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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.
No first-hand experience but looking at the wiring diagram I have a suspicion. The factory fog light wiring is, in true Chrysler fashion, a convoluted mess. Basically the fog light switch causes a high resistance connection through the fog light relay to ground which is parallel to the high beam switch. Regular incandescent light bulbs don't care because the current flow and voltage differential at the bulb are very small so it doesn't light up. I suspect the LED bulbs have electronics that are much more sensitive and even a high resistance ground turns the lights on.
Can you confirm: When you "properly" turn on the high beams (regardless of them being on already) with the stalk the fog lights turn off as they should.
No first-hand experience but looking at the wiring diagram I have a suspicion. The factory fog light wiring is, in true Chrysler fashion, a convoluted mess. Basically the fog light switch causes a high resistance connection through the fog light relay to ground which is parallel to the high beam switch. Regular incandescent light bulbs don't care because the current flow and voltage differential at the bulb are very small so it doesn't light up. I suspect the LED bulbs have electronics that are much more sensitive and even a high resistance ground turns the lights on.
Can you confirm: When you "properly" turn on the high beams (regardless of them being on already) with the stalk the fog lights turn off as they should.
I don't think they come on at all when the headlights are on. I'll have to double check that later though. I guess it's possible once I swap the fogs to LED it will self correct but then again I dont want to buy new fogs and them not work.
To verify it has to do with the fog light relay just pull that out. Obviously the lights won't work but the high beams shouldn't come on either when turning the switch on.
Not to state the obvious, but the headlight wiring for the later years 2nd gens is different from most other vehicles. The headlights get constant power and then the switches connect either filament to ground. That's backwards from a typical setup. Do your LED lights account for that ? Can you post the wiring diagram that hopefully came with them ?
One possible way to fix that is to make the fog light relay standalone as opposed to connected to the high beam circuit. The fog lights won't turn off with the high beams any longer but that might not be a bad thing .
Last edited by DerTruck; Sep 30, 2021 at 01:23 PM.
I'll have to see if the paper that came with them has any wiring stuff on it. They were just plug and play replacement bulbs that came with the housings. My turn signals also flash real fast since switching them to LED so it could be possible I need a resistor in the headlights as well as the turn signals.
These appear to be LEDs with integrated driver/controller. Not knowing the inner workings there isn't much that can be done I'm afraid. To eliminate that something else went wonky you could unplug the LEDs and put the old incandescents into the connector. If everything works correctly then it is something with the LED bulbs.
The fast flashing turn signal is typical when using LEDs with old style flasher relays. There are LED specific flashers that use electronics inside instead of the old bimetal strip. Easy fix.
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