'97 TJ headlights not working when VERY cold

[wes]

Howdy folks,
this is a weird one....
Headlights on my TJ won't work properly on VERY cold mornings.
Temperature has to be about 1-3 degrees Celsius and the parklights will come on OK but headlights won't work till after about 5 minutes of driving.
When ambient temperature is a bit warmer, lights come on straight away as per normal.

I have a '97 TJ with the older style push/pull light switch on the dash.

I also added an upgraded lighting wiring loom with relays about 6 years ago - this has performed faultlessly.
I have tried swapping relays when the lights don't work and it doesn't make any difference.

[Nanook]

Try unplugging the headlights and giving the plugs a good clean out with electrical contact cleaner.

It may be that there is moisture getting into the wiring and freezing, creating a bad connection. Once the weather has warmed up, the moisture may be evaporating which is why they are suddenly working.

[RPG]

My lights were total rubbish before the relay and wiring upgrade. One of the biggest issues was the H4 connector on the original harness, corrosion causing excessive heat build up and partly melting the plug. One of lights would sometimes not work and funnily enough this was when I living down south and yes it was cold. I agree good place to start check connections and give it a clean with electrical contact cleaner.

[wes]

Thanks for the replies - I'll check all connections over the weekend

[bonza]

my sons Hilux had some odd headlight problems.
turned out to be a couple of things. bad earth (causing globes to blow) a dodgy relay that would only work if I warmed it with an air drier then finally Hi beam would only occasionally work due to faulty switch.
all solved now but took a lot of trouble shooting

[Tassie_TJ]

Just another thought to check mate, I also own a 97 th, is the ignition barrel, some times my lights, radio and indicators weren't working till I was about 5mins down the road, I thought was a wiring issue, turns out after some quick forum googling, its a warn ignition barrel and a very common problem, give the key a jiggle and bang everything pops back on, saved my ass from a lengthy search that went nowhere [emoji108]

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[Jonny Jeep]

Originally Posted by Tassie_TJ

Just another thought to check mate, I also own a 97 th, is the ignition barrel, some times my lights, radio and indicators weren't working till I was about 5mins down the road, I thought was a wiring issue, turns out after some quick forum googling, its a warn ignition barrel and a very common problem, give the key a jiggle and bang everything pops back on, saved my ass from a lengthy search that went nowhere [emoji108]

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Rather than a worn ignition barrel, it's more likely to be a worn ignition switch. Marker and head lights shouldn't be affected as they don't go though the ignition switch. It's radio, turn signals and wipers that drop out together, as they share the same contact in the ignition switch. When it burns out the contact enough, jiggling the key won't work. I'd replace the switch unless you want to risk losing wipers when it's raining.