89 headlights problem

[LeeSHO]

the only thing that works as far as lights on my 89 are the high beam lights and the side lights. my headlights don't come on. sometimes i have to play with the hight beam then my headlights come on but now it doesn't come on at all, neither do my fog lights. any idea what that could be?

 

[Ace]

sounds like your multifunction switch in the column is gone....not bad or expensive to replace...

 

[TYSHO]

The contacts inside the MFS are probably bad, I just drive around with my highbeams! :wave: My signals are starting to come off and on, but I'll be replacing that MFS shortly. As for your fog lights, check the fuse. 89's have a fuse only for the fog lights, 5 amp, if I recall. If all is good, check to see if your switch is receiving power and if the lights are. Might be a switch or bulbs, if not the fuse.

 

[baySHO_510]

I would replace the multifunction switch and check the connectors to it. If they need to be replaced you can pull them off a regular taurus or a thunderbird. I agree with tysho about the foglight fuse.

 

[Ace]

the fog lights wont work if the regular headlights are not working(unless hes done the fog light mod)power from the low beams feed into the fog lights making them work when the low beams are on..if the MFS is not sending power to the low beams then it wont complete the circuit to the fogs...i think i said it right..

 

[etc1006]

sounds like your multifunction switch in the column is gone....not bad or expensive to replace...

Not expensive the cheapest I found was ~$34 last week when mine was doing squirrley stuff... I ended up pulling it out and taking it apart to clean it and its fine now.

 

[TYSHO]

the fog lights wont work if the regular headlights are not working(unless hes done the fog light mod)power from the low beams feed into the fog lights making them work when the low beams are on..if the MFS is not sending power to the low beams then it wont complete the circuit to the fogs...i think i said it right..

The 89 is wired different and there's no fog light mod that ties into the headlights. You have to use the power from the rear defroster and connect it to the fog light switch and it allows you to turn the fogs on whenever you want, like with the car off. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the fogs on the 89 have their own circuit, hence why it has it's own specific fuse. However, it might be the same way as you mentioned, but I don't think it is. Also, my fogs were working when my low beams were out, but I still did the modification.

 

[LeeSHO]

Not expensive the cheapest I found was ~$34 last week when mine was doing squirrley stuff... I ended up pulling it out and taking it apart to clean it and its fine now.

the MFS is that black box by the Ebrake right? and what did you clean it with?
and where'd you find one for $34?

 

[Eliw]

The 89 is wired different and there's no fog light mod that ties into the headlights. You have to use the power from the rear defroster and connect it to the fog light switch and it allows you to turn the fogs on whenever you want, like with the car off. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the fogs on the 89 have their own circuit, hence why it has it's own specific fuse. However, it might be the same way as you mentioned, but I don't think it is. Also, my fogs were working when my low beams were out, but I still did the modification.

The 89 Fogs work off the headlights. Instead of the factory using a relay switch type switch, they hooked it up so that power runs to the fog light switch if the lowbeams are on.
Tie the fogs to the defroster and you get lights that could accidentaly stay on after turning off the car resulting in a dead battery which can cause alot of :cuss::banghd:. On the 89, tap a wire to go from the Parking lights connector of the headlight switch down to the fog switch and tap that into the connector that recieves power from the headlights. That way, you can turn the fogs on when you have the Parking lights on. Its a very nice look on the 89, fogs and parking lights only. God I love this car!