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Low Beams not working
#11
sorry.. lol.. i have a 1997 ram 1500 regular cab short bed, with the 5.2 V8 318.
although i just found the problem on mine. the problem i was having is that when you tilt the steering wheel it would pull on the wires in the steering column and the low beams would shut off. i was taking some things apart when i tilted the wheel all the way up and the low beams came on.. lol.. so now i just need to get into the column and fix the shorted wire.. but thanks!!!!!
although i just found the problem on mine. the problem i was having is that when you tilt the steering wheel it would pull on the wires in the steering column and the low beams would shut off. i was taking some things apart when i tilted the wheel all the way up and the low beams came on.. lol.. so now i just need to get into the column and fix the shorted wire.. but thanks!!!!!
#14
#15
#16
You can try this and not spend anything. Take the plastic covers off the steering column (either 2 or 3 screws in the bottom section) - the top and bottom halves separate. You'll need to unscrew the lever for the tilt adjuster. On our 1999 2500 there was a big plug on the multifunction switch (where the turn signal/wiper stalk is) - can't remember which wire color it was but it was very obvious that one wire had pulled completely out of the connector and the one next to it was on its way out. It will be the longest wire, farthest away from the dash - it's about a quarter inch too short. I spliced in a short piece of wire, covered the splice in heat shrink, and wire-tied it to the next wire to keep it from moving. I then soldered the new end of the spliced-in wire to the connector still in the plug. I also soldered the wire that had started to pull out (they're crimped on). Problem solved. Symptoms were that the low beam headlights wouldn't work when steering column tilted down, but did work when it was tilted up. High beams worked. IIRC, factory fog lights worked OK.
Another place to check if you have factory fog lights is the relay (in the big relay/fuse box next to the battery) for the fog lights. The fog light relay can get flaky and affected operation of both the high and low beam headlights.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
Another place to check if you have factory fog lights is the relay (in the big relay/fuse box next to the battery) for the fog lights. The fog light relay can get flaky and affected operation of both the high and low beam headlights.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
#17
Thanks
You can try this and not spend anything. Take the plastic covers off the steering column (either 2 or 3 screws in the bottom section) - the top and bottom halves separate. You'll need to unscrew the lever for the tilt adjuster. On our 1999 2500 there was a big plug on the multifunction switch (where the turn signal/wiper stalk is) - can't remember which wire color it was but it was very obvious that one wire had pulled completely out of the connector and the one next to it was on its way out. It will be the longest wire, farthest away from the dash - it's about a quarter inch too short. I spliced in a short piece of wire, covered the splice in heat shrink, and wire-tied it to the next wire to keep it from moving. I then soldered the new end of the spliced-in wire to the connector still in the plug. I also soldered the wire that had started to pull out (they're crimped on). Problem solved. Symptoms were that the low beam headlights wouldn't work when steering column tilted down, but did work when it was tilted up. High beams worked. IIRC, factory fog lights worked OK.
Another place to check if you have factory fog lights is the relay (in the big relay/fuse box next to the battery) for the fog lights. The fog light relay can get flaky and affected operation of both the high and low beam headlights.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
Another place to check if you have factory fog lights is the relay (in the big relay/fuse box next to the battery) for the fog lights. The fog light relay can get flaky and affected operation of both the high and low beam headlights.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
It was the purple wire with the white stripe. As soon as the covers were off, you could see the wire pulled right out of the crimped connector.
Thanks again
Mike
#18
Scarfie
PS: I pulled the light switch and could not see any melted wires as per the discussion above
#19
#20
sorry.. lol.. i have a 1997 ram 1500 regular cab short bed, with the 5.2 V8 318.
although i just found the problem on mine. the problem i was having is that when you tilt the steering wheel it would pull on the wires in the steering column and the low beams would shut off. i was taking some things apart when i tilted the wheel all the way up and the low beams came on.. lol.. so now i just need to get into the column and fix the shorted wire.. but thanks!!!!!
although i just found the problem on mine. the problem i was having is that when you tilt the steering wheel it would pull on the wires in the steering column and the low beams would shut off. i was taking some things apart when i tilted the wheel all the way up and the low beams came on.. lol.. so now i just need to get into the column and fix the shorted wire.. but thanks!!!!!