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My headlights totally quit on my 1998 Chevy Silverado K1500. I tried pushing the emergency break up and down to try to make the switch kick in but nothing happened. I have the running lights just no high/low been when you turn the headlight switch on.
Does anyone know what went wrong? Is it the switch where you turn the lights on or is it the switch connected to the emergency break?
Someone has also told me there is a replacement harness for this issue that may need to be replaced as well as the switch.And that this is a common problem with Chevy trucks in the 1990 era.
Thank you,
Tesla77
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i would check the ground for the headlight assembly, i would also check the switch for the headlights, and check any harness connections or anything for corrosion, never heard of hand breaks effecting the operation of headlights.
also have a look at this.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problemsIt is true that headlight switches on those models were an issue and they did burn up part of the wiring harness in the process. For that reason I’d recommend you remove the switch to inspect it. If you see brown or discolored wires in the back, you might want to replace the switch and the harness behind it.
Additional info here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems
Keep us posed on your progress.
Would it be best to replace the switch with a (WELLS) part listed below?
I have heard replacement switches go bad as well.Came to the conclusion that I have cut off wires on the rider side. The headlight switch is fine. And also the connection to it from the harness.
I need some help finding out how to rewire the cut-off wires though. I sent pics of the wire problem. The plug shown goes to the riders side headlight. The three cut-off wires go to the horn and to the main headlight harness to the drivers side.
My question is why do I have three wires (black. green, brown)on the cut-off wires and only two on the (green/brown) plug. Please see pics.
Can someone help me out of how these are to connect or what’s going on here?
Well, I’d guess the headlights are internally grounded and the black wire is a ground for something else. I’d disconnect the battery, reconnect the cut wires, turn the headlight switch to on, touch the battery post with the cable and see if you have lights. Does this vehicle have an alarm?
No alarm. I have running lights and they work (both of them) I have no headlights Hi or Low beam when I turn the headlight switch to the 12:00 position. The horn is coming off that same wire harness though.
The only thing throwing me for a loop is the 3rd fatter black wire. Does the plug ground somehow?
The headlight maybe does. The brown and green would be high and low beam.
I asked about an alarm thinking that maybe the cut wires were due to someone trying to silence the horn set off by a security device.
No the truck was in an accident this past winter with damage to the front clip of the passenger side. The wires must have got pinched cutting off the plug and the auto body shop I had fix it did something to make the headlights work temporally until now. The wires were tucked under the battery tray. I didn’t see the mess until the headlights quit working and did some digging. I am going to the junk yard this weekend to get that portion of headlight harness.
The only mystery to me still is how the fat black wire connects to the plug. I know it’s the ground but it stops at the female plug. As you can see there is no third wire at the male plug. Maybe Chevy puts it there for the reason you stated…for alarm hookup.
You can eliminate the guessing about the black wire with a wiring diagram. I don’t have one handy for your vehicle but if you find one it should be helpful. That said, if you’re replacing the damaged part of the harness it may reveal what that wire is for.
Good luck and keep us posted on how the replacement goes.
I found the problem with the head lights. It was the dimmer switch and not the headlight switch. Current runs through the dimmer to the headlight switch. Tilting the steering wheel overtime will crack the wires. As the wires strands break the remaining wire strands get more current applied to them causing the entire wire to burn off. Seems Chevrolet has an ongoing track record of this. The wire harness is taped to close to the switch not allowing much flex of wires when tilting the wheel.
See pics below.
I replaced the AC Delco (357.00) with BWD (203.99) switch. I usually don’t replace electrical with no other than OEM but in this case I didn’t see spending the extra money. BWD has great reviews.
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