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Showing results for tags 'headlight switch'.
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dimmer Dash Lights Work, but Dimmer Doesn't...
NickyV posted a topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
Hey everybody! Just wanted to report that I was experiencing a problem that I know others have had. The issue was my dashboard/instrument cluster lights were working, but I wasn't able to dim them. As others have noted, this can be related to a malfunctioning headlight switch. I fixed it by replacing the headlight switch. Here are the symptoms I was experiencing: - Dash/instrument lights would illuminate, but only when my headlight switch was rotated all the way to the left (counter clockwise). You know you've gone as far as you can go to the left when you hear/feel a click. - When I rotated the headlight pull knob to the right (clockwise), I would lose all dash/instrument illumination as soon as the switch clicked going in the clockwise direction. The clock would also go out. I went to the junkyard and grabbed a bunch of things, including two headlight switches. One was from a 1991 Cherokee (pictured top) and the other was from a 1988 Cherokee Laredo (pictured bottom). (I hope I'm remembering that correctly...) The switch that I ended up trying first was the bottom switch (the one that I believe came from the '88 Cherokee Laredo). I mention the one I chose for a two reasons. First, it just looked like it was in better condition, as you can see from the pictures. The ceramic wheel was not yellowing as much as the other one, and the terminals were a lot cleaner. If you have multiple switches to choose from, and don't have the know how or equipment to test them out, go with the equipment that looks better (at least that's what I say). Second, after I pulled my busted switch out, I noticed that it looked a lot closer to the top switch in the picture I have attached. Specifically, it did not have the terminal prong that I have circled in the attached picture. I took a gamble and went with the switch that had an extra prong. I figured that it probably wouldn't hurt anything, and it might give me additional functionality in the long run. If anyone knows what the extra prong is for, I'd appreciate your answer in the comments section. It's a bit of a pain to swap these out. I highly recommend removing the kickplate/lower dash. I think it would be possible to do without removing the lower dash, but you'd be working almost entirely blind. It's a whole lot easier to get out if you remove the instrument cluster as well, but I don't recommend doing that if you don't have to (especially if you've never removed the instrument cluster before). When removing the instrument cluster you have to be really careful, and it's very easy to accidentally mess up your speedometer cable. Anyway, while I was at the junkyard, I also picked up some courtesy lights for the footwells. I am so happy I have these now! They illuminate when I open the driver's side door (but not the passenger door... perhaps that's by design, but I'm thinking that I need to do some more tinkering). They also light up when I turn the headlight knob all the way to the left (counter clockwise). And I'm hoping that when I get the time to tinker with the wiring in the pillar lights, that I'll be able to get those to light up when I open the door, but that's a project for another weekend. If anyone knows why my courtesy lights might not be lighting up when I open the passenger door, I'm all ears! I'm including a video of a guy explaining how to remove it:- 19 replies
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- dashboard
- headlights
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