I have an issue that i'd like more direction on before tearing things apart.

Recently i started having a problem with my headlights flashing on and off. There is no rhyme or reason to when it happens, it is a truly random event. I can go for weeks without it happening, then a certain trip, it happens almost non-stop. I've come to the conclusion that my Jeep is possessed.

Now back to reality.

Symptoms:
100% random
not speed dependent
not temperature dependent
does not correspond to shocks / bumps
does not matter if vehicle is moving or parked
parking lights not affected (front or rear)
I've checked the fuses - all are seated tightly and do not show signs of failure
both lights flash together
if in high beam mode, blue indicator on dash also turns on/off with headlights
fiddling with the headlight switch does not seem to affect the condition
there is no "dimming" of the lights - they are either on or off
no other vehicle systems affected

And to further complicate the issue, When it DOES happen, it happens a lot. It seems like it happens much more frequently on curvy, slightly bumpy back roads, but does NOT correspond to shocks/bumps in the road. As soon as I pull onto a highway, it happens occasionally, but nowhere near as often.

And a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http:...?v=3CBakwK3OLw



Ok so my thoughts so far that i'd like input on:

1) It could be the headlight switch circuit breaker, but it's confusing that it occurs randomly, and the switch seems to be operating normally, and the parking lamps are not affected.

2) It could be the headlight ground, but it's confusing because the parking lamps share the same ground point, and they are fine.

3) It could be the headlamp connectors, but i didn't think they were tied together in this way.

4) It could be the headlight switch connector, but again the randomness is confusing.


Thoughts?

 

Here is my two cents, for what its worth,


Replace headlight switch.....

let me tell you why......

My headlights were working fine for many years.....then I was on my way back from training in Massachussetts to Virginia one evening and all of a sudden the exact symptoms you are experiencing started occurring.

here's why it was the switch.......

when I felt the actual switch itself (reaching up under dash to find it),, it was REALLY HOT.... it eventually had melted one of the phenolic connector slots to a point where the crimped heavy gauge white wire would no longer stay within the connector when removing or replacing the switch...

long story short,,,,,I put a new switch in $15 or $18 bucks and have had no further problems.
(course, my jeep is a 91,,and the switch is attached to the dash lower left).

hope it helps sir!

cpnwrench

 

Well if anyone references this is the future, i "fixed" my problem.

I had gotten a new headlight switch, and went to install it a few weekends ago. Got the kick panel pulled off and the switch detached from the dash. But for the life of me, i could not get the connector off of the switch, due to lack of visibility, and the fact that Jeep decided the switch needed all of about 1" of total slack in the wires. So after about 1/2 hour of swearing, i put it all back together...with the original switch.

Then i got myself an eAutoworks headlight upgrade harness. Problem solved.
The relays in the harness not only increased my light output about 3x, but took all the load away from the original switch (it now sees about 1/20th of the load it saw before). Thus, no more thermal failure because of high load, and my lights don't turn off anymore.

And even better, the harness was cheaper than the switch. Win for me!

 

dukie, I looked on the eAutoworks web site and I don't know what harness would work with my 6054 headlights, if you also have 6054 headlights could you please post what harness you got?

 

the 6054 plug is exactly the same as an h4 plug.

This is the kit I got:
https://www.eautoworks.com/product-e...4-1b984300c5bf

Use coupon code "JeepForum" for 30% off!

 

Sweet! thanks man!

 

I'm glad the kit worked for you. I would have to say that the head light switch is still bad but the relays in the kit you installed are taking the load now that the breaker in the head light switch was trying to handle but couldn't. A new switch would have solved the on / off problem but would not have increased the brightness of the lights. When you get around to it I would still change the switch. Just my 2 cents

 

the switch has had no problems whatsoever with turning everything on and off. The circuit breaker was opening when hot due to the increased load from my headlight conversion. Now that that load isn't there, no more heat / thermal failure.

It probably should be replaced eventually but unless it gives me problems again i won't be tearing apart my entire dash to get to it.

 

OK don''t remember you mentioning a head light conversion.

 

I had the same problem Dukie and found the cause for my blinking headlamps. Check out my photo album for pics of the cause for my headlamp switch melt-down.

 

oooh yeah that's bad. Mine wasn't melted at all. I made sure of that before saying screw it on replacing the switch. How did you get that good access to the switch? I could barely fit my hand up to mine, and certainly couldn't see much. Did you have to basically disassemble the entire dash?

 

I know it looks bad. It is the product of a factory defect that existed for several years in my Jeep. As the time of failure got closer, it began to make that tell-tale insulation smell whenever the headlamps were on for more than ten minutes. When the lamps began to blink I knew it was time to dig in. Yours may not have begun to melt but this is what can happen when one of the receptacles in the connector does not mate correctly with the blade/pin on the switch body - when mated at the factory the heavy gauge lead (I forget the terminal number) must have been cocked at an angle and so the pin inserted off target (mis-mated). It made incidental contact beside the receptacle within the cavity of the plastic connector body. With time and heat (caused by resistive contact) the connector body distorted enough to create the intermittent connection which resulted in random blink-outs.

I did not do a great deal of dis-assembly for access to this connector. I removed the knee panel and driver's kick panel to make easier access for headlamp switch removal. At times I worked upside down laying in the fully reclined drivers seat with a small pillow for my head in the foot-well. At other times, from a kneeling position outside the open door. You know that under-dash work cannot be accomplished without some contortion and un-natural twisting along with cramps and muscle-pulls (I'm no spring chicken - I paid dearly for this job with a stiff neck for a week).

When I had reasonable access I cut-away some cable harness restraints and factory tape/wrap to free the harness. You have to gain some service loop for harness work. It took all this work to find one mis-mated contact. I managed (using large slip-joint pliers) to re-connect that badly distorted connector and verified correct mating of all contacts/receptacles. The smell remains, though not as bad as before, due to overheating at those severely compromised crimps. I recently obtained another new headlamp switch and a replacement connector with harness pigtails via my local mom & pop auto parts store (the best kind). I'll take pics of the new stuff and add them to my photo album when I do the full-blown repair - and not without more pain and cursing. To be continued...

 

Hey Dukie, I finally did it!

 

well that looks fun....










...not

 

R-i-i-i-g-h-t. NOT!

We'll see how things hold-up. I'm still worried about the overheating at terminals (#2, #4 and #9). Not sure if caused by Hella H4's or if it's simply a factory design issue. I may have to hit you up regarding that repair you did which reduced loading/heating.