Head light switch plug. Where to find?

[BarlowCummins]

Hi, everyone. I drive my 93 300 miles a night (5-7 ours of headlight use) and have been replacing the headlight switch a lot lately. I have noticed that the plug which plugs on to the headlight switch has melted in some areas. I'm sure it from the heat created by the switch. It casues me to lose the headlights while driving sometimes and I think it has shortened the life of a new switch. Every time I replace the switch the life of the switch seems to be shorter. I have gone to a couple of local junk yards around me and I always find a plug the has been melted too. Is there any where a new plug can be purchased? If I can find a new one I plan to switch as many lights as I can to l. e. d. and hopefully reduce the heat from the new plug and switch. Any help would appreciated.

 

[CGauthier]

Really? Wow... when i had my trailer built back about 6 years ago i was told i was going to go through headlight swtches like crazy, so i decided then to spend the extra and go led lights and bought a spare switch off ebay... I'm still running on the trucks original switch and would have given you my spare switch if you didn't tell me your story first lol. You pull trailer and plug in lights that may be causing extra stress? The plug melting suggests to me somethings wrong, maybe a slight short to ground somewhere or something?

 

[RSchwarzli]

First off, it sounds like the switches you are getting might not be good.

Second, watch the new ones. I have found them to be cheap china made and are not as beefy as a good one from a yard or one from Mopar.

My suggestion for your problem is to wire the headlights into a realy so there is no load on your switch. With going to a relay, you can also add higher wattage Hellas bulbs for the ID night driving. I have been through your area at night. It is not pretty. A good set of light are worth the time to install. And if you are doing the relay anyways...


That's my thought. There is too much power with that switch. Take some of the load off it and you should be fine!

 

[BarlowCummins]

I have checked all the grounds that I can trace and they seem to be good. I have talked to a few mopar guys the other day at my local dodge dealer and it seems that the headlight switches have always been a problem on 1st gens and early 2nd gens with extended night driving. I guess the headlight switch were never really designed for the load these trucks use. A relay is defiantly something I would like to do as soon as I find a new plug that isn't melted. I do have to say the newer switches I have been using are cheap and you can feel it in the quality, big time! I am used to the dark Idaho night driving but the headlight switch isn't. :{

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

I agree with the conversion of all lights,except headlights, to LEDs. That is what I have done as well as converting my headlights to relays. The only lights that are not LED are the brake lights and the headlights. I found that with conventional brake lights the other lights work much better when you use the directionals.



Bob

 

[RobertHiltz]

Not sure about the 93 year model but 94 and newer had lots of issues with the headlight switch overheating. The old mopar switches had a heat sink on them, the newer style use the plug / wires for a heat sink. One revision of the switch came with a new connector and several inches of wire to be spliced into the existing harness. At best this was just a band aid fix. A connector that shows signs of being hot should not be used as the overheated wires become higher resistance to current flow and add to the issue of too much heat. Adding a relay sounds like the best solution.

 

[JDancoe]

Just curious- Does anyone know if the "Brite Box" conversion Geno's sells take the load off the headlight switch? If so, that might be a simple solution, as well as improving the lighting while driving.
I built myself a relay pack & harness for two of my older trucks (85 & 86) that leaves the low beams on anytime the Headlight switch is on and just switches the high beams on and off. (Which I'm guessing is what the 'Brite Box" does) but both the actual lighting current paths are through relays, and all the load the Headlight & dimmer light switches see is switch current.
I'm now in the process of building a similar setup for my 92, but it will be somewhat different circuitry because of the multifunction switch as opposed to the separate dash H/L switch & floor mount dimmer on the older trucks. Jack Dancoe