4wheeldrivenewbie

i dont belive they were out before but i started it today and no dash lights when i opened my door to get in i had dome light come on and when i turned my switch all the way to the left with my door closed i had dome lights i had head lights aswell just no shifter lights or dash panel lights my battery was dead i had it on ramps i just moved it after charging it and i noticed this i hope this problem is only a fuse???

Stan6406

Fuse or the headlight switch

4wheeldrivenewbie

thanks man ill look into it

99cherokeexj

mine does the same thing. i have to get out and smack the negative battery terminal with my hand or a rock or something and then ieverything comes on again and work.. idk what it is.. the terminals are clean.. idk...

havensov

FYI, pull the fuse before putting in the switch... I just did my switch and blew the fuse when I put it in.

4wheeldrivenewbie

i replaced the parking lamp fuse and as soon as i pulled the lever out on notch the fuse blew so i checked to see if i had any turn signals and i noticed they all lit up but did not blink so i tryed my hazzards they were fine they all blinked so i took out 2 relays one looked like a turn signal relay and the other a hazard relay and i switched them around and i had turn signals only thing is they blinked alil faster but still no dash so i tryed another fuse it blew so i removed all the light bulbs rear and front and side 2 looked black alil in the glass but they dident appear blown i removed the 2 side yellow marker lights then the front turn signals snapped 2 bolts right off doing so then added another fuse with the bulbs all pulled out and pop still idk if its my switch the only thing my care has is a small system in it cdplayer. but i dont see how smacking ur battery cable connection would do anything something is causing a fuse to blow everytime i pull the **** out were parking light setting would be. the guy who wacked his terminal around did you do that after u blew a fuse and replace it then get ur lights to work?? that would make more sense no

4wheeldrivenewbie

the only 2 things i dident check was the plate lights and a trailer wire harness it rained 2 days ago so im thinking maybe some water got into something i had the hood open to charge the car i noticed my dome lights where on so i was like what the heck i came out 3 times and played with the hatch door and they finally went out i cover the hood with a lil tarp to help keep some of thewater out then the next day sun so i started it up and for some reason i never tryed the dash panel lights so i pulled it out one notch and pop im hoping its not a switch as the car has low miles but that might not matter???

xj88kid

I replaced the headlight switch on my 88xj and I still dont have dashlights or tail lights, but I do have headlights and dome lights. Its very weird. I think it maybe a wire problem but will look at my fuses again to see if any of them had blown. Ill keep you posted and any suggestions would be awsome.

4wheeldrivenewbie

Well xj88 im stumped aswell but i know this my switch aint bad because the fuse is after the switch not before once u pull it it sends a full load to whereever which in turn pops the fuse see if ur switch is bad then u would not get any juice most times to blow the fuse so havensov that would explain why u blew ur fuse u shorted it out for a sec.Anyways the switch has hardly been used the car has low miles like i said hardly ever been driven hopefully i dont have to run a new wire from the switch to the back tail lights i thought about checking the bulb plugs with a meter but with a poped fuse there would be no juice so far ive blown 5 10 amp fuses in the parking lmp slot im still stumped

84wagoneer

it can easily be the switch. and it doesnt matter where in the circuit the fuse is, itll get the same amount of current. i changed my switch and it fixed the light problem.

chances are its your tail lights, but the dash lights are set up to go out if the tail lights go out, so that you know the tail lights are out and don't drive around with non-operational tail lights.

4wheeldrivenewbie

what im saying is once you pull the switch a full load of current trys to go threw ur system so if something is shorting grounding out every time u pull that switch whether its bad or not its gonna pop that fuse. if i have a bad switch and the fuse is blowing then the switch would be causin the short right?? i mean i dont wanna buy 30 dollars worth of light bulbs then buy a switch then replace the wiring would cost this thing is 20 years old and i know i cant drive around with no dash lights. So maybe i should check my tail lights with a meter on continu buzzer and see what i get before replacing the switch??? im thinking maybe its my hatch wires shorting from opening the back door to much being old??? ill try the tail light testing first but mined u theres no bulbs in the car nemore so it cant be a bulb i took the plate light bulb out becuase it seemed to be hooked into that switch and it still blew maybe something is grounding inside that door like i said before my back dome light was going on and off i had to shut my door and jiggle to get it to go off. Bad enough this state is tough on inspections this dash problem is just another setback i mean i rarley see anyone here get a sticker the same day they walk into a garage there is always a list. Well 84 does the switch send power to the lights before it hits the fuse or after i would think if the switch sends power to the fuse before the lights and the fuse blows that its the switch but if your switch is trying to send juice to the lights rightaway and the fuse is poping then morethen likely its tail or marker light wireing

4wheeldrivenewbie

will trace tomorrow and let neone know what i find where does it usually shortout??? anyone know i think its in the hatch door

buddah426

i just put in 2 new harnesses and all new bulbs in the tail lights. the 2 harnesses from plug to sockets 2/$6.99 from jy and got bulbs from car quest for 5$, thats 12$ for all new sockets and bulbs.

unfortunately it didn't solve my problem but it was something that needed to be done sooner or later. the moral of the story is, buy a book, get aquatinted with your "heep" and search out junk yards... they'll be a real money saver.

4wheeldrivenewbie

lol man if ur headlight switch is bad u dont wanna buy one from a junkyard chances are the one u buy will be ready to blow out i mean cmon u dont know howmany times that switch has been turned on and off even with knowin the mileage and like i said its still blowing out without any bulbs in it so why replace your tail lights for no reason dident u read my post why rip

84wagoneer

if all the lamps are out, then it is either the switch, or the wiring. did you do anything recently that could have caused damage to the wiring? its very possible that the headlight switch could have just worn out...

oh and it doesnt matter where in the circuit the loads are placed, either "before" or "after" the fuse, if the circuit is shorted, then itll draw a large current, way larger than the fuse rating, and it will pop.