Can I get the headlight switch wiring diagram with colors?

Hi,

I need some general information from you. First, is this a full-size van? Also, I need to know if you have daytime running lights (DRL) or not. The wiring schematics are different. See pic below.

Let me know if the wires you mentioned get hot only with the lights on as well.

Take care,

Joe

See pic below.

Hi,

Nothing above indicated this is a B3500 van. It says wagon. People refer to caravans as wagons. Also, the B3500 came with both with and without DRL. If you provide that information, I can get you the schematic you need. If you decide you don't need them, that is fine, too.

Joe

Hi Joe. Is there a full moon tonight? I read this question earlier but didn't post a reply because I too had no idea if it was a full-size van, a Power Wagon, or one of the other Wagons. Now I see it's a relatively uncommon full-size 3500 van. Had I taken a guess, that would have been my last choice. You should know it has daytime running lights. What's the matter with you, Joe. Afterall, those were never included on U.S. Models unless the customer ordered it with them. That's why they're in the wiring diagrams under "export" version.

I just got a similar response. I provided much more information than requested, and now the fellow is mad because I didn't address his new problem or provide any details. I think I've had enough of this sitting in my freezing van so I can use Walmart's internet to help unappreciative people. I'm going home to my burned out house to sit in my warm garage. Hope your night goes better than mine.

Mr. Scarecrow, you should understand this site is free for you, but unlike on other forums where anyone can jump in to confuse the issue, here this becomes a private conversation between just two or three people. Joe helps more people than the rest of us combined. Any one of us will stick with you for days, weeks, even months if necessary until we reach a solution. You have no reason to post, "I'll fix it myself" when all Joe did was dare to ask the questions the rest of us were thinking. We don't even require a "Thank You" for trying to help, but we really do appreciate it when someone takes the time to post the final solution and how they reached it. That often helps other people researching the same problem. If that's too much to ask, you care less about helping others than we do.

You are reading things I never typed. We know this is not a minivan by the 5.9L engine, but there was also a Power Wagon pickup truck. There's no justification for becoming angry for simply asking for clarification. I'd be grateful someone is trying to help. You need to understand that others can't see what you have. If asking simple questions bothers you, it sounds like you put too much effort into searching for a reason to be angry. Joe puts in so much effort to help people. He doesn't deserve an attitude. The information he asked for is not top secret. We also don't know if you're in the U.S, so it's proper to ask if you have daytime running lights. How angry would you be if Joe posted the wrong diagram? Seems to me Joe is trying extra hard to be as helpful as possible.

"Figuring it out on your own" is not a solution. There's a very good chance the new switch and terminals are all that's needed. We won't know for sure until the repair is completed. Many people will post the final solution months later or after another visitor with the same problem stumbles across the post and asks what the solution was.

Now please allow me to make another comment for the benefit of others researching this topic. Do not get angry when I mention the connector. I see you are going to replace it. The problem with most competent do-it-yourselfers is they do not understand the need to replace the overheated terminals. They find the defective switch but go only as far as replacing it. That will work for a while, but eventually the burned connector terminals will create excessive resistance which translates into heat. That heat migrates into the new switch's contacts and causes a repeat failure over time. The same thing happens quite often to ignition switches and a little less to dimmer switches. I've done this repair to dozens of '90s front-wheel-drive vehicles.

When it comes to replacing the connector, for us, time is money. To keep the customer's bill down, it is common to reuse the old connector after cutting out the melted cavities. Cut off at least four inches of the two old, overheated wires because solder won't adhere to those hardened sections. You need to go back to nice shiny copper. Solder on new sections of the same diameter, then use a pair of universal crimp-style terminals, but solder them too for the best connection. Plug those two terminals onto the switch individually.

If the thought of a chopped up connector body doesn't sit well with you, consider that the terminals in the new connector are usually the same style as the old ones. Instead of cutting and soldering all the wires, it's faster to pull the good terminals out of the old connector body, and pop them into the new one. The two that need to be replaced will already be on the new connector with a few inches of wire, so those are ready to splice.

Before splicing any wires, slide on pieces of heat-shrink tubing to seal the joints. Never use electrical tape as it will unravel into a gooey mess on a hot day. For this application, the heat-shrink tubing doesn't have to be the moisture-proof kind. The backs of the terminals are already exposed, so sealing out moisture from the splice has no advantage.

We'd still like a comment or two when the repair is completed so we know it has been handled.

I'm about four hours north of you, but I've been to Chicago many times for VCR schools and automotive training classes. I find driving in Chicago a lot easier than in my home city, at least that was the case 30 years ago.

You have the assessment of overheated connector terminals correct. Most people don't understand that, but a detailed explanation usually takes care of that. The same thing happens to heater fan speed switches when they're carrying the full motor current. Newer models do that with a tiny switch and a computer module. The most common place I've seen this is with ignition switches. They appear to cause the most trouble for people in the habit of turning the ignition switch on or off while the heater fan is set to one of the higher settings. Switching that much current on and off leads to a lot of arcing on the ignition switch contacts. There's usually three or four separate switches built into the ignition switches, so the engine will still crank and run. It's the "accessory" circuit that fails, with the heater fan, radio, and wipers as the most noticed dead systems.

I just finished 14 weeks of reshingling my garage roof and building a new, larger dormer over the garage door. A lot of that was done after dark. On one of those nights, I saw what I hope were satellites going from the northwest to the southeast. It was the right time of day for the sun to be reflecting off of them. First there were three in a row, and as I watched them, right after came a string of 20, all perfectly spaced and in a straight line. Took about two minutes to pass out of view. They were very bright and impossible to miss. I told a computer repairman friend about it, and he is 99 percent sure those were for Elon Musk's Starlink. I also saw something similar a few years ago, also early evening after dark. Those were five or six, again I'm assuming satellites, going from south to north. All followed the same path, but they were about 30 seconds apart, and not very bright. They didn't bother me, so I just waved "goodbye" to them.

Anyway, I have a different take on all our problems, from a preacher I heard on tv. His answer was, "this isn't heaven". Then it occurred to me, why bother looking forward to heaven if life is good here? Also, if tvs, vcrs, car radios, and cars don't break down, I'm not needed. If people don't misbehave, policemen aren't needed. Gotta be appreciative and find happiness where we can.

Please drop us a note when the repairs are completed, and let us know if there was anything unusual or difficult you ran into.

I've often wanted to know how locomotives and helicopters work. Those will be goals for my next lifetime. Don't have enough time left in this one.