QuestionI have a 1992 Chrysler Labaron. When I turn my headlights on they work for about 30 seconds then just go off. If I turn on my high beam lights and hold the switch down The high beams will stay in. If I let go the lights turn off.
I do not have a wiring diagram and do not know where to test things. Everyone tells me the switch is good. Is there anywhere on line I can get a free wiring diagram for the headlights.
Any suggestion on how I can fix this myself. I need the car to get to school and do not have the funds to have a garage diagnose it and fix it.
Thank you,
Bud
AnswerHi Bud,
The power to the headlamp filaments is controlled by a couple of relays, mounted on the cowl panel under the dash just to the left of drivers left leg. The relays in question are the middle two in the top row of the relay block mounted there. But I would doubt it is the relays that are at fault. You could switch them and see if they then behave inversely as a test of that.
The relays are activated by grounding a wire on one end of the activation coil of each relay. That grounding is done by the headlamp switch, and that is where I believe you will find your answer. I suspect that the contacts inside the switch are probably oxidized or corroded and so not providing a clean path to ground. (There are actually two internal contacts for each filament, one that is activated when you turn on the headlamps, and one that controls the high or low beam choice).
The ground wires from the switch are black/orange and they are spliced together and tied to a ground point on the right hand side of the car at the cowl near the passenger. If that ground were the problem though then the other functions of the switch would also be flaky so I doubt that is it.
The wires from the internal contacts of the switch to the relays are red/yellow and orange/white (high and low beam, respectively), so if you look for those two wires coming out the base of the steering column you could stick a pin through the insulation and ground each of those wires with a jumper to a clean piece of structural metal and see then if the lights stay on solidly. If so, then the switch is indeed the problem. You could take some electical contact spray cleaner (electronics stores sell this) and spray it through any holes or crevices in the switch to attempt to clean those grounding contacts inside the switch.
If the headlamps still are flaky with the wires jumpered then I would suspect the relays. But my bet is the switch.
Let me know, please, what you learn.
Roland
