head and brake lights

[steve621]

hey i just bought a dodge dakota and my brake and head lights do not work i checked the bulbs and fuses all good any ideas? thanks

[vgames33]

See if you have power at the bulb socket, but I'd suspect the switch or a relay since nothing works.

[FishFind]

yeah prolly a switch. You should have a switch under the dash near the steering column. Check it before you buy it though. Not cheap. I am not sure if it does the headlight though. What year is it? does it have a auto sensor for the lights?

[steve621]

replaced the head light switch that isnt the problem any other suggestions

[shorod]

I'd suggest you move this post to the Dakota forum. There may be a common issue with the Dakota (you don't mention the model year) that will cause your symptoms and the regulars on that forum my be able to quickly suggest a fix.

If you'd like me to move your thread for you, let me (or any of the moderators) know.

Do the parking lights all work? How about the turn signals? Do you have a multimeter and/or test light?

-Rod

[steve621]

yes that would be great and to answer your question the only lights that are working are the reverse lights and blinkers. thanks

[steve621]

there is power getting to the sockets any ideas?

[FishFind]

Like I said check behind the dash near steering column it should have a many relay i believe its called that tells it when to light up when you press the brakes.

See if it is a closed circuit loop. If so then if any wire is shorted then none will work.

Make sure that one of the bulbs are not facing the wrong way. the tabs are offset but not by much so it looks like the bulb can go in any direction but it cant.

If you are getting power to the socket but \the light wont work then check the ground wire. Don't just ground it to the truck. A bad ground wire will make it not work.

[steve621]

i dont know what one looks like do you think you can find a picture of one and send it to me and show the location that it is in lol sorry to be a pain

[FishFind]

I will take a look tomorrow after work. I would check the ground wire first though. Thats assuming that you used some metal object as the ground and not the ground wire in the socket. If you have 12v at the socket the light should work regardless of anything else. If you know you have 12v and you used the ground wire in the socket then the only thing left is the bulb is bad.

[steve621]

That would be great thanks

[steve621]

ok im gonna do a bit of an over view i checked all the fuses and relays the only relay that isnt there is the abs relay but i dont think that has antthing to do with it. the only lights that do work are the reverse and the hazard lights. i checked the brake light relay its good changed the head light switch its good. there is no power getting to the sockets. anything else i can check im pretty sure the ground is good to. any ideas??

[FishFind]

I wish I could help you more but I dont have a Dakota.

If the system is a "closed Circuit" they all lights and wire must be good for any light to work.

The best thing you can do is get a haynes manual or find one on the internet. It will show you where the wire starts and where it ends. You will need to check in order from start to stop on every un -till you get to the end and make sure it is good all the way. This includes fuses relays and such. I can't tell you a specific part until you find what is bad or else in the end you will have spent alot of money.

Best thing is get the Haynes and look in the back. check it at each stop along the way.