plow lights not working!
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plow lights not working!
ok my 89 bronco had a western plow on it when i got it so i didnt do any of the wiring, but when you turn the plow lights on are the headlights suppose to come on also? and my plow parking lamps are not working, i took the old bulbs out and they were very corroded so i cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and put new bulbs in and nothing, is there a fuse that operates the park lamps seperate then the headlamps for the plow? the headlights work just not the park lamps.
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From: Gateway to the West
Most plow setups are wired as redundant head/parking lamp assemblies however, the factory circuit protection is seldom of proper amperage to support another set of lamps on the existing circuits so you are most likely looking at a relay setup that triggers the axilllary lamps when the headlamp switch is activated. This way the plow lighting circuits can be protected by their own independant fuses but still activated by the headlamp switch. I'd go in search of additional fuses and/or circuit breakers added either under the dash or in-line with the wiring for the plow lights. Its easiest to trace by following the wiring back from the plow lights themselves.
One last possibility is that the corrosion you cleaned has deteriorated the wiring to the socket in which case the socket may be fine but the wires running to it inside the lamp assembly are incapable of conducting enough electricity to power the lamps or the wires have broken from the sockets inside the assembly.
One last possibility is that the corrosion you cleaned has deteriorated the wiring to the socket in which case the socket may be fine but the wires running to it inside the lamp assembly are incapable of conducting enough electricity to power the lamps or the wires have broken from the sockets inside the assembly.
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well from what i see for the park lamps the wires behind the socket look good, if i move the bulb around inside the socket it real dimmily lights up for a second, i mean the park lamps on the truck work fine just not the plow lamps but the headlights on the plow come on so they should run off the same relay or fuse as the headlamps right? so this would mean a definite wire problem?
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On my 88 with a Meyer plow, I have a seperate switch for the Plow lights on my plow controller pad. The wiring is "spliced" into the turn signals, but I wouldn't run them all on the same circuit IE headlights & plow lights. That is alot of juice going thru the lines at the same time.
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Need a little more info on your setup...
Does your setup have a 6 prong toggle for the plow/vehicle lights? Is this a uni-mount style plow with a big plug at the grill? Also, did they use a wiring kit tapping into the headlight or a cut and hack job? It usually is plugged into the pigtail behind the left headlight.
Does your setup have a 6 prong toggle for the plow/vehicle lights? Is this a uni-mount style plow with a big plug at the grill? Also, did they use a wiring kit tapping into the headlight or a cut and hack job? It usually is plugged into the pigtail behind the left headlight.
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yes its a uni mount plow, from what i can see the wiring is spliced into the left side headlamp wires, there are 2 relays that stick out , one says hella on it and the other is smaller and has no name, i unplugged the smaller one and nothing changes, when i unplug the hella relay it shuts down the plow lights, so in this setup like i have is their 2 relays one for the park lamps and one for the headlights? my controller in the cab just controls the plow nothing else, and yes their are 2 large plugs going into the front grill.
Last edited by 87wreckerman; Dec 7, 2005 at 08:30 PM.
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From: Gateway to the West
No further info needed. If the lamp will light but is very dim when you move it around in the socket, the socket isn't clean enough yet. You ARE getting SOME continuity just not enough to fully light the lamp as it sits there. Means only one thing... too much resistance in the circuit. Its either due to corrosion or a deterioration of the wire from the inside.
The same circuit/fuse will feed the lamps in the truck AND the RELAY for the plow lights but NOT the plow lights themselves. Thats why the relay is in there. It doesn't draw enough electricity to overload the existing lamp circuit(s) in the truck but the additional lamps on the plow WOULD. So the two relays are used (one for the headlamps and one for the parking lamps on the plow) to turn them (plow lights) on with the same switch (main light switch in the truck) but use power from a separate circuit/fuse to run the actual lamps on the plow. The wiring from the relay to the lamps on the plow is the weak link at this point. Somewhere along this wiring path there is something causing enough resistance to keep the lamps from lighting unless you press on the lamp. This is why I still hold that the problem is more likely to be the socket and/or the wiring near it than anywhere else.
Originally Posted by 87wreckerman
i mean the park lamps on the truck work fine just not the plow lamps but the headlights on the plow come on so they should run off the same relay or fuse as the headlamps right? so this would mean a definite wire problem?
Last edited by greystreak92; Dec 7, 2005 at 11:31 PM.
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well originially when i first started messing with the lamps it seemed like when i would move the bulb around in the sockets i would see a very little bit of the bulb lighting but now i dont get that, ive taken the plate off were the bulbs screw into and looked at the wires and they are like new, no corrosion at all! but im almost sure its the relay since i dont here it clicking on and off and plus if i remove it nothing changes , i still have all the lights work except the plow park lamps . but now i cant find the relay at any auto parts stores near my house, they try cross refrencing them from the part # on the relay but cant come up with anything, the relay has these #'s on it - Aromat CB1E-12v, then under that is another #-ACB1320108. so im guessing the CB1E is the relay part #, anyone heard of this relay or one that would work in its place? all the pepboys and autozones around me are no help, they keep the relays in the back so i cant personally go look for the one that would match up and since its a relay from a plow and not a specific car they cant find it.
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well i finally got the relay that i thought was bad and replaced it and still nothing!, i went to western.com and looked up the instruction manual to the lights and the 2 relays are for the headlights, one for low beam and one for high, but i still only have one beam for the lights, high. but thats no big deal i still have no park lamps for the plow ive tried everything connections are good, traced the wires everything is connected, never messed to much with electrical but what ways are there to test this thing, like with one of those testers, i mean obviously i have no power at the bulbs so were would i test from their?
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