Hello XJ Buddies, I have 2000Jeep, Cherokee, 6 Cyl. 4.0L. My headlights were flickering for sometime, it comes & goes, but now the headlights were completely not working. I tried pulling the lever of the multi-function switch(located on the steering column) and it worked. So I tried to hold it for half an hour while driving w/o a problem. I replaced the multi-function switch but it did not help. I also noticed that the momentary switch(pulling the lever) is not dependent of power from the headlight Sw. because I can “Blink” it even if the headlight sw. is off. I ruled out fuse bec. headlights worked when I did the trick as mentioned above. Could it be the headlight switch or relay? I need your help guys.

 

my money is on the switch

 

Ok Bud, I will try to replace the switch tomorrow.I'll keep you posted guys.

 

Thanks Thejerm! I replaced the Headlight Switch and it worked but i found out that the terminal block on the harness was partially burnt and the switch looks ok, so this confirms the comment of a member here that it really gets hot at the switch. I did not replace the harness because it still works & it will take kragen another 24 hours to provide,simply cant wait. You think this is a wise move?

 

Your burnt connector at the dimmer switch may be related to a crossover fault at a connector front left corner of engin bay, just as the main wire harness (contains the leads to your headlights) passes from the engin bay thru the front bulkhead behind the headlights. I had a bad connector here that was backfeeding power and buned a few dimmer switches. I did away with the bad connector and connected each wire in the group direct. Take a look, it hides between your drivers inner fender and your air box.

 

This thread and "headlight flickering problem" thread seem to be discussing the same problem. I posted there, detailing my same problems. I noticed what Peep had to say, I'm going to further inspect my wire harness connector, as mine had some corrosion. Thanks

 

Thank you Bro peep! I will do that.

 

Hey peep i was reading your post about the headlight flickering problem. You said something about a connector in between the air box and the inner fender. I found it but i don't know what you mean by direct connecting where'd you connect the wires?

 

Bro Jeep man,with all due respect to Peep, I guess what he meant is that, "cut-off"/discard the connectors(male/female,if I can call it that way) then connect the wires directly, its relatively easy because they are color coded.just make sure that the connections/splices you make are electrically tight enough to avoid same problem,loose connection will result in overheating.
All the best Bro!!

 

I guess what I'm asking is just to cut off that connector and wire them all into the main harness right below it? I just don't want to go cutting the wrong wires and make it worse. Because I think I know what connector he's talking about but I'm not 100% you know?

 

Hey guys my head lights are fixed. The problem was a my brand new head light switch was faulty. After I replaced the switch for the second time, my head lights work fine. The switch I am talking about is the pull plunger main on/off headlight switch. Additionally instead of buying the cheaper switch at the parts store I bought the more expensive, longer warranty switch. There is a noticeable difference in the quality of the switches. The cheap one has stainless steel connectors, whereas the other has copper alloy connectors. I finally replaced the switch for the second time after going through seemingly every other possibility. Hope this helps you guys!

 

Yeah dude i took my jeep to the dealership today and the guys fixed it all my problem was a connector was shorted.

 

I had headlight flickering issue for around 2 years. Had few headlight switches replaced, interim improvement but no ultimate fix, as problem would go back. If you have flickering headlights - here's the ultimate cure recipe. First of all, acknowledge that you're driving Cherokee, which means its all messed up when it comes to electrical stuff, especially if it is old where grounds are not very effective anymore, wiring and/or connectors are corroded or soiled etc. But even if not - the design is far from great, especially matching wiring diameters to power going through - wiring has too small diameter, lots of overheating going on. Then be mindful that the headlight switch has built in circuit breaker in it that affects only headlights. Breaker gets weak with time as it overheats. Result is - power is cut off intermittently, stuff cools down, power is back on and this continues repetitively - hence flickering. Depending on the quality and age of your switch as well as condition of the wiring - it can be minor thing to very drastic. It does gradually go worse with time as the condition of the overheated interiors in the switch is getting progressively worse. Do not believe in simple switch exchange - it will only annoy you and the problem will be back, sometimes not even go away at all. Aftermarket switches vary in quality, and even the best ones will go bad eventually if you do not replace the harness.



What to do?
1) Inspect grounding, especially the one directly leading to the switch itself, there should be one. I will not be surprised if your is not there at all. Sloppy car mechanics and overly confident amateurs underestimate the role of grounding. Fix any issues with grounding.
2) Buy new harness for headlights, there is tons of them out there. It will take the load off the switch and even if the switch condition is not great - it will fix it. I still recommend replacing the switch as you do not know what is its condition inside. Better be safe then sorry, switch is no more than 30-40 USD.
3) Install the harness. It will plug directly to headlights while feeding power directly off the battery hence having minimum current going through the switch itself. You will find YouTube videos on how to do it, easy peasy, half an hour job, unless you will struggle with bunch of rusted screws. It took me 2hrs.
4) Install new switch, you can do it yourself, remember about the grounding.



Note: Do the grounding right. Do not believe people who say that you do not need to strip the paint - it must be pure metal to metal connection to work in optimum way. It will work to some extent without stripping the paint, but you will never be sure when it stops conducting enough charge and starts to cause issues. After you connect - secure the joint with something like copper grease or other conductive grease. It will prevent corrosion and assure long term performance. Apply generously on outside and exposed bare metal if you removed more than you had to.



And - you are done. You have almost life time warranty on your flickering issue and brighter headlights.



Tons of posts with this problem, very little constructive comments to help and resolve this. One other person gives this advice, but not in many threads on this topic. So I'm going ahead and posting this into every applicable thread I can find on the forum.