headlights went out, wont come back on

[EIGHTEIGHT_GT]

Hey I lost my headlights on my 99 gt. They used to flicker when the car was cold and I lowered the tilt wheel. They would be on except for the posistion I drive in.Then they would go out, with a little tap on the dash they would come back on.Now I jsut drive with my high beams on. Before I crawl under that thing is there anything I could do? Could the switch be bad? Could it be a fuse?. I dont' have a manual and the fuses arent labeled. As far as I can tell everything else works.Thanks in advance

 

[GT2000JAY]

My suggestion would be to start by going to Ford.com - go to the owners section and register. You can download an owners manual in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat). You probably want the manual regardless. It will give you the information on fuses.

Now for the bad news. In my opinion, it's probably not a fuse problem. I'm guessing loose connection somewhere in the wiring that finally gave up completely. Electrical is the worlds biggest PITA. Maybe start by removing the headlight knob, the bezel for the instruments and try to check for voltage at the switch. It has two settings - one for parking lights and one for headlights.

You'll need a multimeter to check. Ground the black probe and check each wire on the connector with the other probe. You should see voltage in the on position. A diagram of the connector might be useful, or perhaps someone here can help you out with the exact wiring.

If nothing else, at least this gives you a bump to the top.

Jay

 

[Marks5.0!]

fox body gt's had problems with the turn signal/wiper stick going out and it would act just as your describing

 

[EIGHTEIGHT_GT]

Thanks for the info and the bump Jay. Ill dive into it tomorrow

 

[stangman]

My suggestion would be to start by going to Ford.com - go to the owners section and register. You can download an owners manual in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat). You probably want the manual regardless. It will give you the information on fuses.

Now for the bad news. In my opinion, it's probably not a fuse problem. I'm guessing loose connection somewhere in the wiring that finally gave up completely. Electrical is the worlds biggest PITA. Maybe start by removing the headlight knob, the bezel for the instruments and try to check for voltage at the switch. It has two settings - one for parking lights and one for headlights.

You'll need a multimeter to check. Ground the black probe and check each wire on the connector with the other probe. You should see voltage in the on position. A diagram of the connector might be useful, or perhaps someone here can help you out with the exact wiring.

If nothing else, at least this gives you a bump to the top.

Jay

he's right on with that. good luck finding it, cause like he said electrical problems are a huge pain

 

[99' GT Stang]

Since you had problems when you tilt your steeringwheel i'd first open the clamshell cover around your column and look for loose/shorted/rubbed through wires...go from there...

 

[EIGHTEIGHT_GT]

Fixed my lights. There were two problems. I did remove the shell around the column. 1) there is wire from a loom that gets pinched when the wheel is tilted.The nearest Quick disconnect to that wasnt even locked in so it would pull them apart. Plugged it. Then 2) The wire from the plug on my dimmer switch that is for low beams was loose. It pulls out becaue the plastic lock that locks the female part into the plug was smaller than the rest so it never locks. Pulled the switch off the the plug and fixed it. Hope that made sense. Luckily it didn't cost anything.