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Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 #989370 05/10/11 11:23 AM 05/10/11 11:23 AM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida F Fat_Mike OP master
Fat_Mike OP master F Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida	A friend had BOTH headlights go out at the same time. Checked the obvious stuff; fuses and bulbs. Where should we look next???

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: Fat_Mike] #989371 05/10/11 01:35 PM 05/10/11 01:35 PM
Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass DAYCLONA I Live Here
DAYCLONA I Live Here Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 18,157 Mass	majority of the time it's the control center, located in the column, that controls your high beam/flasher/wiper,.....once they're fried, they're done, about $100 DIY replace... Troubleshoot the dash switch for continuity first

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: DAYCLONA] #989372 05/10/11 01:44 PM 05/10/11 01:44 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida F Fat_Mike OP master
Fat_Mike OP master F Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida	Quote: majority of the time it's the control center, located in the column, that controls your high beam/flasher/wiper,.....once they're fried, they're done, about $100 DIY replace... Troubleshoot the dash switch for continuity first Thanks a bunch! That gives us a place to start. I was at a loss... EDIT: I should have mentioned that he does have parking lights, just no headlights. Last edited by Fat_Mike; 05/10/11 01:49 PM.

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: Fat_Mike] #989373 05/10/11 02:01 PM 05/10/11 02:01 PM
Joined: Jan 2010 Posts: 73 ogletownpa 3 383'D member
383'D member 3 Joined: Jan 2010 Posts: 73 ogletownpa	my 99 1500 did that right after I bought it used . It was the high low beam switch on the column.I dont think it was used for awhile. it happened 3 or 4 times when I would switch beams. then it seemed like after a little use it cleared up because it never happened again.

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: Fat_Mike] #989374 05/10/11 02:06 PM 05/10/11 02:06 PM
Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 135 Pittsburgh, PA 1 1970440RT member
1970440RT member 1 Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 135 Pittsburgh, PA	That happened to my 97 Ram. My problem was a wire that wasn't fully seated in the connector inside the column. Everytime I tilted the wheel, the lights would go on and off. Eventually they stopped working altogether. Took plastic cladding off the column and fully seated the loose wire and haven't had a problem since.

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: Fat_Mike] #989375 05/10/11 02:20 PM 05/10/11 02:20 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 21,074 Niles , Ohio T therocks oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
therocks oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah. T Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 21,074 Niles , Ohio	If they are like Durangos the headlight switch is the culprit.Had mine go out on the 99 and had a few others bad at work.We had very little problems with the dimmers.Rocky Chrysler Firepower

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: therocks] #989376 05/10/11 03:28 PM 05/10/11 03:28 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida F Fat_Mike OP master
Fat_Mike OP master F Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida	Thanks to all for the excellent info/history of similar problems. I'm pretty confident we'll pin it down in one of those areas. I feared this would be a wild goose chase. Doesn't sound too bad afterall... Again, thanks to all! I'll let you know how it goes.

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: Fat_Mike] #989377 05/10/11 03:46 PM 05/10/11 03:46 PM
Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 434 DELAWARE bee71mopar mopar
bee71mopar mopar Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 434 DELAWARE	Check the headlight switch.The wires on my 96 burned.

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: bee71mopar] #989378 05/10/11 09:26 PM 05/10/11 09:26 PM
Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,167 Maryland GO_Fish master
GO_Fish master Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,167 Maryland	Quote: Check the headlight switch.The wires on my 96 burned. And if you hook the burned wires up to a new switch, you may still have the problem (and risk damaging the new switch. There is a lot of "juice" passing through this connection, it must be clean and tight. If the connection at the switch is burned, you should fix the wire and the switch. Another trouble spot can be where the headlight harness passes through the bulkhead connector. Same thing can happen there. Connection will corrode, then get increasingly hotter until it burns off. Scott B. "I'm a self-made man... I started with nothing, and I still have most of it!" 68 360 rusty B'cuda 'vert (GO Fish)13.59@ 98.72 mph 69 340 GTS stock 14.18@ 95.60 mph 01 5.9L Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 01 3.5L 300M 16.23@ 86.97 mph

Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 [Re: 383'D] #989379 05/10/11 11:03 PM 05/10/11 11:03 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida F Fat_Mike OP master
Fat_Mike OP master F Joined: May 2003 Posts: 3,068 N.W. Florida	Quote: my 99 1500 did that right after I bought it used . It was the high low beam switch on the column.I dont think it was used for awhile. it happened 3 or 4 times when I would switch beams. then it seemed like after a little use it cleared up because it never happened again. Well, luckily this was the culprit. Being the most simple, it's what we tried first...and it worked! Switched from hi to low a couple times and sure enough the lights came back on. Just like 383'd, his truck is used very little during the non-hunting season, and likely builds up a little resistance (of some sort) on those surfaces. While I kinda feel like a jerk for asking a question that had such a simple solution, hopefully someone else will benefit from it. Thanks once again to everyone!!!

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