Matt33
Registered User
I have no parking lights fuse is good what is the problem?
Parking light
- Thread starter Matt33
- Start date
switch
Matt33
Registered User
thanks just figerd that out myselfe. if i pull out the swith past the parking lights but not far enough to turn the head lights on the parking lights come on. but if you pull it out to turn the headlights on the parking lights go off, telling me its the swith.
I bet it's not the switch. What you are doing when you pull the switch out halfway is crossing the contacts inside the switch, running the park lights from the headlight power.
This is a classic case of your tan/white wire burning up either at the headlight switch plug, or somewhere along the wire. Very common problem. They sell new headlight switch plugs with wire pigtails on them at the store if you need to replace it.
The tan/white wire is the power coming into the switch from the fuse you were looking at. There is another power wire entering the switch for the headlights power.
This is a classic case of your tan/white wire burning up either at the headlight switch plug, or somewhere along the wire. Very common problem. They sell new headlight switch plugs with wire pigtails on them at the store if you need to replace it.
The tan/white wire is the power coming into the switch from the fuse you were looking at. There is another power wire entering the switch for the headlights power.
Matt33
Registered User
you are right! got the new switch and went to put it on and sure enough it was burnt up! i see someone has alreay replaced it be4 why does it keep burning up?
m885
Registered User
Poor grounds or corrosion.
Too much current going through it. Ford cut it a little too close in their design of the lighting wiring. You can buy relay kits that take the headlight load off the switch, making the headlights much brighter. You can't buy a relay kit for the running lights but it sure does need one. Ford did actually use a relay for some of the running lights on the dually trucks.
If you want to eliminate the problem completely, you need to add a relay to this circuit and take the load off the headlight switch. A lot of these trucks have this problem. The new pigtail from the store will probably hold it for a few years till it does it again.
If you want to eliminate the problem completely, you need to add a relay to this circuit and take the load off the headlight switch. A lot of these trucks have this problem. The new pigtail from the store will probably hold it for a few years till it does it again.
79jasper
Chickenhawk
^ nope. Seems normal with these trucks. Mine did it until I hooked up my side markers (were incandescent, now led) and headache rack lights. (incandescent)
Which I never had any problems with my switch/harness until after installing the leds. About a year or so.
Mine was a combination of a loose pin + the harness.
Sent from my SM-T537R4 using Tapatalk
Which I never had any problems with my switch/harness until after installing the leds. About a year or so.
Mine was a combination of a loose pin + the harness.
Sent from my SM-T537R4 using Tapatalk
Led's would be a good way to take some load off the running light circuit. Problem is you would have to change the dual filament front turns and rear brake/turns to LED, and LED's can cause problems with the flasher circuits associated with these dual filament bulbs.
I've always found that the best thing to do with a truck, vehicle really, was to put relays on the headlights. It keeps the amperage from tearing up the switch, plus it gives you a brighter beam. Then you will also have less heat in the wiring as well.
I have thought about the relay for the runnings lights several times, and haven't figured out a good way to do it yet. It works well for the headlights, since they are both in front. A complete new harness with larger capacity is easy to make or buy, and it's all out near the battery area.
The running lights are different. They are all over the truck so a heavier harness would be out of the question. I think there are one or two points under the dash where the brown running light wire leaving the switch splits and feeds the different parts of the truck. If this splice could be found, then the new relay could feed the wiring here, instead of feeding one single overloaded wire that splits up downstream.
If the relay was installed under the dash and if you powered it from the battery with a circuit breaker or fuse, then this would have to run through the firewall to the relay. Not as slick as the headlight mod out at the battery. I guess if you did find the splice in the brown wire, you could cut it loose, and run the separate wires through the firewall to the relay under the hood, along with a relay trigger wire from the switch.
The running lights are different. They are all over the truck so a heavier harness would be out of the question. I think there are one or two points under the dash where the brown running light wire leaving the switch splits and feeds the different parts of the truck. If this splice could be found, then the new relay could feed the wiring here, instead of feeding one single overloaded wire that splits up downstream.
If the relay was installed under the dash and if you powered it from the battery with a circuit breaker or fuse, then this would have to run through the firewall to the relay. Not as slick as the headlight mod out at the battery. I guess if you did find the splice in the brown wire, you could cut it loose, and run the separate wires through the firewall to the relay under the hood, along with a relay trigger wire from the switch.
madpogue
Full Access Member
It's not the dual-filament bulbs that cause the problem, it's the fact that LEDs indeed draw less current, and the old thermo-mechanical flashers "fire" based on current (really on heat). Electronic flasher fixes that. There are two-terminal electronic flashers out there. Depending on which truck the OP is posting about (multiple trucks in his profile, and no mention of which one is in play here), some electronic flashers have bigger bodies, and don't fit behind the fuse box cover.
What I meant was if you convert the dual filament bulbs to LED for the running lights, you open up another can of worms with the flasher circuits that you have to deal with. You are correct, different flashers will correct that part, but sometimes you still run into "ghost" lights where the brake lights are on dimly all the time from leakage currents. I have never proven it, but I think it comes from the ABS and the cruise circuit boards that are tied to the brake switch wire. Brake controllers are tied to this wire also with circuit boards and solid state components.
The flasher issue is not really a can of worms, just swap to an electronic flasher and there's no problem. Cheap, quick, easy. The current leakage/dimly lit when off issues may be a can of worms. It's not ABS related, my truck does not have that. Cruise control I'm not sure. Mine has it but it's not functioning, I'm not sure where the board or controller are for that but I can unplug it to see if that's causing the problem.
