Hi Peeps,
I'd like to take a survey to see the mileage count for those who have this weird headlight flicker off/on problem! I am noticing that most are in the 00 to 01 years. Mine has 160,000 miles on it and is a 01 model. My mechanic will check it out this weekend. He says it probably is NOT the combination switch, but more like a switch in the hood that could be shorting when it gets hot (i.e. the lights are one for a while). Anyone else have fix for this dangerous problem?

 

168K on my 01 SE 20th Anni. and no light problems.

but I've had coil, iacv, maf, o2, cat, plugs, brakes, and alternator problems.

 

I have 00 SE with 141k miles. I haven't had a on/off problem, but my lights flicker/jitter when I am driving at highway speeds. You can see it on the signs on the side of the road and on the back of trucks as you drive. I believe that it is being caused by the wind moving the housing.

My 94 GMC Jimmy, had an on/off/flicker problem and the wiring harness where the bulb plugged in was corroded. Sounds like something you are having. Hopefully, your mech can find it.

 

My 1999 4th gen has what I believe is the same issue...it started at around 180k

 

I've got about 110k on my car and I've got a slightly different problem. My high beams flicker on when I activate the left turn signal. I've replaced the combination switch and the problem continued. Then I disassembled and cleaned the original switch and reinstalled it. The problem continued. For the last two weeks I haven't worked on resolving the problem. But I'll get back to it soon.

I know this isn't the same problem you're having but they may be related.

What did your mechanic find?

 

Unfortunately didn't get a chance to go down yet.

Will let you know. I replaced the relay under the hood and that didn't help either.

I'ts got to be the wiring....somewhere.

DrOmed.

 

After 120k miles, my headlight harness melted from the heat - the actual plug that makes contact with the bulb. Spliced in a new one in 10 minutes with a $4.99 part from any local auto store.

Something to consider...might not be the switch/relay/etc, but the actual plug.

 

Hi.
Is the plug you mention inside the housing? Or is it the pig tail that leaves the headlight housing and connects outside of the housing?

 

The latter. I had to wiggle the connector every so often for a week until I finally decided to fully disconnect it - lo and behold, the plastic had melted and was no longer able to hold the connector to the bulb.

 

I had this same problem with the headlights flickering on my 97 SE. Turns out the connection at the bulb had melted as well. I went to Auto Zone bought a new harness and spliced it onto the main harness, problem solved.

 

Me too. Was using aftermarket bulbs, that were supposed to be the correct wattage, but the connection to the bulb melted. Just spliced in new connectors and no problems since!

 

The HID socket for the bulb seems to be a unique one. Do you recall how your replaced this socket? I went to the mechanic and he said that after the pigtail (exterior one) there was power (even when the headight had its 'outage') so we know the pigtail is good, ground is good. It must be happening after the power enters the headlight. This lead me to three possible causes. Again this for the HID headlights. 1. Its a bad ballast. 2. Its a bad Bulb 3. Its the socket that the bulb sits in.

Anyone else tried to fix this problem, or can be more specific about the fix especially with 02/03 HID's.

Dr.Omed

 

the HID socket is funny. You have to make sure you line up the dimples in the socket with the bulges in the bulb. Push in fully, THEN twist. You should hear it lock/click. It took me a while to realize that when I was doing a 5.0->5.5 headlight conversion for a customer.

 

Hi Peeps,
People following this and other threads regarding on/off lights. Well we thought it was the ballast, maybe the wiring, the harness possibly. Well, it was THE LIGHT BULBS! DUH!. I ordered a new set of 6000k bulbs and they arrived just before I was going to order ballasts and computers (the little black box that sits inside the housing) and wiring harness, etc etc. Well I replaced the bulbs and things have been fine since. Hope this helps others if anyone has this problem.

Dr.Omed.

 

I mentioned before that I think my problem was a little different. Maybe not. I'm not sure. In any case, I've be working on this problem myself and I noticed two days ago that if I didn't have my fog lights on, the lights don't flicker when I activate the turn signal. It's just one more clue for my problem. I'm not sure if it helps or not but I thought I'd pass it on.

 

2000 SE 215000 mile no problems

 

My 02 with 103k is having this problem. They flicker off/on after running the lights for some time. Does anyone elses ABS light on the dash "barely" turn on when switching the headlights on or activating the high beams?

 

No, but you should try changing the bulbs. I struggled with finding some complicated solution and all it was was the bulbs.

Good Luck.

 

No, but you should try changing the bulbs. I struggled with finding some complicated solution and all it was was the bulbs.

Good Luck.