Ben Reilly

I hit a serious speed bump here. I went to replace what I thought to be a defective headlight switch today (99 Cherokee Sport). Only when I took the harness off the switch I saw that the connector to the switch was burt up in the top corner and the plastic was a little melted. I belive that's part of the whole dash harness correct? On top of that the headlight switch I got at Napa seems to be defective. I put the plunger in (that you pull the turn the lights on) and it slides in and out without clicking into the two positions. I put it in the old switch and it clicks on just fine. Has anybody encountered this before with installing a new switch and what's my next step with the connector here?

KD3NE

Headlight switch / harness burned - yeah it is more common that most people know.

You can buy a new connector pigtail to replace the burnt one but DO NOT STOP there ........

Would you like to prevent it and have brighter headlights at the same time?

Install a headlight relay wiring harness - it;s a small harness that plugs into your head lights, connects directly to the battery and ground.

Then you plug into one of the connectors from your Jeep harness into the relay harness.

NOW all your headlight switch does is send low current voltage to trip the relay harness and the relay applies hight current from the battery to the headlights.

How does this make lights brighter?

Simple, in the original configuration all of the current went through the headlight switch and wiring harness. With the original setup, you were not getting full voltage to the headlights because of the voltage drop associated with the headlight switch and the warning harness/connectors.

In the new configuration with the relay harness you str getting full battery power to the headlights and thus brighter lamps.

I got my harness off of Amazon from a company called OCTANE LIGHTING !!!!!


This seems to be a MUST DO for you, because that burning on the harness will only get worse over time.

Basslicks

^^^All of this

Here's a link for that connector, btw

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...connector,2584

here's a code for 5% off

5032436045111887

You'll have to retain the red cover piece though, because the new connector doesn't include it.

I haven't heard of Octane Lighting, but you can also search for the Putco 7x6 headlamp harness. I use that, along with quite a few other members here. Works very well. Looks like the Octane Lighting is pretty well the same.... just about half the price.

Ben Reilly

Thanks guys. My high beams still work along with all the other lights (just my headlights won't turn on). I'm just doing a conector and switch for now. I just want my headlights working again. Anybody ever encounter the problem with the new switch I mentioned in my first post?

Basslicks

Check and make sure the release button isn't stuck. If it's not, try pushing the button and then sliding the plunger in again (make sure the switch is disconnected while you're doing all of this). If none of that works, it's quite possible the switch is indeed bad. Wouldn't be the first time someone got a faulty new switch from a parts house.

KD3NE

Receiving defective new parts is not unheard of.

Try another and if the same thing occurs, a different brand might be the solution.

extrashaky

Just to add to that, this is the relay harness Cruiser54 has been recommending:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CERAMIC-H4-HE...807?rmvSB=true

This mod is really a no brainer. Brighten up the lights and protect the switch from catching fire and burning down the Jeep? Yes please.

investinwaffles

Yeah, install a relay harness or it'll just happen again.
It costs like $30 and about an hour of time if you are moving slow. I could probably install one in 20 mins.

Ben Reilly

Gocha. I'll look into adding a relay harness. In the meantime my headlights dont work at all. My brights worked before I pulled it apart and put it back together and now they don't work either. I figured they wouldn't be affeced since they run off the steering wheel stalk. Do you think that might be a bad flasher relay? This is my daily driver and I at least need the brights to work wile I wait for parts to come in. Gotta take this thing home from work at night.

97grand4.0

IMO you would do well to head to the junkyard. Return the NAPA sw for a refund and grab a switch off another jeep, and while you are at it, grab another harness connector and cut the wires with about 2 or 3" of meat on them, then just use wirenuts to splice it into your rig, pop in the new old switch and fire it up.
That being said you might want to check that badly burnt wire to make sure it's "hot" with 12V and not burnt still further back somewhere, hope this helps.

extrashaky

Click that Ebay link I posted above. That harness has ceramic connectors and better relays than the Putco harness, and it's only $19. And it has gotten good reviews from people here who have installed it.

They still run through the headlight switch and connector (since the brights don't come on unless your lights are on), and it sounds like that connector is toast. Unless the heat from the resistance has also damaged the wiring, it will probably sort itself out when you replace that connector.

Look at it this way: That connector MUST be replaced either way. You can't put it back together and run it with it burned like that. So that's where you can start and cross your fingers that it will get them working again.

I wouldn't do that. The failure of the headlight switch and connector from resistance built up from corrosion is a known issue with XJs. There's a decent chance that electrical components you pull out of the junk yard will also be damaged and on their way to failing. With some other parts it might be worth the risk, but failed headlight switches have actually caught fire and burned out the interiors of XJs of members on this board. It would really be better to replace with new parts.

97grand4.0

While I agree the relay scheme is superior in every way, the OP said he just wants to fix it. It makes sense to fix it first, then upgrade. You wouldn't put an Edelbrock carb and intake on a rig if you thought your stalling was due to a bad float on your Rochester without first fixing the stalling.

Basslicks

What we're trying to tell you and the OP here is that "fixing it" IS upgrading to that harness. Lan sakes man, it's only 20 bucks. The ROOT of the problem is the power to the headlights being routed THROUGH the switch. It was a poor design from the factory through the entire production run of XJs. By upgrading the wiring, you're using the switch as just that, a switch. The power goes from the battery to the relays to the headlights. The only thing the switch does at the point is send a signal to the relays to route power to the headlights.

You can replace that connector and headlight switch all you want, it's just going to fail again. See that melted plastic? It didn't melt because of the switch, it melted because there's more power going through there than it is meant to handle. Period.

Ben Reilly

Thanks for all the imput everyone. I ordered a new connector online. I'm going to splice it in and instal a new switch. If that gets my headlights working again (which it should) I'll do the relay harness upgrade later. I'm low on funds after just doing a bunch of other work to her and running out of warm weather.

97grand4.0

It should fix it but beware, my feed wire was smoked 11 inches upstream from the switch on my Grand, which is a different setup, (Does mine have the relay from factory?) But yeah fix it first then upgrade.
Aside, just saw this one...Dubai, actually have a 'double wide' that seats 10