

youll find the faulty part given methodical approach + a little time/investigation.

all said, I do reckon its the bearing, if you can take off the rotor/disc youll most likely find one of the rollers in the bearing is crushed or absent(disintegrated) - wash out the carrier if so with spirit/petrol/paraffin, being sure to get any metal shards out and fit new bearing+pack with grease.


as for main beam: trace the wires and inspect any connections for corrosion/tight fitting - sandpaper then grease anything rusty.

if no difference/all wiring seems healthty:

Set lights so main beam 'should' be on then sharply tap the main beam relay with a screwdriver handle, if you get a flicker of light from the beams it's a bad relay - try a new relay in any case, this is just a cheap and dirty test, may not help.
apart from the relay it could be the main beam switch/stalk.. without test equipment you're best just replacing it 'blindly' with fingers crossed.