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intermittent headlights: don't know what else to try
I recently got all the lights functioning properly on my g20. drove it around for a few days. no problems. it passed inspection and that night on a ride home the headlights just went out, but ONLY when the high beams were on. so switched them back and made it home with low beams - no flickering or anything; those were perfect. when i switched to highs it would work for a second or sometime not at all. would basically spazz out. i should say that all through the following; ALL the side markers and tail lights worked fine (my van is gutted so i can see the backs of the lights inside the van in the rearview. and the ones i can't see all seemed fine when i'd look for reflections in the back of other cars). So the next day i replaced the headlight pull switch and the headlights worked great again. so thinking everything is cool I go out again then after awhile the headlights go out and now neither high or low works. but i notice the high beam switch on the steering isn't clicking anymore. it's the night, so i pull over and tear everything under the steering column apart - and the dimmer switch seems to be busted. I take it off and it's not clicking or making any difference even when i push it with my thumb. so the next day i replace the dimmer switch, which definitely bad. new one works great. tried them back to back a few times. new=work, old = broke, every time. So i think 'prob solved' ... then tonight, headlights shut off mid ride. So i pull over and jack with the switch and f with all the wires i can reach (never put the bottom panel back on) and I can't make any consistent change. seems like if i keep the lights off for awhile then the more chance there is that they will work next time i pull the switch... I know that sounds nuts. but it's like the electricity is building up and fooding itself out... so maybe I need to really go crazy on any ground i can find... ? that's what i'm thinking... anyways, i get home, shamefully raging out a little, and pull the inst. cluster out (moved aside, still plugged in), turn on the van and start mashing on pretty much any wire or connector in the dash i can reach. trying to find SOMETHING that i can correlate to the headlights going on/off. seems like when the van is parked and running (not driving) the lights had more of a tendency to stay on. but not for long. they would always go out at some point and not by my hand; at least i never detected any pattern in all the hi-beam switching, headlight pulling and wiring mashing i was trying. sorry for the book but that's what i got. really not sure what to do anymore. all suggestions will be tried. thanks
Last edited by rickyralph; February 2nd, 2023 at 9:02 PM.
SOLVED: the Solution... BEWARE OF CAR QUEST HEADLIGHT SWITCHES.
I'll try to be briefer that the above. But my issue stemmed from TWO new and bad headlight switches. I have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my headlights kept going out after being on for a little bit of time. it's like once they got hot they overloaded and went out / hi and low beams.
After tracing wires and testing multiple switches I finally 100% figured out that both brand new headlight pull switches i was trying were faulty. one i bought off ebay back in october and the other form advance autoparts a few days ago / they look to be of the exact same manufacturer. The old switch i was replacing because the cabin dimmer didn't work well but the headlights were fine. So after all this i decided to plug in the old switch. no problems anymore...
My mistake was replacing the headlight switch at the same time a i replaced the dimmer switch, which was new and for some reason broke after a few uses (it stopped clicking and stopped passing signal). I wouldn't have chased my tail for so long if i had just changed the dimmer and left the headlights alone. this was a nightmare and hope this helps someone to be more likely to scrutinize new switches. There's something about the heat that shorts them out.
btw the yellow wire is the output on these pull switches so check that if you are having intermittent lights. the solution came from testing that directly. helped me to rule out everything downstream of this particular circuit. I would have been on it quicker had i not been so thrown off course by the simultaneous dimmer switch issues i was having...
The old adage "You Get What You Pay For" is especially true for auto parts. Thats why I buy Delco or Premium NAPA electrical parts. Preferably NOS Delco.
@og52 - yup. big lesson learned. Advance would only exchange it so I took the chance and threw in the THIRD brand new one and Same thing happened! caught it on camera this time. Will be going in for the refund tomorrow and buying one from Napa.
in the attached video the lights had been on for less than a minute and then start flickering.
Unless a verified dealer I have given up buying parts on Ebay or Amazon for any vehicle. It is estimated that 12% of automotive parts sold in the US are counterfeit! Don't take my word for it check google. Got me for a gas tank, bought, did not open for long time, opened and it was junk. Seller long gone.
hey @mountianmanjoe no I pulled that off a truck from the junk yard. Took some customizing to make it fit but in the end i think it was worth it. much better looking than those cheapy plastic ones IMO. The aluminum wheels came off the same truck as well as some steel mud-flaps i have yet to install. crazy what people throw away.
@jjrbus - i tend to buy most of my stuff from ebay and amazon if there's a big price difference from the local parts store which usually are 3-5x more. I think part of the challenge i like is fixing things on little to no money. does come with the occasional headache of course- will be reconsidering this plan when it comes to electrical parts from now on though.
Last edited by rickyralph; February 23rd, 2023 at 6:26 AM.
happy too! the last pic is what i did today. it's the first of the interior trim since gutting it. just had to get the speakers in and done. will slowly be building it into a travel camper. yesterday sprayed it with rubber coating so it's still a little blotchy in places. the top i'll finish at some point with road strip paint. found a ton for cheap at the ReStore. Tested it in a few places on the front a year ago. holds up nicely, pops at night and doesn't absorb grim and dirt.
February 2nd, 2023, 8:46 PM
intermittent headlights: don't know what else to try
