Dull Parking Lights.

Well, lately I have noticed that my parking lights (the ones right under headlights) are rather dull. I'd say that you could hardly tell that they are on during the day. I'm not sure if they are on the same wiring thingy as the headlights (which are also rather dull) but i'd like to either get new bulbs, or new wiring to help correct this crappy amount of light output. I plan on buying the H4 upgrade so I can get better light output and a better light pattern also. And I wasn't sure if the new harness would help with the amount of light that the parking lamps are putting out. Or would a new set of bubls be my best bet for this one? Also, it seems to me that every now and then my fogs start to blink/dim every now and then. Would that be a wiring problem? Bad ground perhaps? I got the Jeep with what seem to be aftermarket fog lights. I plan on fooling around with the parking lamps this weekend, along with completely redoing the wiring for the fog lights. Let me know what you guys think.

If anything, I'd check and thoroughly clean the bulb socket in the parking lights - shonky contact there will cause dim bulbs. I've found an emery board useful for "flat" contacts - for anything in a socket or down at the bottom of a hole, I'll use a rubber pilishing bit on a Dremel - but an electric eraser (like draftsmen use) with an "ink" rubber (it's a little more abrasive) or just a "pen" eraser will work in a pinch. It's common to use a rubber eraser to clean electrical contacts - it rubs them clean, doesn't leave residue, and won't wear through the contact quickly (I like erasers for "card-edge" contacts, where it's just copper plated onto fibreglas...)

A mild acid soak might also help to clean things if your socket's all crapped up (I'll use vinegar in a cup, let the socket hang in there for a few minutes, then rinse with distilled water. Dry with compressed air or "canned" air before reinstalling the bulb or applying power.

A headlamp harness will probably help the headlamps, but it won't help the park lamps. Likewise the H4 upgrade - that's a focus on headlamps only. I'd start with cleaning the contacts in everything, then maybe taking a voltage reading (bulb out) and comparing it to "source" voltage (alternator or battery) to see what you're getting at the bulb - there may be in-between harness connections that you'll want to look at as well - and that's where an FSM comes in handy. The FSM will have a section that locates ALL harness connections, splices, and grounds and such - Chilton's, Haynes, and other aftermarket manuals will not (I don't recall if Clymer manuals do or don't - but I haven't seen one in 15 years anyhow.)

5-90

Do a voltage drop test at the light to check how much power you are losing in the wiring. With the lights on, attach one lead of a volt meter to the positive wire at the light, and the other to the positive battery terminal. I would like to see less than .5 volt. If you show more, upgrade the wiring. If you plan on upgrading bulbs, you should make sure they are getting full power.

Sorry if you already understand a voltage drop test, I'm hoping others will be able to maybe learn from my explaination. :lecture:

Might be as simple as a dirty lens.