[mopar56]

yesterday my sons Dakota fog lites stopped working, we wernt able to spend a lot of time diagnoseing this but here is what we did do...checked the fuse, it was good, swapped the horn relay,(which works and is the same) with the fog lamp relay, no change, and pulled one of the bulbs,(just in case they were both burnt out) and tested it with jumper wires direct to the battery and it lit up, therefore I assume this leaves two things, a problem in the harness or the switch, now I have replaced many Dodge headlamp switches before and know they havnt been great in the past..have they gotten any better? My son said he thought the switch seemed warm to the touch when driving with the lights on last week, this may have been a sign so before I remove it for inspection, any ideas?, Oh, and yes, these are factory lites installed at assembly

 

[valiant67]

These have always been troublesome. My then new 1999 Dakota had to go back to the dealer under warranty because the fog light portion of the switch failed. I think some warmth to the switch is pretty normal, but I think the failure is going to be in the switch.

 

[mopar56]

yeah thats kinda what I thought, I guess I will price one out today then pull it apart for inspection this weekend

 

[valiant67]

Should be available aftermarket from a couple different manufacturers. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, a little over $40 on rockauto.com with fog lights.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

One more test before you buy a switch - probe the socket with a voltmeter and switch on, to verify the socket is good and that the contacts have not corroded or cracked away.

 

[mopar56]

ok I will although when I unplugged the bulb last night I did look in the plug and the contacts were clean

 

[Bob Lincoln]

OK, then they are probably intact, but check voltage anyway, and push the contacts a little with the voltmeter probe. Last year I had a failed backup light, and the socket looked fine when I took the bulb out, but when I probed it with a meter, one contact crumbled and fell out. It had already cracked and was just lying in place.

 

[mopar56]

ok good point the plugs are easy to get at so a simple test and yes an aftermarket switch is available here for just under 50 bucks I guess it cant be any worse than the origanal, lol

 

[mopar56]

These have always been troublesome. My then new 1999 Dakota had to go back to the dealer under warranty because the fog light portion of the switch failed. I think some warmth to the switch is pretty normal, but I think the failure is going to be in the switch.

, So after testing voltage at the pins and checking there integrity, my son ordered and replaced the switch, (60 bucks at Napa) and a fairly easy job to do and they are fixed!, thanks for all your help again