Posted By: Fat_Mike
Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 03:23 PM
A friend had BOTH headlights go out at the same time. Checked the obvious stuff; fuses and bulbs. Where should we look next???
Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500
Posted By: DAYCLONA
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 05:35 PM
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
Troubleshoot the dash switch for continuity first
Posted By: Fat_Mike
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 05:44 PM
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.
Posted By: 383'D
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 06:01 PM
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.
Posted By: 1970440RT
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 06:06 PM
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.
Posted By: therocks
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 06:20 PM
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
Posted By: Fat_Mike
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 07:28 PM
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.
Posted By: bee71mopar
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/10/11 07:46 PM
Check the headlight switch.The wires on my 96 burned.
Posted By: GO_Fish
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/11/11 01:26 AM
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.
Posted By: Fat_Mike
Re: Head Lights Out! 1999 Ram 1500 - 05/11/11 03:03 AM
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!!!