i have an 88 ranger with the 2.9l. the headlights work and the markers do to. the brights don't though. and also none of the turn signals work, the brake lights work though but i don't think the reverse do, i can't see them. do the turn signals and brights share a fuse on there own? any help on how to diagnose it or what it may be would be appreciated.

 

The turn signals & reverse lights are wired to the same fuse. Check fuse 5.

When you switch to high beams does the high beam indicator on the dash light up?

Do the hazards work?

 

checked it and yep it was blown. now the turn signals and reverse lights work! but something strange is with my brights (even before i changed the fuse) when i pull the bar back to turn them on, the indicator that they're on appears, but it turns my head lights off and the brights don't come on??? the previous owner bypassed the ignition so there's a push button, and the steering column cover isn't there so i don't think i have hazards. but any thoughts on why the brights are acting like this?

 

Congrats on getting the turn & reverse lights working.

Next in line after the high beam indicator is the wire to the headlights.. Turn the high beams on pull the connector off of one of the headlights & check for voltage. The high beam is on the light green/black stripe wire. If you have 12 volts, replace the headlight.

 

i had this problem before.. replaced the turn signal/highbeam switch... went away.

 

if the problem is the wiring to the headlight (green wire for high beam) then replacing the headlight won't fix the problem will it? the previous owner replaced both headlights in hoping to fix it and they still don't work, suggesting a wiring problem or something. won't i need to find a short in it or corrosion or something? and this turn signal/high beam switch, if its bad, will the blue indicator saying the brights are on come on? i do have turn signals now, and the light comes on. is it possible only part of the switch that turns the high beams on is bad? im not familiar with the switch.

 

basically. my headlights and everything works now, but when i pull the lever back to turn the brights on, the indicator appears they're on, and it turns my head lights off, could this turn signal switch be my problem or do i need to replace wires?

 

If you've ruled out everything else as being the possible culprit, then I'd say the switch would be next on the list...

 

Wish i could post my wiring diagram. In between the dimmer switch & the head lights theres a connector. It's attached to the sheet metal at the back edge of the wiper washer bottle.

Open it up & look for high beam voltage on the green/black wire. For comparison you should see low beam voltage on red/black

 

Check the plug to the multifunction switch.
There are 2 wiring connections, the top one has the
headlights. Chances are that the connector is melted
at those connections.

I just fixed one of these yesterday.
4 out of 4 Rangers that I checked were heat damaged.
I was going to re pin the connection but I could not find one
in my parts that was not melted.

Good luck

Rich