Headlights quit working on my son's 88 Ranger. Had been an intermittent problem before which he says cycling the dimmer switch would usually cure. Sometimes right away, others not(after about 10 minutes would). No joy this time. Checked fuse which was good. Checked connections at lights. A little corroded, cleaned. Wires seem a bit bit loose in connector but still making good contact. Searched forums, saw some problems with connectors, light switch, and or dimmer switch. Any way to isolate to one or the other. Don't have my haynes manual readily available so no wiring diagram to work with. Is there a relay in this system? Truck is stock. Was mine since new until I gave to my son. Thnx for any help.

 

Sounds like the multifunction/dimmer switch is shot. Check for voltage at the switch on the red/yellow wire with main light switch on. If you have 12 volts there replace the multi switch.

 

Thnx for that info. Kind of stumbled into it anyway. Light switch was bad. Had intermittent voltage to that wire. At first no voltage, but cycled and twisted the **** on the light switch and finally got voltage to the wire. Was able to repeat failure condition by playing with light switch again. R & R the switch. Came across an interesting thing about the connector to the dimmer switch while searching the forums. It seems it's not uncommon for that wire to get hot and melt the connector a bit. Found that to be true in this case. I wonder why and what's the fire potential here?

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

According to the wiring diagram for my 87 the only difference between high & low beams is the resistance wire in the low beam circuit. It would probably be pretty simple to wire in a relay between the dimmer & the the resistance wire to take the load off of the dimmer switch.

I wonder if resistance thru the switch goes up as it ages & causes that melting?

THe only thing i've heard about fires in the steering column is from the ignition switch.

Replaced mine with one from Napa about 10 years ago when Rangers in Canada-but not in the states- were recalled for this.

 

Hi XLT,

This question is not quite related, but the **** on my wife's Ranger head light switch broke off, I couldn't find an after market replacement **** so I bought the **** from Ford which comes with the shaft attached. My question; is how to do this install? I assume I pull the switch off the dash and figure out how the shaft is attached......right?

Thanks, Walt

 

Sorry XLT, It's a 1990 Ranger.

Walt

 

Yeah just remove the trim around the switch & there should be a button to push that will release the shaft.

 

I rounded up my Haynes. Remove ashtray assembly Remove trim panel screws, unsnap trim panel pull switch -as if turning on headlights- & press release button.

 

Hey Thanks a lot XLT,

All done and looking good.

I had two Chilton Manuals, gave one to a friend and lent the other out never to see it again. I tried the On-Line version of Chilton but it sucks so I never renewed the subscription, I guess I'll try a Haynes this time.

Appreciate the time you spent helping me out, my wife's been bugging me for months about the darn thing. She sure will be surprised when she gets back from her trip.

Walt

 

Good deal,glad to hear it's fixed. As they say "when mama's happy Papas happy" Glad to hear that we were able to make mama happy.

As far as manuals go, it seems that most folks prefer the Haynes over Chiltons, not sure why.

When it comes to fixing electrical problems, I like to do things the EASY way. Thats why I have the Ford "electrical & vacuum troubleshooting manuals" for my 87 Ranger & 95 Taurus.

When it comes to fixing electrical problems these wiring diagrams are worth their weight in gold.

What makes these manuals so much better than Haynes or Chiltons is that they have seperate wiring diagrams for every circuit on a vehicle.

Sometimes a quick look at a GOOD wiring diagram is all it takes to figure out an electrical problem.

So if you plan on doing any electrical troubleshooting in the future you might want to check these out at helminc.com

 

Thanks XLT, will do

Walt