leadfarmer Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) This car came to me with this issue. I'm finally trying to fix it. The left hand combo light lever will not turn on the running lights or the headlights. It will turn on the momentary high beams if you pull the lever towards you. I know all the external lighting bulbs are good because I can get them to turn on through my troubleshooting below. The turn signals function as they should. Also the hazard switch and the parking light switch work as they should. It looks like at one point someone replaced both headlight bulb connectors. The passenger side connector shows signs of overheating. They appear to be properly wired when replaced. I found some blown fuses laying in the fuse box under the hood, but everything has a good fuse in it now. I connected a test light to ground to check for power at the connectors under the steering column going up to the combo switch. I found that when I touched the right wires, I was able to get the parking lights, high beams, and low beams to turn on (and audible relay clicks). So I'm not sure if this is telling me I have a ground issue or I have a bad light combination switch. I'm hoping it's just grounds as that switch isn't cheap on rockauto. Under the dash I found a black connector that isn't plugger into anything and 2 wires with pin ends that look like they fell out of a plug. One wire melted off its insulation. I'm not sure where they go, what they're for, or if they're related to the plug that isn't connected to anything. Photos attached. There is a decent constant drain on the battery when the car is parked and key off. Good battery will die in a day or less. I found I can knock out most of the drain by pulling the Clock/Room fuse under the hood. Also removing the Unit Back UP fuse or the DR-Lock fuse under the dash partially reduced the drain. I removed these independently, with an amp meter between battery terminal and disconnected lead. I'm not sure if these things are related or all independent. I think I'm going to start with cleaning and upgrading ground connections. Edited December 20, 2023 by leadfarmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Given the information provided, I would start with a new combo switch. Looks like that car had a bit of water in it... given that those electrical plugs shouldn't ever have mud on them like that. the green one is the dealer check connector and should have a matched color friend, the black one i'm not sure. If you don't have a second green plug then those two wires are likely for that. if you do have the second green plug those two wires are likely for reprogramming keyless entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leadfarmer Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) This is an offroad beater car so its seen some things. Both green plugs for test mode are present. Edited December 20, 2023 by leadfarmer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Cool! Replace the multiswitch. those two loose wires, i didn't notice earlier, one is brown, the other one is kinda taped up but will also be brown, but that is to reprogram keyless remote and/or stop the lights from blinking when you disconnect the battery if you don't have a fob. at one time they were connected to a button but it is small and fragile so they're gone most of the time with only the loose wires remaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leadfarmer Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 Bugger, rather than spend $200 on a new switch I might have to just get creative and 3D print a little switch box that attaches to the lever or something. I don't want to spend that much on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 You may have some luck disassembling the switch and cleaning the contacts, otherwise check with local junkyards or ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leadfarmer Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 I took the light switch apart and bent the contacts on the rotating switch back to where they need to be. Now I have all lights working as they should. That light switch is definitely not meant to be disassembled. I will have to get creative to get it back together as a lot of plastic tabs broke taking it apart, but that's a win. Next to figure out the parasitic drain. I see there are a lot of threads on that so I have some research to do. Also, regarding the color of the two mystery tires, the one with insulation still on it is black with white dots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Yeah, I actually wasn't sure how much it could be disassembled, but good job figuring it out! Someone around here (forums) ought to be parting one of these out and have one for you. Parasitic drain can be annoying, easy to find hard to fix. I still believe their function is the same as I've described, I don't have a lot of experience with pre-01; where those two loose wires are brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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