headlights won't turn off

[mattmac]

Got a weird problem on my 1988 county - just walked up the driveway noticed my headlights were on and assumed i must have bumped the switch on when i got out but it's off- only the front headlights stay on -the rear ones are off- i had to disconnect the battery to turn them off- the switch isn't very old either so wouldn't imagine that would be at fault-any ideas?

[Aguy]

Hi,

If you have installed a relay for your headlights then the relay could have some welded contacts and stuck in the on position.

What lights are on? High beam or low beam?
If you haven't installed any relays then it's probably your steering column switch that is stuffed (Not your head light switch).
Or it could be a short to active in the wire going to your headlights but that sounds unlikely.
It's hard to say.

Cheers.

[mattmac]

even when i disconnected the headlight switch connection the lights stayed on and left indicator was running faster -all the other electrics function normally. maybe a faulty relay somewhere - i looked behind the instrument panel for some pink dip/dim relay that other sites have suggested to disconnect but there's no pink relay there-there's a large yellow one but removing that did nothing.

[Aguy]

I don't think it's your headlight switch as you said your back tail lights were off.



Looking at the wiring diagram of your model (I think), your front lights go through the steering column switch (the high beam flashing stalk???). Are you able to unplug that and see what happens?
It still could be a relay but I can not see a relay on the wiring diagram.


What lights were on? high beam or low beam?

[mattmac]

looked like high beam- explored wiring behind instrument cluster but couldn't see much amongst the maze of wires-looks like an auto elecs nightmare behind there. anyway gave up and went for a surf and lo and behold when i got to the beach all back to normal again-hopefully it stays that way!

[Dervish]

The only way this could happen - headlights on with headlight switch disconnected - is through the high beam "flash" function i.e. pulling the indicator stalk toward you. That bypasses the headlight switch altogether, unlike pushing the indicator stalk back to high beam position which is still subject to the position of the headlight switch.

Something in the mechanism must be stuck or bent. If you look at the rear of the indicator switch you can see the contacts moving as you move the indicator switch backwards and forwards. It should become obvious what's wrong from what you see there.

[mattmac]

okay thanks will check that out- i think i spoke too soon yest as noticed when driving today when i indicated left the headlights would flash as well - right signal works fine-weird!

[JDNSW]

All signs point to the multifunction switch! (blinkers, high/low/flash/horn)

John

[ScottW]

There is a twin relay behind the pass side headlight for the hi and low beams. It would stick on sometimes (It did it to me 3-4 times over 3-4 years), mainly if I had the high beams on for long trips, such as over 30 mins. A bash on the guard usually fixed it for another 6 months, as it was difficult to get to the relays without pulling the windscreen washer bottle and pump. The spot lights did this once every few months as well, but the relay for those is on the left side of the engine bay when looking from the front and easy to get to.

I never had the headlights flash with the indicators, so I can't help you there.

[mattmac]

Hi Scott- that makes sense now as i could hear a clicking noise coming from under there somewhere and had feel around with my hand thinking there must be a dodgy relay/wiring -just gave it a bit of a wiggle and it stopped- will have a close look when i can get access to it when i pull out the heater/AC unit.

There is a twin relay behind the pass side headlight for the hi and low beams. It would stick on sometimes (It did it to me 3-4 times over 3-4 years), mainly if I had the high beams on for long trips, such as over 30 mins. A bash on the guard usually fixed it for another 6 months, as it was difficult to get to the relays without pulling the windscreen washer bottle and pump. The spot lights did this once every few months as well, but the relay for those is on the left side of the engine bay when looking from the front and easy to get to.

I never had the headlights flash with the indicators, so I can't help you there.