Diesel- Dummy

The head lights have ben going of and on , more so when there on high pulled the head light sw out and its hot to hot to tuch I had a spare one annd it does the same thing what do you all think ??

jnicewan

sounds like the switch needs to be replaced. my 98 did the same thing a few months ago. might be a good idea to check the connector at the switch to see if its melted too. i think the dealerships switch comes with the wiring/pigtail.

infidel

Your truck should be eligible for a recall on the switch.
It will be free no matter how many miles or owners.
Check here if it's been done, you will need your VIN http://www.dodge.com/webselfservice/...m('R')

Diesel- Dummy

Thanks I give it a try

patdaly

Wow, thanks Infidel, I decided to check Greenie out, neither the Throttle rod nor the secondary hood latch recall has been done.

Is the headlight switch recall only for 1 tons in 1997?

I was kind of hoping to see a KDP recall......oh well, a guy can dream.

TIMMY22

guaranteed if you take your truck in for a few free recalls, you will have more than you bargained for after they get done with it.

infidel

It's only for 3500s in all years.

roughstock

Just an FYI, I went to the dealer for this recall and found something new.
I have a 97, it was produced in 97 and was not covered in the recall.
Dealer showed me recall and it was only up thru a certain production date. mine was 2 months beyond the date, so I get no recall.

So I just went to napa and got switch and pigtail, with a lifetime warranty, i believe. Ive had to get it replaced once, but now have gone to LEDs on flatbed and my trailers, and havnt had a problem since.

rattlerbob5.9

Bill what years exactly do you mean when you say all 3500's
99 with fog lights included ?

infidel

I meant that in the the years that the recall applies to that it's only for 3500s.
Here's the recall http://dodgeram.info/tsb/recalls/819.htm

rattlerbob5.9

Thanks bill looks like it is for 94- until early production 97 model year only.

blackimpala

If you run with the dimmer switch turned down or on low it will create more heat in the switch. Take a look at this site, good info about headlight systems.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html

Floyd

bob4x4

If you can get the dealer to sell you the recall kit it will work on 97 back to 94.It comes with a relay to remove load from the switch.I used it on my 94 and still have the same switch holding up fine all these years later.

Bob

infidel

For this problem Dodge TSB recommends to remove the headlight switch and punch a 5/16" hole in the top of the air duct under the dimmer wheel to cool the dimmer heat sink.

Dave Miller

All good info. I added a relay harness kit to my headlights to take the load off the headlight switch. LMCtruck.com and SuvLights.com sell harness kits or you can build your own. They are plug and play pretty much.

With the relay kit the power for headlights goes from the battery to the relay and then to headlights. The headlight switch just triggers the relay putting a very low current on the switch. Never have to worry about replacing the switch. Otherwise the current for headlights is always going thru the switch causing all the heat to eventually melt it.

I also added bright 2 backup lights under the bumper and relayed the transmission reverse switch to trigger my backup light relay along with a dash mounted switch. I had to replace a bad reverse switch for $75 so I took the load off it just like with the headlight harness. I used left over parts from a fog light set to do the backup lights. The truck had stock fog lights already relayed so I used the aftermarket fog lights tied to existing wiring and I reused the fog harness parts (relays etc..) for my stock and new backup lights.

Dave