I’m having a problem with the headlights on my 1991 Dakota.
I was driving down a slightly bumpy back road one evening and all of a sudden the headlights went out.
I stopped and jiggled the switch around a bit, but nothing! The marker lights, signals and tail lights all worked but not the headlights themselves.
The high beams come on at the column, but I had to hold them on manually to keep them on, and drove home that way.
Once home, they mysteriously worked again, so for a few days I thought nothing about it, then it happened again, they went out but came on again about five minutes later.

It’s got to be the headlight switch…
Replaced the switch, and nothing’s changed, everything but the main headlights work (High beam trick no longer works).
I’ve checked the fuses, ran the wires, everything seems alright… Auto parts guys are at a loss, they think the wires must be grounding out somewhere.

Any ideas?
Thanks

 

I had a similar problem with my '95 Dodge Ram Van. After I was in a accident with it, I had finally gotten it back, took it for a test drive, but when I had put on my high beams and saw a car coming, I went to turn them off and I had no headlights at all!

However, I didn't replace the headlight switch - I began to tinker with the steering column and found out that if if I moved it it just right, my headlights would stop working, or come back on depending on the position. I think it would be the same in a Dakota, but it could actually be the one of the plastic connectors that connects one of the wires to the plug into the switch is broken, so the loose wire can cause your head lights to come on and off not all the time, but once in a while.

I put in a new turn signal switch eventually and kept the steering column in a usual spot, but I haven't had the headlights go out since I replaced the switch and adjusted wires just a little.

Hope this helps!

 

It might be a bad ground or power wire.