need some help with an electrical problem

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by gunner76, Jan 24, 2015.

  1. gunner76

    gunner76 Medium Load Member

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    Mar 11, 2010
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    I had another wiring problem flare up the other day. First off I should start by saying that this summer I had my headlights cut out and trip the breaker. Whenever I tried to reset the breaker it would trip right away and if I pulled the breaker and reinserted it sparks would fly. I took it to a dealer and they said there was a short somewhere in the wiring that they couldn't find so they ran a new wire to the breaker panel and fixed the problem.


    Fast forward to mon and I lost the chicken lights under the truck. They are acting the same way as the headlights did, trips breaker and will spark if the breaker is pulled out and put back in. Everything on the outside of the truck is fine with no bare wires or anything else that would cause the short so I'm guessing that it's inside. My chicken lights were factory hooked up to the headlight switch. I also have a second switch for the marker lights/flash feature. I spent two hours this morning tearing the entire dash apart hoping to find a bare wire somewhere but have had no luck. There are still places that I can't see the wires and I'm not about to totally dismantle the entire wiring harness and take the risk of creating more problems.

    I was thinking of just running a new wire to the breaker box from the switch like the headlights are but I don't know which wires I need to replace. here's what I found:

    Headlight switch has the following wires coming out of it- Blue and white that are side by side, a single brown, a single yellow, two yellows that are spliced together in the same port, and a brown and yellow that are spliced together in the same port. The dual yellow wires are the headlight feed.

    At the breaker box the breaker for the chicken lights has a red wire that comes in and a brown wire that goes to a relay then there is also a brown wire that goes from the relay to the wiring harness for the lights. The red wire coming out of the breaker goes through a terminal of some sort then into the large mess that is the wiring loom and then I can't trace where it goes from there.


    Which wire do I need to replace to make it work again?
     
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  3. 60Lugnutts

    60Lugnutts Bobtail Member

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    Sep 4, 2014
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    I hope someone can help you with this. I'm having same sort of electrical lighting issues.
     
  4. mtoo

    mtoo Road Train Member

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    Sometimes it's best to give up and run a new circuit. If a person can trace the problem them self, then take the time to find the problem. But if a shop is being paid to do the work, and cant figure it out fairly quickly. Then run a new wire past the problem area.

    As far as peterbilt headlight problems, it can very easily be at the front of the hood. Years of opening and closing the hood can take a toll
     
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