Phantom Headlights

The Rev

The Rev

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My alternator, battery and universal were replaced today and i've FINALLY gotten to take it for an actual drive, long story but i've had it for months.

NOW while driving tonight, the headlights are go out and come back on, same thing with the highbeams, an with the autoheadlights on/off. It seems that no matter what, one problem after another.

Its never done this before, so where do i start looking? its too dark to look at anything tonight but i have the day off tomorrow and would like to get this done before tomorrow night as i will be out in an area with a lot of police, and they'll def. pull me over
 
my 93 had a similar prob. . turns out when they replaced the alt. they didnt charge my battery fully or something and it wound up murdering my battery for some reason.. check to see if the battery turned bad on you
 
I had a similar problem as well. Ended up being the multi-function switch.
 
battery tested out fine, all wires are connected tight, still the same thing, it was a little better last night but does it a little
 
A relayed wiring harness will cure the intermittent headlight problem. It may also make the bulbs shine brighter.
 
turn signal lever/ multi function switch or headlight switch
 
Weak Battery- is still a Ford system requiring high volts- I had to go with an Optima ( which I always do anyway) and a 160 alternator.
 
it does it every night coming home from work, when the lights have been on for 10+ minutes, i always run the highbeams (because my lows are useless!) could this be part of the problem? when the lights go off they sometimes do it when i put the directionals on or tight turns. if it is the multi function switch how hard is it to replace?
 
feel your headlight switch if it is hot like really hot thats its other guess is multi function switch but when that fails its one turn signel light that is out and you think it is a bulb.
 
could it be both...?

ok so today i was trying it out, when i just started it after class tonight i tried wiggling the multidirectional, nothing, tried wiggling the headlight switch, nothing......sooo about a half hour later after heading toward home, as they usually do, the phantom headlights started up again, so once i got home i started wiggling both again, and it seems that they go out as soon as they get moved, then go back on once they move back to their original position they turn back on again, i called around but no one in RI (at least the two junkyards i know, north providence auto salvage and advanced auto recycling) had any marks) had anything i needed....

I didnt even look at how to take these parts off, has anyone done it? and which parts would i need, like i dont figure just the headlight knob would do the trick, what wiring would have to be replaced?

also, a friend of mine was being stupid and accidentally put my battery cables on the wrong posts and i saw the distribution box smoke for a second....anything i can do on that end?
 
multi function switch does control the high beams but all the cars that i did this on was because one hole side the turn signels were out so thats why i was thinking headlight switch i thought there was a ballast on the side of the switch that got hot and over time would cause this problem if you do more research online i think this is a common problem i had to do mostly ford cars for the multi switch but a few gm's
 
It is 100% the headlight mutifunction switch. Easy to replace. Also get your cruise control recall fixed at the same time before your car burns down.
 
thanks, i'll look into finding a new one asap.

yeah my cruise control doesnt work, do i just give a dealership a call and they'll take care of it?
 
yeah updates woohoo

Yeah, I replaced the switch and haven't had a problem since, I broke the bulb that sits behind the headlight switch but thats not important, look at the connection to the back of the switch...

100_2807.JPG
 
WOW that sucker is toast ,good that you got to it before it got worse and shorted out the whole system
 
that was probably my next question, where would I start to look for the new connector? and how much would it cost? the lights work fine now, but idk if eventually it'll do it again
 
we have a pigtail catalog, and i would do it sooner rather than later, hate to see your car burn because of that
 
will do thanks, this a small job or is it involved?
 
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