Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help?

TinaBanana · 11-14-2009, 12:15 PM

Still trouble shooting and trying to get the headlights wired up on the S-Tang. When I had things jimmy rigged ( wrong ) a few months ago something went bad. The headlights will no longer switch from high to low beam. They just stay on high. I replaced the turn signals switch on the column, and that didn't fix it. Anybody got any advice on where to go next?

Thanks in advance. 2000 S-10 4.3l

alvisoroadsters · 11-14-2009, 02:04 PM

real quick, what'd you jimmy rig to the headlight circuit?

TinaBanana · 11-14-2009, 02:30 PM

I had 05 and up mustang headlights spliced in. Mustangs use a single ground for high and low beam. S-10 has seperate grounds for the two. I soldered the two ground on the s10 together and spliced on the single ground from the mustang headlights. They worked fine for about an hour, and then kept blowing fuses, and then stopped switching between high and low beam.

***orangesonoma*** · 11-14-2009, 04:38 PM

you are going to have issues since the headlights rest at ground but the wires go hot when you turn on the headlights then switch for low or high..tieing them into to each other is your issue...un do them and go from there...there is going to be no easy way to explain it over the internet

TinaBanana · 11-14-2009, 04:52 PM

I've allready completley uninstalled the mustang headlightsand just have the oem s10 headlight wires grounds and (+)'s just exposed and connected to nothing. I plan to just use relays to hook up the mustang headlight hooked up once I get the high/low beam working.

One other symptom is that my horn has quit working as well. I've check every fuse in the truck, and none were blown. Not sure if it is related.

***orangesonoma*** · 11-14-2009, 05:30 PM

could be...i would get a schematic for the truck and start tracing wires back

**deathphoenix99** · 11-14-2009, 09:06 PM

Yea, it's possible you messed up your bcm since it controls your headlights. Tieing the grounds together probably messed up your drl's.

TinaBanana · 11-15-2009, 10:09 AM

drl's still seem to work fine... the turns and sides come on like they are supposed to with drl's. The bcm definitly sounds like it could be the problem. I've got one of those ordered up cheap, so we'll see if that fixes us up. If that doesn't do it, I'll break down and test everything from front to back. Thanks for the help folks. This forum has been a big help with getting this truck finished.

**deathphoenix99** · 11-15-2009, 10:13 AM

if u need wiring diagrams, read my sig.

11-14-2009, 12:15 PM	#1
TinaBanana Registered User Age: 30 Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 604 Location: User is: OffLine	Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? Still trouble shooting and trying to get the headlights wired up on the S-Tang. When I had things jimmy rigged ( wrong ) a few months ago something went bad. The headlights will no longer switch from high to low beam. They just stay on high. I replaced the turn signals switch on the column, and that didn't fix it. Anybody got any advice on where to go next? Thanks in advance. 2000 S-10 4.3l
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 02:04 PM	#2
alvisoroadsters Registered User Age: 20 Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 235 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? real quick, what'd you jimmy rig to the headlight circuit?
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 02:30 PM	#3
TinaBanana Registered User Age: 30 Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 604 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? I had 05 and up mustang headlights spliced in. Mustangs use a single ground for high and low beam. S-10 has seperate grounds for the two. I soldered the two ground on the s10 together and spliced on the single ground from the mustang headlights. They worked fine for about an hour, and then kept blowing fuses, and then stopped switching between high and low beam.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 04:38 PM	#4
*orangesonoma* forum idiot Age: 31 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 48,282 Location: Indian Trail, NC User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? you are going to have issues since the headlights rest at ground but the wires go hot when you turn on the headlights then switch for low or high..tieing them into to each other is your issue...un do them and go from there...there is going to be no easy way to explain it over the internet
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 04:52 PM	#5
TinaBanana Registered User Age: 30 Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 604 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? I've allready completley uninstalled the mustang headlightsand just have the oem s10 headlight wires grounds and (+)'s just exposed and connected to nothing. I plan to just use relays to hook up the mustang headlight hooked up once I get the high/low beam working. One other symptom is that my horn has quit working as well. I've check every fuse in the truck, and none were blown. Not sure if it is related. Last edited by TinaBanana : 11-14-2009 at 04:55 PM.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 05:30 PM	#6
*orangesonoma* forum idiot Age: 31 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 48,282 Location: Indian Trail, NC User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? could be...i would get a schematic for the truck and start tracing wires back
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-14-2009, 09:06 PM	#7
deathphoenix99 Electrical guy Age: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 7,782 Location: Flint, MI User is: Online	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? Yea, it's possible you messed up your bcm since it controls your headlights. Tieing the grounds together probably messed up your drl's.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-15-2009, 10:09 AM	#8
TinaBanana Registered User Age: 30 Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 604 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? drl's still seem to work fine... the turns and sides come on like they are supposed to with drl's. The bcm definitly sounds like it could be the problem. I've got one of those ordered up cheap, so we'll see if that fixes us up. If that doesn't do it, I'll break down and test everything from front to back. Thanks for the help folks. This forum has been a big help with getting this truck finished.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-15-2009, 10:13 AM	#9
deathphoenix99 Electrical guy Age: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 7,782 Location: Flint, MI User is: Online	Re: Wont switch from high to low beam,.. help? if u need wiring diagrams, read my sig.
	[Reply w/Quote]