Running Light Woes

My running lights have stopped working. All my front amber lights are out, and my rear red lights are out. my dash lights are also out. I still have all my blinkers and break lights, and my gauges still work.

heres where it gets weird. when I pull my head light switch out if I do it really slowly, and some times push the nob to one side the running lights will come on before there designated "click" in the course of the pull. if I pull ( or even touch) the nob they go out. so if I need my head lights the running lights will not work.

The stealership wants 77+$ for a new headlight switch.
so I bought a new switch from a JY for 25$ and I still have the same problem.

I checked the fuses in the kick panel on the passenger side but have found no blown fuses.

could I have broken both switches when I removed the nob, to open my dash. I did it exactly the way my Hayes manual told me to, by pressing the button on the side.
I dont think its the fuses because the lights will go on if I play with the switch the right way.

thanks.

for info on my heep look to my sig.

when this happened to my 89, it was a bad connection in the fuse block. the fuse was good, but it was not making a connection at the back off the fuse block. this was from the clutch master leaking fluid onto the fuse block an eating it away. i fixed the wire on the fuse block and also replaced the clutch master.

yours sounds switch related from your description. in this case, you need to learn how to use a DVM and how to trace an electrical curcuit for the problem. first, start by finding where power has stopped and trace back to the source of the power.

also check with a test light or meter to see if you actually have power going through the fuse, just because a fuse is not blown, doesnt mean you have power through it.

oh and I forgot to say I took apart one of the switches, to see if i could see what the problem was. long story short if the Bridged the connections the lights would come on.


and in regards to 89 so there are fuses on the driver side? are they under the dash or in the engine bay?

It sounds like the wiring plug that goes on the switch is making contact when you play with it - but not when it's just sitting there.

The wiring harness plug gets old, corroded, hot from the current, and often distorts and melts. This can cause erratic connections as you describe.

The other theory is that the new switch isn't right either. It sometimes happens.

Start by double checking the plug actually makes good contact with each terminal, and that the connections inside it are sound. Wiggle each one with the lights on - any sparks are a sign of trouble.

i also forgot to mention what tirod said. when i replaced the headlight switch when i had another problem, it got hot enough that it melted some of the wires in the harness it plugged into. after fixing those wires and replacing the switch, no more smell of burning plastic.