91 XJ headlight switch bezel question

My wife came home last night with a problem with the headlight switch on our 1991 XJ 4.0 automatic.

The headlights wouldn't turn off, turned out the bezel where the switch is held to the dash broke apart with the switch. Last nigh I though the plastic was brittle this morning I think the switch melted the plastic. When I touched the switch last night it wasn't too hot (and she never noticed a burning smell), it's one every now and again she drives at night so I don't know how long this problem has been building up.

Is there a way to fix the bezel? I know I need to pull the switch and checking the wiring & plug, but the bezel has me stumped, on my 1985 xj it looks like the bezel is almost a part of the dash.

Looking for any advice on fixing this or upgrades.

Thanks

Hmm you need to pull the bezel first right? Four screws I think plus the little piece under the column. Once that is out you should be able to pull the switch by removing a couple more screws. I've had mine all part a couple times but the headlight switch is one I have not had to pull yet!

Thanks. Um the part that I think melted is the funnel shaped piece of plastic behind the pull knob. I need to get a picture.

I had the trim around the cluster out of my 85 xj for different reasons, but the I guess the bezel for lack of a better word where the light switch attaches to looks like it is part of the dash on the 85.

The plastic right where the switch attaches I think is melted, I got all the other parts ordered (wiring harness and switch) not sure how to fix the bezel. Normally the dash switches(wiper, defrost, etc) are modular, I thought I could find one for the headlight on ebay it doesn't seem there are any.

I'll get some pictures this afternoon.

Found a picture on google. This is not my jeep but should help show what part I'm trying to describe.



The switch pushes through a piece of plastic and the part where the flat head is screws down to hold it in place, the plastic part of the dash is what melted.

When she went to turn the lights off last night the switch pushed in free, nothing holding it any more.

Got everything disassembled the switch plug did a nice imitation of Chernobyl.

Here is a picture of the part that is broken.

I seems like a SOL problem.


I don't think the plastic melted as much as cracked, I have the old pieces, thought about gluing them back but doubt it will work. I know she wasn't slamming the light switch, I think the heat of the impeding meltdown caused the break. Probably save us the jeep because this would have been a fire for sure.

Note from DJ
You might look for something like this.
Information from McMaster-Car
Self-Aligning Washer Sets
http://www.mcmaster.com/#self-aligning-washers/=jk32bm
Also known as spherical washers and self-aligning setup washers, these two-piece washer sets (also sold as male and female halves) swivel to compensate for uneven surfaces. They're frequently used in clamping and die-and-jig fixturing applications.
18-8 stainless steel washers offer excellent corrosion resistance and may be mildly magnetic. Inch sizes have a minimum Rockwell hardness of B80; metric sizes are not rated for hardness.
Black-oxide and black case-hardened steel washers are mildly rust resistant. Inch sizes are made from 12L14 steel and have a minimum surface hardness of Rockwell C48. Metric sizes are not rated for hardness.

Note from DJ
Or something like this.
Information from McMaster-Car
Countersunk Washers
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-countersunk-washers/=jk37y1
Give flat and oval head countersunk-head screws a neat, finished appearance. Washers are not rated for hardness, except 18-8 stainless steel metric washers which have a minimum Rockwell hardness of B78.
Type 316 stainless steel washers are the most corrosion resistant. They may be mildly magnetic.
18-8 stainless steel washers provide excellent corrosion resistance and may be mildly magnetic.
Brass washers are rust resistant, electrically conductive, and nonmagnetic. Black zinc-plated brass washers have an attractive black surface. Nickel-plated brass washers have a decorative silver surface.
Nickel-plated steel washers are made from C1006-C1010 steel. They have a decorative silver surface and are fairly resistant to rust and weather.
Zinc-plated steel washers are made from C1006-C1010 steel. They offer good rust resistance.

Thanks I was thinking about using a washer last night wasn't sure how it would work. I'll check this out.

Aside from DJ's suggestion, you might be able to find a junkyard replacement. That Jeeps Unlimited seller on eBay often has lots of this sort of thing for dirtcheap. I added the foglight switch to my laredo (I only had rear def there) and they sold me the switch surround for $8!

Got the old girl fixed. Acutely she's been up and around over a week now thought I should update the project fix.

For the broke part in the dash I used the plain old washer to hold it in place. Had a few different sizes in my tool box, picked the one that would best fit the spot behind the knob, then filed it to fit the hold down bolt. Not as good as factory but it'll hold.

Biggest problem I had was finding a new connecting plug, 1991 is the last year of the old design and it's 21 years ago now.

I bought a Airtex 1p1190 Pigtail assembly, it's not for a 1984 - 1991 XJ but if you look at you see it almost Identical to the 1991 connector.

Except for two things they added three wires, two of them (Black and Blue) are at the back of the connect and because of them the connector will not fit out of the box.


What I did was hacksaw off those two addition connectors, you can see where it was added to the old design. With those gone the plug now fits the 1984 - 1991 XJ headlight switch no problem.

They did add a wire to the plug that isn't used, terminal P, I believe. I just pulled the unneeded wire.

These are from some notes I made, could be slight off, it was about a week or two ago I did the rewiring.

1984 -1991 Cherokee XJ headlight terminals

I - Instrument Cluster / Dash Lights
D - Ground for Dome
H - Headlights
B2 - Taillights / Park lights
R - Dimmer switch
P- Unused
B1 - to Battery input from fuse box

Click to expand...

After the headlight switch was fixed I installed a Putco 230004HW Lighting Wiring kit, not highest quality but for the money it's not bad. When I did the headlight wiring I put in new higher yield headlights, been wanting to do this for years now. The old headlights were Sylvania or something, nothing real demanding but thye melted the plug anyhow. After reading the jeep forums apparently it doesn't take a much to melt the plug.

Anyway we got it fix and I wanted to thank everybody for their input, ideas, and advice.

Cheers!

That Putco is the reason we designed our own wring update, the “p” stand for POS, but that will help take some load off the switch, the wiring gets resistance over time but a real easy way to take even more load is to swap out your rear running light bulbs and/or dash bulbs for LEDs, just don’t do front and rear or you will need load simulators for the turn signals.