headlight switch redoux

I've read all the theads I can find about bad headlight switches. For about three weeks I've been smelling a burning electrical smell but haven't been able to trace it. A couple days ago the headlights started going out while driving around which narrowed down my search considerably. I saw some threads here where the plug has gotten hot enough to melt which is what mine is in the process of doing so I have pulled the switch out and drove around tonight and the switch itself gets almost too hot to touch and also specifically the connector to the headlight circuit (tan).

I'm thinking the switch itself is bad as opposed to some kind of short in the wiring. I would think a short hot enough to melt the connector would open the circuit breaker but I could be wrong.

I'll test the headlight circuit tomorrow but wanted to get some thoughts from people who might be in the know.

Thanks in advance.

umm... replace the $20 switch and see what happens.

anodyne33 said:

umm... replace the $20 switch and see what happens.

Click to expand...

I'm doing that tomorrow if I can source one locally. I just don't wanna fix a symptom and miss the cause.

Mine went bad and got hot like that... Then got hot and went bad again because of some wiring that i did incorrectly. If your headlights are not coming on, or intermittent then its either the headlight switch or the dimmer switch. Hope that helps.

Mine did that too several years ago and I replaced the switch and did some creative plug wiring and no more problems since.

Thanks for the replies. The plug is deformed but it's still in good enough shape to reuse once I clean up the headlight circuit plug clip.

When mine went it never got hot, it just didn't work, my dash lights were in and out.

I would replace the switch (I got one at auto zone); but I would also look for another issue, check and make sure the PO didn't stick something in the fuse box to make an unfused connection. It seems that if you are getting that much resustance then there may be some other problem.

Just my .02

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xjcruiser90
http://xjcruiser.com/

I installed a new switch this morn and the body of the switch still gets pretty warm but not near as hot as the other one and the lights never cut out like the other one either. I tested the headlight circuit for any impedance drains after unplugging the headlights and it came up clean. I'll run with the switch dangling for a few nights and see how hot it gets. Hopefully it is fixed.

Incidentally, I had previously checked the fuse box when I first bought the jeep 2 years ago because I only get instrument cluster lights on the dash and nothing else (no switch backlight or console lights) but it doesn't bother me enough to go any further than that.