Blinking Headlights

[damonE]

I have a 73 CJ5 I picked up recently. Read through these forums the last couple nights and the help/advice is awesome.
Still getting the CJ sorted, but tonight while flushing the radiator, I turned on the headlights to double check they were still working. I'd only had them on during daylight to get parking lights to work, not paying attention to headlights other than to see they worked.
Tonight, after being on for about 3 minutes, all lights went off for about 2 seconds, then came back on. They continued to do this for the next 3-4 minutes I left them on-both on high beam and low. Yhis was while engine was running, if that makes any difference.
Any suggestions on what to look at? TIA!

 

[Hedgehog]

Mine is doing exactly the same thing. It prompted me to buy a wiring harness. It's still sitting in the box. Will get to it this winter.

I hope you get an answer to your question. I'm thinking it might be the light switch. Mine is very hot when it's blinking.

 

[hagar]

The headlight switch has a built in circuit breaker.
When overheated, it shuts the circuit down.
When cooled sufficiently, the circuit is reactivated.
It could be a bad headlight switch, weak breaker, bad ground or wiring connection, or a wiring problem/short in the lighting system.

 

[Peanut Butter]

I'd start with the ground. Easy to hook one up from the battery to the headlights. After that a switch replacement. If all of that fails, you'll need a good wiring diagram (Prospero's Garage) to trace the circuit. Good luck, these can be some of the hardest repairs for most people. Take your time and think everything through. You should then end up with the result your looking for.

 

[WHATROAD]

I have had the same problem in the past. One time, the repair was to simply replace the foot operated dimmer switch. The second time it happened, Thinking dimmer switch again, the darn thing had become loose from the floor and was filthy. cleaning and tightening fixed the problem for the second time. All of the above are definitely good suggestions and may be the fix. for me, the answer was simple and cheap. I got lucky for a change, avoided the head scratching frustration of yet another electrical dilemma. Good luck!

 

[Belizean]

I got the Prospero's Garage wiring diagram about 3 weeks ago. Far superior to the blown up version I had been using. Was recommended from this site and well worth the cost. Only thing I wish it was 1 large sheet instead of 2

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Many headlight issues can be traced to the high-beam switch on the floor. The other major issue is bad GND connection. I would strongly suggest hard wire GND connections from the grill area to both fenders to the fire wall on both sides.

LG

 

[damonE]

Thanks guys. I suspect it may be the High/low beam switch. When I got the CJ, the switch was laying on the floor where it had come disconnected. I reconnected and screwed it back to the floor. It wouldn't work, so I removed it, cleaned it up, and reconnected it. It worked, and I patted myself on the back. Maybe too soon!
Do I need to buy one made specifically for my Jeep, or is there a generic replacement available from, say, NAPA?

 

[WHATROAD]

You may be able to find what you need at any of them, Napa, Auto Zone, pick one. If the one from the jeep is original to it, take that with you and find a match. If you have a couple of days, google Morris 4X4. Pull up the year of your jeep on the left side and put headlight dimmer switch into the word search. Crown makes a switch for $5.99. They don't cost much in the scheme of things. You should still be thinking ground wire if that doesn't do the trick.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

You may be able to find what you need at any of them, Napa, Auto Zone, pick one. If the one from the jeep is original to it, take that with you and find a match. If you have a couple of days, google Morris 4X4. Pull up the year of your jeep on the left side and put headlight dimmer switch into the word search. Crown makes a switch for $5.99. They don't cost much in the scheme of things. You should still be thinking ground wire if that doesn't do the trick.

I'd need to do some googling, but I know off the top of my head that a 1979 Ford F-AMC 150 uses an identical switch. Something off a 70s and 80s Ford truck is going to be much easier to locate at a local NAPA than for an early 70s Jeep, and probably at a higher quality than Crown or Omix.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Take your floor-switch in with you for comparision.
LG

 

[damonE]

Once again, thank you guys. I'm headed to NAPA this morning and will bring the switch with me. I'll replace it and see where we go from there. These forums are great, and so much information. I've gone through all the Chassis forum and on to the suspension forum, and have used information from past posts already!
Thanks again!

 

[Hedgehog]

This thread helped me tremendously. The CJ has had a blinking light problem for a few months now and it's been driving me nuts. The blinking wasn't a short type blink. It was like blinking Christmas tree lights. Rhythmic and even like a switch and the switch itself was hot. Come to find out the switch has a circuit breaker feature that can become tired. Tonight I changed the switch out for a new one. BINGO! No blinking and the switch is nice and cool! Excellent and thank you all.