'95 FZJ80 headlight switch left on and drained battery - help needed (1 Viewer)

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Jul 24, 2006
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Location
Fairfax, VA
new to me '95 and wondering what the proper functionality is. from searching it seems there was a change between years.

the other night i got home and forgot to turn the headlight switch to off. the following afternoon i came back out to the truck and the new battery was flat. crud. put it on the charger for 24+ hours and everything seems fine now. my current daily driver has auto lights and while i retrain my muscle memory to turn the headlight switch off manually, i'm trying to avoid a dead battery somewhere OTHER than my driveway

here's how my truck seems to operate:
-lights on, ignition on, doors closed. once i turn the ignition off, all exterior lights and interior lights turn off. open the driver door, close, and lock it w/ the key. this drained the battery. i'm not sure WHAT drained it, as nothing appeared on at all.
-ignition off, driver door open or closed. toggling the lights to park or head seems to have NO effect on exterior or interior lights. this is unlike any vehicle i've owned, including a '95 4Runner. is there no way to have the parking lights on with the key out?
-opening and closing the driver door turns the front dome light on/off. rear doors and hatch turn the rear dome light on/off.

i've dug into a 1996 EWD (can't find a '95 version), and found the "light auto turn off" page. there is a "light retainer relay" that controls this circuit, which is supposed to shut the lights off when the drivers door is opened. mine doesn't seem to operate this way. but does this also mean one can leave the headlight switch ON, and NOT risk draining the battery? this doesn't seem to make sense to me, and from searching it seems there were non-US models w/ an AUTO position on the headlight switch. i just discovered that the power windows are also to remain functional for 60s after turning the ignition off, or until a front door is opened, but I haven't tested this yet.

my fusible links ARE janky, and i have new ones on order, including the harness connector where i have a crimped butt connector :rolleyes:. the only electrical things i know aren't working are 1) the pass side power mirror and 2) CDL indicator on dash (CDL does seem to lock). these are both on my list to test out but should be completely independent of the lights. so far, no evidence of any modifications to the factory wiring, other than an aftermarket headunit.

so my big questions are:
1) the EWD mentions the headlight switch having a OFF, TAIL, and HEAD position. is TAIL the same as parking lights, or 1st position? HEAD is 2nd position? i'm also not sure how to read the terminal diagram for C14 (headlight switch)
2) should i be able to leave the headlight switch ON (pos 1 or 2) and not risk a dead battery?
3) where should i begin troubleshooting? that light retainer relay? headlight switch? head relay? tail relay? i'm told the "high beam relay" was replaced but not sure what part that references...the high beams do work.
4) recommendations buzzers to add and how to wire it in
 
On my '96, the headlights go off when I open the driver door, not when I turn off the engine. I leave the switch on all the time, no drain on the battery. Either someone has screwed around the the headlight wiring, of you have an electrical draw on the battery independent of the headlight circuit. Aftermarket radio installed? Those are frequently the source of electrical parasites.
 
I've done that a few times on my '93. But they shut off automatically after a period of time...45mins? 5mins? Not really sure.
 
On my '96, the headlights go off when I open the driver door, not when I turn off the engine. I leave the switch on all the time, no drain on the battery. Either someone has screwed around the the headlight wiring, of you have an electrical draw on the battery independent of the headlight circuit. Aftermarket radio installed? Those are frequently the source of electrical parasites.
thanks. that helps to know you leave your switch ON and the battery does not drain. and that your lights stay on until you open the door. my '95 does neither. do you just always have your headlights on b/c there is no ambient sensor i am aware of.

i'll hook my multimeter up and test the battery draw with the switch on and ignition off. visually nothing was on but it def drew the battery down

i do have an aftermarket headunit. i haven't pulled it out, but i believe using a Metra adapter so SHOULD be wired like factory. it turns off w/ the ignition, and retains memory unless i pull the battery cables.
 
On my '96, the headlights go off when I open the driver door, not when I turn off the engine. I leave the switch on all the time, no drain on the battery. Either someone has screwed around the the headlight wiring, of you have an electrical draw on the battery independent of the headlight circuit. Aftermarket radio installed? Those are frequently the source of electrical parasites.
My '94 works the same. Years ago, when my daughter used it as a DD, it proved its worth.:rolleyes:
 
Ok, I must be losing my mind
My instrument cluster does stay lit with the ignition off. And shuts off with the drivers door open
And the windows stay operational as well

So that still leaves testing the draw. Anyone know what that should look like?
 
Tested the amp draw with my multimeter inserted between the battery negative and negative cable in 10A current mode.

Ignition off, lights off, door opened then closed, the amps drop to .04. before I open the door it reads .10

Same if I leave the light switch on.

So I guess everything IS working, and maybe my kid left a door ajar or something. I do have an ultra gauge connected but it should go to sleep
 
Old thread I realize, but this morning in -5 degree temps I noticed my headlights had come on, where they weren't on an hour earlier. Put on snow boots, went out and turned off the switch. The headlamp relay chattered both when I turned the switch on and when I turned it off. I'll have to dig into it later, for now it's a good reminder to turn off the switch.
 
the bump reminded me that I didn't post a solution here. i did to a related thread but not this one: 96' Headlights Randomly Coming On While Vehicle is Off and Locked - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/96-headlights-randomly-coming-on-while-vehicle-is-off-and-locked.1260599/page-2#post-14515946

my issue boiled down to a lose fuse contact in the interior fuse panel; fuse ECU-B. it was the fuse panel side female connector that was too loose, which i was able to bend back tighter using my fingers and screw driver from behind the panel while lying on my back in the driver footwell.

my theory is it was making intermittent contact and waking the light retainer relay at random. anyways, my auto light function has been working perfectly for the last 6+ months
 

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