Vehicle- 93 Dakota 4x4 V6 automatic 177k miles regular cab.

Head Lights-

For the past 2 years I noticed that when I leave my high-beams on for a long time that my headlights flash off and on or sometimes shutoff completely for like 30 seconds. I'm not sure why my headlights do that when the highbeams are on. So far I changed my headlight switch, checked all my fuses, and got a new battery. Didn't make a difference.

Problem could be?


Radio.......

Second electrical problem I have is my radio. Two years ago I installed a nice CD player radio in which it works perfectly. The problem is that it doesn't keep it's memory and it doesn't always turn on. If my radio doesn't turn on I have to restart my truck maybe once or twice then it will turn on and work just fine.

Why doesn't my radio turn on with every start?


Um... What are typical electrical parts or wires that usually have to be replaced or checked on old gen Dakotas?



Thank You

 

The headlights could be a bad connection... lot of current trying to get through a small opening will heat the wires. I'd start by looking for a bad connection, or maybe try a different relay in it for a while.

The radio has two seperate power wires. One tied into constant power for memory, and one tied into the ignition switch for full function when the key is on. Are you sure both are plugged in to their correct wires and all fuses are good? Check the connections first and then check the fuse for radio memory. Fuse "F2" in the PDC... 5 amp fuse.

 

Sounds like it is headlight switch. It has an internal circuit breaker. The circuit breaker may be faulty. Or the headlights are drawing to much power. They should have installed relays to cut down on the power draw from the switch.

The radio has an all time power wire. That may not be hooked up or the fuse is blown. Check the FAQ for a fuse panel diagram.

 

hmm... The radio in my dakota was the first one I ever installed and wired into a vehicle. Pretty much all I did was match the color of the wires to the new radio wires. However, I noticed that my new radio had a couple of different colored wires and that made it hard to match with the old wires, but once I got the radio working I didn't bother double checking my wires and now two years later.

I'll recheck all my wires and take a very close look at my headlights and let everyone know what I find.

Thanks

 

Is it me, or are there a rash of headlight switches going through they're meltdown stage all of a sudden?

 

After catching up on threads since I was last here, I have to agree. Knock on wood, so far that is the only problem that I haven't had with mine.

By the way, I have come to the conclusion that the interior wiring concerning the radio and interior lights must be quite touchy as well -- seems to be lots of us with those problems (Too cold to mess with my issues now but still studying for when I can dig deeper).