Tyler Boatwright

I know there are tons of headlight related threads but i cannot find any relating to my particular situation.

1998 cherokee

A few nights ago i jumped in my jeep to drive home. Im driving down the road and attempt to switch from low to high beams. When i flipped the multi switch the headlights turned off completely. (Indicator light on dash came on and I still had running lights) I quickly switched back to low beams.

a few miles down the road my headlights (lows) shut off. I still had running lights and turn signals.

i pulled off as soon as possible and the lights mysteriously came back on. I sat there for a few minutes fidgeting with the headlight switch and the multi switch. Lows seemed to be back to working but still no highs.

I get home with no issues but as soon as i pulled in my driveway once again i lost all headlights.

I did a quick google search and found that the headlight switch is a common thing to have issues with.

I replaced the headlight switch and my lows came on as usual but i still have no high beams.


I checked the fuses and they all appear to be in working order.
I pulled the headlights out and used a test light to check the plugs. I have power in the lows (obviously) and when using the test light I also have power in the highs. Once i saw that i had power going to the high beams i plugged the headlight back in and it still didn't come on. I messed with cleaning all the connections for a bit.

Once i had the grounds cleaned off and tightened down i put the test light in the passenger headlight plug. The test light is glowing bright at this point. I left the test light plugged in and attempted to plug the headlight into the drivers side. The second i plug the headlight in, the test light goes out and as soon as i pull the headlight off the test light comes back on.

I havent had a chance to grab a new headlight to rule out a simple bulb being blown but that doesnt seem like my issue.

I am by no means good at electrical work and could really use some help/advice.

Sorry for the long post. Tia.

Waynerd

Tyler Boatwright

I replaced the headlight switch on the dash. I assumed the multi switch was working because the high beam indicator is coming on.

gat

Did that solve your problem?

Tyler Boatwright

... no

boxburn

My guess where would be that the contacts in your multifunction switch are dead. Imagine it like a loose battery wire, you can get power through it but try to turn it over and nothing. It would be the same thing but on a smaller scale, power can get through but put a load on it and it cant.

There are headlight relay harnesses you can buy which remove the power load from the headlight switch and multifunction switch but you could find that your multifunction is past its use by date. It would still be recommended to get a relay harness even if you swap out the multifunction switch.

Tyler Boatwright

Right on. Thanks for your input. I will try swapping the multi switch

Heepjeep

I have a similar problem but mine is a little bit more mysterious. My I recently installed new LED(with DRL) headlight and I noticed a problem. With the headlight switch pushed all the way in/shut off and the key on the low beams would be on. They would only be about 25% brightness but they were on. I grabbed a multi meter and came to find out I had a constant 7-10 volts (depending on battery charge) on my headlight low beam wire. I traced it back to the headlight switch which I then replaced along with the connector and it persisted. Any ideas