After all of my problems with electrical things (okay just the radio really) on my 93 loyale, the headlights just up and quit . I haven't sorted out how to approach this one other than to replace the fuses, which I have done. I can't figure out if there would be some way to check the electrical system without buying some testing equipment (and with my extremely limited knowledge) or if I should just bite the bullet and take it into a shop. I'm sure an electrical problem would be quite costly. Any suggestions?

You should purchase a test light probe at least to help with trouble. They are less than 10 dollars and will show you if you have power getting to the test point for sure. You just clip one end to ground and touch the test spot with the probe. If the light turns on you are good to go.

 

Check the fusible links in the box mounted on the coolant reservoir and make sure they are ok and making good contact on both sides. My manual shows the red one supplies power to the head lights for a '88 model and yours is probably the same. If they are ok then I would suspect the switch next. It supplies a ground to the lights to turn them on.

Fusible links, as suggested above, fuse, or relay. I believe the relays are under the dash near the fuse panel, but don't quote me on that.

Well, the fuseable links are under the hood and I merely looked at them and they appeared okay just old. I will have to check out that test light thing and see if that makes a difference. I've already replaced the fuses but I was wondering if the bulbs themselves would be the culprit. The way it happened was that one side went out then the other shortly after, so I'm thinking that logically it's the bulbs themselves. Should I be able to replace just the bulb (god I'm a NEWB) and not have to replace the entire headlight? If so, perhaps I could try that next as a pair of small bulbs shouldn't be that expensive right?

Sounds like the bulbs. They are easy to replace, but you may have to remove the barrery to get to the left one. Unscrew the retainer and pull the bulb out, disconnect the wire connector and replace the lamp. Just don't touch the glass portion of the bulb with your fingers or anything really. The oil from your skin or dirt from the other parts in the area will create a hot spot and burn up the lamp.

Since the lights didn't go out at the same time then the trouble most likely is just the bulbs. You may also want to check the charging voltage to make sure it is not too high and causing this problem to occur.