Hi everyone. I am am having difficulty troubleshooting a headlight switch problem in my 88 Dakota. About a week ago, my headlight switch started sticking. The headlights wouldn't come come on because they were stuck in the off position...I had to pull the switch with force to get it out, and to get the lights on. Then it sparked and smoked and I replaced the switch. After I installed the new switch, I turned the headlights on, then the parking lights, dash lights, and taillights wouldn't work. But moving the switch in and out I found one certain spot where all those lights would work again, but not the headlights! But if I pulled the switch all the way, I have headlights but then no tail lights, dash lights, etc. Then I went to an auto wrecking yard and I got the complete switch, wire harness, and installed that. Now I'm still having the same problem! I've tried everything I can think of, even tried checking the grounds, and still can't come up with a solution. Can anybody respond and shed some light on this.....it's driving me bonkers!

thanks
Chris

 

You must of burnt some wires or fusees. Just check your fusees. If they are good start going threw the wiring harness all the way to the problem circuits. There are wiring diagrams in the FAQ in this section. Good luck.

 

Hey thanks for the response. The only problem is that there are no burnt fuses or wires because all of the lights are working. The problem is that none of the lights are working in sequence, or in the proper order they're supposed to. For example, I pull out the switch for the parking light, they come on at one certain point, makes the sonnection but then loses it if you move it a certain way. Whats that all about?

thanks
chris

 

check to make sure you don't have any exposed wires near any metal dash parts. Based on what you said about the sparks, it sounds like you definitely have an exposed wire issue. I had the same problem with my 95 when I replaced the light switch.

 

Ok..... I had the same problem and all I had to do was take a pencil eraser to the terminals on the fuses.....all of them. Some of the fuses on my 94 looked original. Even fuses corrode after a while. The funny thing is that I fixed my dome light and my turn signals worked faster after I did it, so this may fix a lot more than just your headlight issue.