I looked for a thread on thisand found none ..... some one please help

I just bought a new to me 93 XJ
when I test drove it and we got back the head lights kept flicking on and off the volts were low so he was thinking it was the battery he dropped in so he gave me a new battery ....

on the drive home via the freeway the turned off a few times ...

does anyone have any ideas were i can start to look i am new to this so have very little knowledge

 

Jiggle the headlight switch and see if they blink. Same with brights-turn signal stalk .
there should be a relay somewhere under the hood that drives the headlights. You need either a factory service manual (best) or a Chiltons type manual if you want to save time and money doing your own repairs. There's a link somewhere on this site for a downloadable Factory Service Manual. I'll let you familiarize yourself with the search function here by looking for that manual link.

 

im having the same issue, so ill help u if u help me, ill post any updates i might have, i was told the problem lay in the switch assembaly in the column so thats where im going to start tomorrow. good luck!

 

Reach up under the dash and see if the headlight switch is hot when this happens. The breaker for the circuit is in the switch.

 

I'm not sure if this is the issue or not, but my 91 Cherokee has a security system, and of course i don't have the remote control for it when i purchased it form the PO, but if the battery goes low, or i re-set the ECU, the headlights will flash off and on until i take the ignition key and stick it in the driver side door and lock and unlock the door, then the headlights quit flashing. I would also suspect the horn is also going on and off, but there is no horn hooked up, and there is also security light on the dash that flashes until i reset the driver side door lock. Just a thought!!!!

 

Its most likely the headlight switch. I replaced mine once, I have a leak under the dash and think that leads to it. If you need to get it out, if you reach to the back of the switch, push the small button in and pull on the headlight switch. The trigger slides out. then unscrew the lock nut (round trim) and slide out. Theyre cheap online and in store

 

thanks yall for any info, i trouble shooted all i could running through all the wiring diagrams i could find all day and came to the same conclusion that the problem lays in the dimmer switch its 50$ at autozone or 20 at orielies i had to order mine but will be in tomorrow ill let u know if its fixed the problem.

 

I personally haven't had the time to even start troubleshooting yet. Thank you for the a heads up on the switch. I'm a cheapass so I'll probly go to pull a part and get one

 

The headlight switch for all XJ's is the same design that AMC used for years. The pull switch eventually wears the connect points down and it causes the lights to flicker, sometimes go completely dark, even when the switch is on. It's not too hard of a job to swap in a new switch, which is my advice. I had to replace the switch twice on my '82 AMC due to this exact issue. Not fun driving on 33 through West Virginia mountains with no lights at 1am.

 

I can not imagine that was fun. I found out about it on interstate 5 in Washington. Pretty decent light nut wash state patrol are picky about having lights on your rig. Lmao

 

Yep, mine are doing that too, This will be sawp # 2 for me!!

 

Here's how to solve the problem forever. The bonus is that's it's cheap and easier than replacing headlamp switches along with headlights that are about 30% brighter.

http://www.eautoworks.com/Putco-H4--...s-PRD7540.aspx
Cruiser’s Headlight Upgrade Harness Instructions
　
　
Absolutely plug and play. Remove grille and headlamp bulbs. I fed my harnesses from the passenger side starting between the battery and the back of the headlamp housing, over to the driver side. Plug the driver side bulb into the new harness. Attach the new harness's ground wire under one of the small bolts on the radiator support after scraping the paint off under it. Attach the harness to the existing harness behind the grille working toward the passenger side. . Plug the new harness plug into passenger headlamp. Plug original headlamp plug into receptacle on new harness. Attach the ground for the passenger side just like you did the driver side under a radiator support bolt. Attach relays with provided bracket on the passenger side inner fender. Connect power wires to battery.

 

well after trile and error i have come to a conclusion on the 91 XJ headlight problem...... it was the damn headlight switch after all. at least i have a bran new headlight system from headlights to swithches and relays and it only took 30 mins in front of autozone with a sherrif watching to see if they worked so he could either gimme a ticket or let me go lmao

 

The relays will take all the excess load off the headlamp switch and should never fail like that again.

 

@BeepJeep

We are all in the same boat ,I replaced the plunger switch but what specific relay did you replaced Bro?