QuestionQUESTION: I have a 94 lebaron convertible and while driving the other night, all the lights went out. Head lights, dash lights, and tail lights. The bright lights still work along with turn signals and flashers. Please help.
ANSWER: Hi Eugene:
I need to know more:
When you say that the bright lights work, do you mean only the 'optical horn' e.g. momentary flash of the high beams works, or do you mean the actual steady brights will also work, but not the steady low beams?
And when you turn 'on' just the parking lamps do the tail lamps come on or not?
Do you have the daytime running lamp feature on the car?
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: It is a 1993 Lebaron convertible. The low beam headlights went out on the way to the airport. I was able to turn on the brights and continue to the airport. When I arrived I found out the taillights did not work. After returning from my trip, all the lights worked for about 5 minutes. Now the brights only work when I hold the bright switch then go out when I let go. The headlight icon and bright icon come for a moment also. I tried the park switch and the tail lights pulse on and off. I can hear a relay under the dash buzzing. There are several with the same P/Ns. I switched the one buzzing with a similar one but the second one buzzes the same.
AnswerHi Eugene,
That helps clarify the situation. I believe that your headlamp switch on the left pod has failed as regards the parking lamp and the driving lamp switch contacts. The hi beam only by pulling on the switch to maintain by-passes the main switches. You can go to the switch's plug and try shorting pin 5 to ground (pink/dark blue wire) which should turn on the running lights, and then try grounding pin 12 (orange/white wire) which should turn on the low and the high beams as selected normally. By grounding I mean jump a wire from the wire/pin I listed to any bright shiny metal structural surface nearby which is part of body. The switch is supposed to do that normally, so there is no risk of doing that jump. You are essentially trying to ground the park lamp relay actuation coil, and then the headlamp relay actuation coil which how the switch normally should work. If that is the case, then you need to open the switch or try spraying some electical contact cleaner into the switch in the hopes of cleaning the contacts. If however the relay responds to these experiments by buzzing then let me know that.
To get to the switch you have to remove the pod assembly:
disconnect the battery (hook it up again when you have it removed)
pry up the edge of the panel vent grille that goes across the top of the pod
using a flat tool to disengage the clips, and remove the grille
Remove the 2 screw under the grille opening
On either end of the pod assembly there is a screw that is under it and holds it to the dash flat surface. Find those two screws and remove them from underside.
Adjust steering column to lowest tilt position
Pull the entire module rearward which then give you access to the plug I mentioned.
Let me know if you need to remove the entire headlamp switch.
Roland
