New electrical problem with headlights on

[jsh13]

Interesting problem, looking for opinions on what to try.... 2001 Edge, 4.0L Auto, 185K miles

Driving to work a few days ago in the rain, I noticed that my right turn signal indicator on the dash was lit up. I thought it must be a failed blinker bulb somewhere but didn't think more about it. Later that day, I was driving (after the rain) and the blinker worked just fine. Hmmm... But that night it wasn't working once again, and I noticed that my right headlight was very dim. Also saw that the right fog light was not working so I switched them off. The marker on the switch seems to glow a little now. I replaced the headlamp that night, but still the light is very dim on that side. The old lamp was a little cloudy on the bottom, but didn't look too dark to me (and I'm in the xenon lighting biz). FWIW, the left headlamp has never been replaced. Finally, the cruise control does not work when the headlights are on - daytime things are fine but when the lights go on the gremlins are out.

Any ideas? Fuses, etc......?


thanks in advance

JeffH

 

[Mark_88]

Well, this is old...did you figure it out or are you still having problems?

I'd suspect a bad ground or loose wire somewhere...haven't even seen the inside of a late model Ranger so I wouldn't know where to begin, but they are relatively the same...maybe relays or other doodads have been added over the years but it's basically a DC circuit that needs power and ground...without one of these they get wonky or simply don't work...

 

[statley chubs]

A friend of mine had the same problem the power wire to his turn signal wore down and it was grounding its self out dimming the lights and also it would blink on its own every once and a while when he hit the breaks wraped the line with black tape and no more problems

 

[jsh13]

Sorry folks - did find that it was the ground wire on the passenger side near the blower. I had removed that recently to extract a leaf and failed to get it completely tight.

thanks!

 

[rtg143]

Glad that you fixed it. Thanks for the update.