kylelever

Purchased my Jeep on Friday. Its used, so no warranty. Anyway, drove it all weekend with no problems. Night before last I went to move it into the garage and the headlights wouldnt stay on. I would turn the switch to "ON" and they would turn on and immediately turn off. After sitting off for a minute, the headlights would turn back on for half second and turn off again. After another few seconds they would turn on and back off again. This time, they wouldnt come back on until I cycled the light swtich. I tried the fog lights and they stay on with no problems. I actually had to use them to drive into work this morning. The High Beams will turn on, but immediately turn off and never come back on till I cycle the switch.

I disconnected the battery the first night it happened and it seemed to clear up the issue, but this morning they started acting up again. I read on a couple of other message boards that this might be a low oil indicator. I checked and oil is clean and full. I was getting an oil change on the computer so I cleared that to just to make sure. I also ran a scan by turning the system off and on again three times and everything came back ok. The Jeep looks factory except for the tires so I doubt the bulbs are a higher wattage but I will check those tonight. I have a 2010 JK is it helps. Thanks for any help.

ronjenx

First, lets kill the low oil indicator rumor. The headlights are in no way connected to the oil level.
The computer has no way of monitoring the oil level.

The behavior you describe can be related to an overload in the headlight circuit; a short somewhere, or higher wattage after market bulbs.
Most likely, though, it's a malfunction in the TIPM. The headlights are computer controlled.

Have you noticed if it happens with the ignition OFF as well?
The headlights get pulse width modulated voltage when the engine is running, but pure DC when the engine is off.

See if it happens with the key out.

kylelever

Yeah, the low oil thing doesn't make any sense. Yes, I can see the benefit of notifying the driver of low oil, but not with a device that is required to drive.

I checked the lights at lunch. Lights turn on but immediately turn back off with the engine on and off, and with the key out of the ignition. Ill reset the battery again tonight. What doesn't make any sense is that if it was a faulty part, it would act the same way every time. Also if it was faulty, how does the resetting it solve the issue? My wife isn't going to be happy with having to buy a $300 part right off the bat. I had a friend who is negative against Jeeps and their reliability. Guess I will keep this from him....

Yellowfin

If you bought it at a dealer, I'd take it back and tell them what's going on and them have them fix it for you since it's a safety related item. If they give you any trouble with that, then maybe see if they'll split the cost of the repair with you. Thing is, they shouldn't have sold you a vehicle, Jeep or otherwise, that has a safety-related issue like faulty headlights. I certainly wouldn't just let that one go. Something minor....maybe. But headlights? I'd put that one back on the dealer.

kylelever

Can I really put that back on them? I mean I left at night and the lights worked and I signed an "as is" form. Dont get me wrong, Ill put it back on them if I can, I just dont think it will happen.

Yellowfin

You bought it on Friday. It's now Wednesday (5 days later) and the headlights aren't working properly. Unless you just want to pay to fix the problem, it's at least worth a shot to call and let them know and see what they'll do for you.

jwilson2598

I would also check the bulbs and see what is on there. If someone put a higher wattage bulb in there than stock, then the draw may be more than the computer likes and is shutting them down. Check the fog lights if it has those too.

ronjenx

Thanks for the feedback.

kylelever

Went to pull the bulbs this evening and realized it takes a little more work than my old F150. Ill try to check them this weekend. Funny thing was, when I turned the headlights on to move it into the garage, the headlights stayed on! Only thing I could really tell was the engine was warm from running around town. Guess we will see what happens in the morning.

kylelever

Just an update on this. I swung by Jasper Jeep last week and had them check the codes. Their system is saying either wiring or the TIPM is going bad. Quoted me over $500 just for the TIPM plus labor and the activation of it. The tech cleared the codes while he was in there, and strangely, the lights have worked perfectly since then. He did notice the ground screw for the headlights had been messed with which tells me the dealer was either aware of the problem, or didn't bother to check for any codes. Not to happy either way . Anyway, Ill update here if I ever get the issue nailed down.