High beam switch goes to turn signal bulb - AUSJEEPOFFROAD.COM Jeep News Australia and New Zealand

Go Back   AUSJEEPOFFROAD.COM Jeep News Australia and New Zealand > JEEP GARAGE > Technical
Register Forums Trading Your Jeep New Garage Mark All Read

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
  #1  
Old 13-10-2017
yt1300  yt1300 is offline
I just registered
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 6
What Jeep do I drive?: WJ
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default High beam switch goes to turn signal bulb

I just bought an 2004 grand Cherokee (my first jeep) that I'm trying to fix up and get through road-worthy, but I'm having an issue with the headlights.

The passenger's side works fine, but the driver's side are screwed up. The normal beams work, but when I turn on high beams, the turn signal bulb illuminates and is crazy bright (the high beam bulb does nothing). However, if I activate the right (drivers) turn signal, the high beam bulb flashes dimly. Somehow those two wires have been switched. I have switched the bulbs between the two sides of the car to confirm that the difference in brightness is the power going to the bulbs, and that does appear to be the case. Also, it may be worth mentioning that if I use the turn signal while the high beams are on, the flashing becomes really fast.

Whoever owned this before me had an aftermarket light bar on it, which they dismantled before selling it, so I think that they must have done some re-wiring that doesn't work super well (especially when they removed the switch and such for their light bar). It went through a wrecker and second owner before ending up in my hands, so contacting the owner that did the light work isn't an option.

I've tried to track down exactly what they did to the wires, and I may have found at least part of it. At the wires that runs under overflow tank for the radiator, there is a large red/pink wire that is cut with electric tape around the ends (very clearly not factory done). Neither end goes to anything, but one end also has small piece of a clear-coated wire attached to it that is clearly aftermarket. Also, I found a few pieces of that same clear wire sticking through the firewall and going into the dash (again, clearly a modification).

Sorry that this post was so long, but does anyone know how to fix this? I am tempted to just reconnect the two halves of that red/pink wire to see what happens, but I don't know what it goes to, I don't know what else the previous owner cut, and I don't want to accidentally send a massive jolt to the computer or anything like that. I also struggle to see how reconnecting a single wire will fix this.

I suppose I can just cut and switch the wiring right where the wires go into the lights, but given that the speed increases when I use high beams and the turn signal together, something else is obviously wrong, and I'd like to fix it properly if possible.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
  #2  
Old 14-10-2017
yt1300  yt1300 is offline
I just registered
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 6
What Jeep do I drive?: WJ
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

Update: I played with it a bit more, and apparently the turn signal does work correctly when the headlights aren't on, but when the headlights are on, it does the screwy behavior that I described.

Also, I forgot to mention, the pink wire has a white stripe on it.
  #3  
Old 20-10-2017
yt1300  yt1300 is offline
I just registered
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 6
What Jeep do I drive?: WJ
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

On more update, I used a volt meter to figure out which wire is positive and which one is negative, and when the problem is occurring, both wires read positive for the bulb that is not working (e.g., when the turn signal is on solidly instead of the high beam, the high beam wires each read 12V with the negative probe of my volt meter attached to the negative terminal on the battery.
Post New Thread  Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On





All times are GMT +10. The time now is 04:12 PM.


Advertisements




AJOR does not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of AJOR or any entity associated with AJOR, nor should any advice be substituted as technical advice replacing that of a mechanic. You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use AJOR to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, religious, political or otherwise violative of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by AJOR. The owner, administrators and moderators of AJOR reserve the right to delete any message or members for any or no reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless AJOR, the administrators, moderators, and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). The use of profile signatures to intentionally mislead or misdirect any member on this forum is not acceptable and may result in your account being suspended. Any trip that is organised through the AJOR forum is participated at your own risk. If you or your vehicle is damaged it is your responsibility, not that of the person that posted the thread, message or topic initiating the trip, nor the organisers of AJOR or moderators of any specific forum. This forum and associated website is the property of AJOR. No user data is harvested and no information supplied in your registration will be sold for profit.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

AJOR © 2002 - 2024 AUSJEEPOFFROAD.COM. All corporate trademarked names and logos are property of their respective owners. Ausjeepoffroad is in no way associated with DaimlerChrysler Corporation or Fiat Jeep.
www.ausjeep.com www.ausjeep.com.au www.midlifemate.com ausjeepforum.com www.r9kustoms.com
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=