1952 Willys CJ 3. I finally figured out my turn signal problem with help from you all. Now I have a headlight problem. I can pull the switch out to the parking lights and all is fine. When I pull it out all the way I have no headlights and I get a popping noise from the switch or relay. The light switch is only 3 months old and has only been used twice for night driving. Do I have a defective light switch/relay? Would something cause it to fail so soon? Noticed problem yesterday for first time. Went out today to work on it and lights came on when I first pulled the switch and then when I turned them off and back on nothing except the pop.
Headlights do not work Pop coming from light switch
- Thread starter Bob Snow
- Start date
PoliceMonkey161
New member
Is your rig still the original 6 volt system and harness or has it been upgraded?
PoliceMonkey161
New member
Sorry...... I know little about CJ3's, only what I've read. Schematics are few and far between, but the one I found shows no fuse panel, rather just a couple in line fuses here and there. Does this sound right?
I would start by jumping out the switch and wire the lights direct, only for a moment to see if they come on. You should have a junction block on the drivers side near the headlights, you can also bypass the switch there as well. Between the two you should be able to determine if its the switch and/or the wiring that is a fault.
If you have no fuse block, you may want to check your charging system for over-charging. This could burnout wires, switches and lights if there is no fuse to blow. Depending on the quality of the switch (some replacement Jeep parts are made over seas at lesser quality), may have just got hot and fused/melted inside.
-it's a start........ Good luck.
I would start by jumping out the switch and wire the lights direct, only for a moment to see if they come on. You should have a junction block on the drivers side near the headlights, you can also bypass the switch there as well. Between the two you should be able to determine if its the switch and/or the wiring that is a fault.
If you have no fuse block, you may want to check your charging system for over-charging. This could burnout wires, switches and lights if there is no fuse to blow. Depending on the quality of the switch (some replacement Jeep parts are made over seas at lesser quality), may have just got hot and fused/melted inside.
-it's a start........ Good luck.
blaylock6502
New member
I know absolutely nothing about cj3s but enough about electrical circuits to get myself in trouble! Do you know for sure the pop is coming from the switch? If you had a short you would be drawing a lot more current and if the circuit isn't fused the first thing to go would be the switch as the contractors in the switch are the weak link other than the fuse. Again I know nothing about cj3s but does it have a floor dimmer? If so they are a lovely trap for moisture and dirt! If it does have a floor dimmer I would disconnect it and jump across it and then see if lights work! Hopefully this is relevant to you
You are right no fuse box and only one fuse shown on wiring diagram for flasher. I do not even have that one. I will try jumping around as you suggest. It is weird though that running lights work but not headlights.
Yes popping sound is coming from switch. Just one pop and then 2o to 30 seconds latter it will pop again. I will try the bypass ot the floor dimmer switch.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Yes popping sound is coming from switch. Just one pop and then 2o to 30 seconds latter it will pop again. I will try the bypass ot the floor dimmer switch.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Just went back and looked at order for the switch which I installed in December. It says it has a built in circuit breaker. So does it make sense that what I am hearing is the circuit breaker popping like it does when the load is to heavy on a house circuit? That could also mean a short somewhere, correct?
blaylock6502
New member
Yes definitely if it has a built in breaker that's what the pop noise is. The only two things I can think of would be a short to ground or a bad switch. If the park lamps are working normally the it means it has to be in the switch or the headlamp circuit. Unplug your headlights and the switch and check at either end for resistance to ground. With the circuit breaker being in the switch be very careful jumping any wires at the headlight switch itself because if it is disconnected the circuits are not protected but that's the way some old school guys like to look for shorts to ground! Remove the protection from the circuit, jump it and wait for the smoke! Good luck
Lights are working! Took the light switch out and realized it was not wired anything like the wiring diagram. Did not change a thing since everything was working before. I replaced the circuit breaker from new switch with one from old switch and "let there be light". Guess I will see if this works. Maybe just a bad circuit breaker. If I continue to have problems will probably wire as shown in wiring diagram. Thanks for the help on this one. Sometimes just a conversation gets ideas flowing and leads to a solution.
blaylock6502
New member
That's for sure! There have been a lot of things I thought were "problems" and someone else comes up with an easy solution and its an instant y didn't I think of that!
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