Havent gotten a chance to check it out yet but on the way home last night i noticed i didnt have dash lights... sucked... then people behind me were flashing me all the way home... got home and looked... no tail lights either... this has happened before on my truck but i cant remember what i did to fix it? thanks for the info guys!

 

hmm.. guess ill stop helping people too...

 

check the inst fuse

 

happened to me and was a fuse.

Don't be so impatient you won't always get immediate response to your questions.

 

IP lighting and taillamps are invariably on the same fuse - now you know why. The fuse could be labelled IP lighting or taillamps, so look for both.

And okcjeeper is entirely correct - while you can get plenty of good information on enthusiast boards like this, have some patience. We do have other things we're doing as well (I just got done sorting out headaches on a Honda, for instance...)

 

check fusebox for bad fuse.

and if that doesn't work, it's your headlight switch.

 

Not to doubt you, but are you sure?

The headlamps and running lamps are, I know, on different circuits. However, since the IP lamps can be dimmed (and the running lamps aren't affected by this,) I'd think that they're also on different circuits in the switch as well - they're just powered by the same fuse.

It just seems like a flawed premise to me - but, for all I know, I could be the one in error (it wouldn't be the first time, and it probably won't be the last. So, educate me if I'm wrong, please!) I've usually seen the IP lighting and the running lamps on different circuits in the switch - they're just powered by the same fuse, as I mentioned earlier. This makes sense - because how else would you know if you lost that fuse (unless/until you get a ticket from John Law that you then have to go get signed off...)

 

I looked at the diagram and the layout of the switch.

I've got $20 on fuse #7 being blown.

Fuse #7 powers the red/blue wire into the headlamp switch. That leg of the switch powers both park lamps and instrument lamps.

The instrument lamp dimmer circuit goes back to the fuse panel and through the dash dimmer fuse.

The headlamps are protected by a fuselink under the hood.

 

yup. the headlight switch turns on all lights. I've had them melt a bit and wreck both the tail light and dash light wiring so that only the headlight woulds would work.

it makes sense since to switch on and off lighting, all lighting has to run through a switch...well, there's only one light switch. if it fails, all or some of the lights won't turn on.

 

sorry guys... while i posted this i had posted in pirate 4x4 for something else wrong with my 03 cummins and they got me all pissed off so i guess i brout it over here... lol... its a waste of time posting over there... only good to read... when i got my XJ i replaced every fuse because they were all corroded... (raded the autozone dumpster when they changed fuse brands after i got off one night so i have hundreds)... i could just replace the fuse and that would probly fix it i guess but now im wondering "why" the fuse blew... maybe ill just swap it... once and if it blows again then ill go searching... sorry again and thanks for the info... ill check it out this evening... hey i dont know if you guys read my post about busting the motor mount and swinging the engine into my radiator but... i got the mounts in the mail and went to install... yeah my motor mounts were shot but that wasnt the bad part... i guess the bolts from the bracket to the engine block came loose... one on each side was missing and on the pass side the other 2 broke off in the block... yeah sucks... this after i went and got new bolts thinking they all rattled out... so now i dunno what im gonna do... dont want to pull the engine... thinking of welding from whats left of the bolt in the hole out and around the hole in the bracket... they done ever need to come off anyways unless the motors shot... in which case id just get another... was going to have a shop weld the bracket to the side of the block but they wont cause insurance wont let them weld on a vehicle... i dont have a arce welder now the right rods so i dunno... cant get a drill in there for a easyout... any other ideas? think welding off the bolt to the bracket should be fine with my mig? thanks for the info and sorry again!

 

build up the weld on the bolts, with the frame side brackets and all brackets on that side removed. support the motor from the oil pan with a jack.

then after you've built up the weld, weld a nut on the weld heat that area a bit with a torch, and let it cool for several hours. then crank it off.

don't worry much about welding to the cast block...the weld will not stick to it, only to the bolt.

 

thats a good idea... didnt think about weldin a nut on there too... thanks! probly do that this week so when i get my radiator in ill be good to go again!

 

Oh, I know that all lighting (interior and exterior) goes through the headlamp switch, but it just seems to me that the dimmable IP lighting would be on a different circuit in the switch than the taillamps. They're fed by the same fuse (so you know when it blows,) but they'd go out on different circuits.

Perhaps I should look at wiring diagrams myself to refresh my memory. I may have gotten a couple leads crossed between my ears (it's happened before!)

 

lol these guys on pirate are still talkin junk... cracks me up... simple question turned into 2 pages so far... im shooting for 3 or 4... lol... all of them wasting there time trying to cut me down and its just funny to me how many people have nothing better to do... once they stop ill probly never post again... youll never get a right answer... its suppose to rain AGAIN tomorrow so im not going to get to work on the XJ AGAIN... sucks cause everything flooded and my jeeps broke and i still gotta rig the cable setup on the axle to get my 4x4 back... dang it man! lol

 

There is great potential for the headlight switch (dimmer and all) to fail at more points at one. no, tail lights are not in the same circuit as the dash lights, but *shrug*...things fail. sometimes a fried multi-switch can fry in more than one spot.

-Pat