1988 headlight problems
 

I posted this in the wrong yr forum so i reposted it here... sorry about that! :pat:

1988 headlight problems


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hiya.. 1988 basic 4x4 truck, here is my problems;
been beating my head on the hood over this strange problem, maybe someone else has had this happen...
the headlights are new, I thought new ones would cure it...
the passengers side headlight works fine, high and lo beam.
the drivers side, in low beam is dimmer than the passangers side, and when you flick the high beams on, the drivers side light goes ALMOST [not quite] out. passangers side, functions perfectly...

I swapped the relay, replaced fuses, checked as much wire as i can reach.
no luck.

for one breif mimute it WORKED, I was thinking goodie, I fixed it somehow...

I moved the truck 10 feet and tried the lights and its back to one weak one one bright one again.

my first thought was "screw it, wire up a new headlight system" but this cant be a hard problem... I'm just not looking in the right spot yet...

[besides... I dont realy know how to wire up a new headlight system... yet ]

to fix it it I figured [wrong] "I'll wire both lights on one plug.. thatll work!"
haha no it doesnt.. joke on me.

or maybe I didnt do that right either.

the headlight has 3 prongs to plug wires to... is two hot and one a ground or.... what?

I'm still doing searches for tidbits of answers but I havent seen anyone with a similar problem...

one thread said clean the stearing colum switch contacts, but the passangers side works fine.... does that switch have seperate contacts for right and left?

First thing is swap the lights around, that'll eliminate a bad bulb. If you still have a problem then you'll have to check the wiring further. Usually Toyota uses a switched ground system, ie you'll find one hot wire and 2 grounds. Switching from high to low beam switches from one ground to the other.

I don't know what colour wire is the hot on an 88 but if you have a voltmeter check them. After you find the hot wire check the voltage at each plug, if one is low then problem found. If they're the same then check the resistance of the ground wires, connect your ohmmeter from a good body ground to each ground wire, with the power off and light switch on. If you find a bad ground then look for the rusty spot.

The relay and switch work both lights so it's unlikely that's the problem.

well, after tinkering with it all day it works now.... why, I havent a clue.
but i'm sure a few rides on a bumpy road will bring it back.

but I hope not.
lol