Headlights don't want to stay on

Discussion in 'General Automotive Tech' started by autobotsquire, Jan 8, 2010.

  1. autobotsquire

    autobotsquire New Member

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    Happy New Year! It's been a while. My headlights are giving me fits. They are only a year old. I can usually get the high beams to stay on and one of the headlights are dim. I'm thinking it's something in the wiring. Anyone had an issue like this before. Sometimes I can get just the headlights to stay on by playing with the lever. :)
     
  2. Ford Nut

    Ford Nut Well-Known Member

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    I would start by making sure you have a good ground EI:battery to body.
    Also Make sure the head light are tight in the bucket.
    Just a place to start.:)
    I had the same problem:banghead3:
    Good luck Rick
     
  3. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    I had dim lights with regular bulbs before I did this:
    http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

    So I re-installed my old halogens. Daylight!!!

    My switch was wimpy too. I took it out and cleaned up the contacts. My dash bulbs dim nice and even, the lights all go on, every time. Ford's older headlight switches were notorious for burning out. The lever on the wheel has never given me grief but I cleaned it up too.
     
  4. 87customcruiser

    87customcruiser Member

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    There may be a ground wire in the headlight harness that is bad or maybe just loose, a grounding issue of some type is the most common cause for dim headlights.
     
  5. Bowser1989

    Bowser1989 New Member

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    I'm a decepticon btw squire
     
  6. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    Seems to happen a lot with GM cars. They have a dedicated site for GM Problems:
    http://www.gmproblems.com/headlights.htm
     
  7. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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  8. silverfox

    silverfox New Member

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    Ground or switch. I'm guessing switch.
     
  9. autobotsquire

    autobotsquire New Member

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    Thanks for the suggestions. I'll tinker around with all the ideas and let you guys know if it gets better. Just wish it wasn't so cold here right now. BTW watch out for the Decepticons. :)
     
  10. Bowser1989

    Bowser1989 New Member

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    muah ha ha ha:evilsmile:
     
  11. autobotsquire

    autobotsquire New Member

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    So I took the Squire to my local Mechanic. He said that the switch inside connected to the turn signal lever was wearing out and there was a burned out connector in the the steering column. So he replaced them, now they are working fine. The dim headlight was due to a loose wire directly behind that headlight. I'll just try pushing it in any time it gets dim again. Thanks again. :)
     
  12. Stormin' Norman

    Stormin' Norman Well-Known Member

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    Take the wire snips with you, the next trip to the JY. :D
     
  13. snooterbuckets

    snooterbuckets Well-Known Member

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    Glad to see everything's back to normal. It sounds like it wasn't too costly. I hope that was the case.
     
  14. Bowser1989

    Bowser1989 New Member

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    No my plan has been foiled again now I have to watch out for another autobot on the loose.... wink Anyways good to hear you got it fixed.
     

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