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Daryl Parker Posted on Feb 27, 2017

Headlight problem My headlights will sometimes not work. One time, after moving the headlight switch into the on position, the lights were not on. I turned them off and back on again, and they came one. Then one day soon afterward, while driving with the lights on, they just went off. In the process of turning the light switch on and off and trying the bright lights to see if they worked, I discovered that while the lights were off/not working, if I moved the dimmer switch forward (into the on position), the lights still did not work, but if I pulled the dimmer switch back and held it, the bright lights worked). When the lights are off like this, after driving for a few minutes, they will come back on. This (lights going off and coming back home) happened a couple of other times. After I called the mechanic I typically use, he said the take it to the Ford dealer. The Ford dealer had a hard time reproducing the problem but finally did. When the lights went off, he told me they ran a diagnostic and the results were that it needed both the multifunction switch and the light switch. He said it was mainly the multifunction switch. This at first made sense to me since, after describing the problem to him, he said it sounded like the multifunction switch. I asked if I would then be okay to first have them replace the multifunction switch, and then a couple of months later have the light switch replaced. I asked this since he said that the multifunction switch was the main problem. He said he thought that would be okay and the lights would probably be okay after that for a while. However, after speaking directly to the technician, something he said concerns me. I commented to the tech about how it was good that when I pulled back on the dimmer switch, the bright lights came one, so that I at least had some lights. He told me that the bright lights work differently when pulling back on the lever VS when pushing forward into the on position. He said something about it being hardwired or something so it bypasses the switch, thus enabling the bright lights to work when pulling back on the lever even when the light switch does not work. He said they did this for a reason. Based on that fact, this makes me question if the multifunction switch is the "main" problem as the other person told me. What is your opinion on this?

3 Related Answers

Anonymous

  • 334 Answers
  • Posted on Dec 15, 2008

SOURCE: main headlights not working

Sounds like the head light relay is bad . Have you ever checked the headlight bulbs?

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Anonymous

  • 395 Answers
  • Posted on May 05, 2010

SOURCE: headlight swich for 03 chevy trailblazer?

yes sounds like the switch went bad or haves a short in the wiring

Anonymous

  • 6982 Answers
  • Posted on Oct 01, 2010

SOURCE: Just picked up 86 El Camino. The headlight switch

Have you tested the lights themselves? Suspects are the lights, dimmer switch and possible but not likely, the light switch.(don't think they used a relay on those.)

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