bubba81

i have a 96 tacoma. All my lights work mostly fine. When my low beams are on they seem to work fine then randomly they will turn off or sometimes just flicker. when they turn off all i have to do is ether flash or turn my high beams on then off and my low beams come back on. i notice it most when im on a bummpy road or after my blinker turns off. i had just bought this truck in june and it has always done this for me. im wondering if it is a bad connection somewhere? any ideas?

xxxtreme22r

my guess is a loose fuse or relay. check the fuse box under the hood. not sure what year/make your truck is.

bubba81

thanks ill give it a look. its a 96 tacoma standard cab 5 speed 4x4 4cyl 2.7L

Yota Runner

when I first got my rig it did the same thing....lights would turn off if I used my blinker.....My lights/blinker switch was bad, and had to get a new one (its the whole stalk piece that sticks out from the column)

bubba81

yota runner, how did you go about replacing the switch?

merb

I am having the same problem with my new rig ('94 4x4 pickup). Low beams will only come on after toggling between low- and high-beams several times. (And while its set to low beams while they're not on, the high-beam dashboard indicator will indicate that the high-beams are on, even though its set to low-beams and nothing is on.)

I will check the fuses, but this just seems like a switch problem to me... Any thoughts?
Thanks!

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Check the contacts in the headlight switch:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...eadlight_Combo

tremonti23

i would say its most likely the switch. you have to think about connections if they are not connecting all the way they will intermittently go out on you. so if you are toggling the switch you are trying to find that sweet spot in the switch that will allow the lights to work.

Ironmike4x4

Had the same problem myself, cleaned the contacts like 4Crawler said and would have the same problem a few months later. Soldered the contacts and same results. I wound up buying a new switch and 2 years later no problems.

merb

Thanks for the tips guys, was a problem with the switch. It works great now that I opened it up and cleaned off those connections. Like the link 4Crawler posted suggested, there was grease that seemed to be gooping things up a little on the main connection point. I wiped off some grease, then did some all around connection-sanding and sprayed on a little electronic cleaner for good measure.
Works great now, we'll see if it lasts.

Btw, it IS a good tip to leave the steering wheel master nut on there a bit while putting off the steering wheel. Since it took all the combined yanking strength of both myself and my roommate to dislodge my steering wheel, it saved two sets of teeth.

bubba81

Thanks for all the tips, i hadnt went as far as taking the steering columb off but i did find a large amount of greese, i cleaned that up as best as i could and used some electronic cleaner. i havent had any problems with it yet, so i will keep my fingers crossed.

Ironmike4x4

I didn't have to take the steering wheel off on mine...

PigeonF16

Old thread, but I can remove the combo switch easily without taking the steering wheel off. To be safe, I disconnected the negative battery cable to prevent airbag deployment...not sure if necessary. Then I put the key in the ignition to ensure the steering column remained unlocked. You'll need to be able to turn the steering wheel to get to two Phillips screws at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock underneath the steering wheel. Without removing any type of trim around the steering column, turn the wheel left and right; it's not perfectly round and you'll see a Phillips screw at each position (you can see only one at a time). Remove these. There's a smaller Phillips screw underneath at 6 o'clock, but you don't need to turn the steering wheel to get at it. 3 total Phillips screws to remove the steering wheel column on my 1998 4Runner SR5. Gently pry the top and bottom halves of the steering column trim apart. There are tabs toward the dash that you need to be careful with, but mine unsnapped easily. Once removed, you can unplug the switch from the bottom and remove two smaller Phillips screws on the side, on top and bottom of the switch. Gently pull the switch out. Installation is the reverse.