ok so i was offroading the yesterday and.....the engine killed itself and the headlights stayed on...after trying to figure out what happened we realized that turning the headlights off let the engine start but putting the headlights on when the engine is running immediately would kill the engine

we checked the alternator

the ac temp light also flickers when the engine is on

also when the headlights are on and the engine is off, one headlight has its high beam on and the other has its low beam on, also when i brake with my headlights off the headlights come on but in a VERY dim light

weird...

BTW the headlights are aftermarket

 

nobody has any info?

i understand if you don't...im confused

 

have you tried swapping back the OEM headlights? this might help rule out if the problem is the aftermarket headlights or somthing els

 

Or you could take the light bulbs out and everything, and then flick the switch. Just a sugg.

Good luck man.

 

i will try switching out the headlights back to stock....actually i have been thinking about it since my stock lights were brighter than the aftermarket ones(the aftermarket ones just looked cooler)

if that does not work im going to take it to Ford i guess

 

Sounds like a bad ground somewhere to me, bad grounding can cause all kinds of strange electrical problems...maybe jarred loose by off roading or corroded if water/mud offroading..couldnt tell ya where to start looking though possibly wiring diagrams pertaining to headlight circuit for ground locations ..

 

UPDATE: when there are no headlights hooked up it does not even start

 

Definitely sounds like a ground problem to me almost like the PCM and/or the engine controls are trying to find a ground through the headlight circuit. Check a wiring diagram for all grounding points in system to rule out the possibility of broken or corroded ground points. Please let us know what you find.

 

i dont no if this will work, but u should try pulling the fuses for the lights and see if it starts.
also, try putting in one light at a time, so u no if one of them is shorting out and one is wired properly.

again i could be out in loony toon land, just trying to give u suggestions.

 

I would agree that it sounds like a grounding issue... Turning the headlights on somehow interrupts the ground path (and explains why one light is dim and the other is bright).

Check the main ground connection to the chassis for starters... Take a jumper cable and clip it to the frame rail (make sure you get a good connection) and clip the other end to the negative post of the battery. See what it does then (if anything).

Start there and see what you come up with... Let us know what you find.

-Joe

 

My truck just did the same thing last week.It ended up being a bad battery cable end.

 

UPDATE: Fixed it!

it was the ground wire right behind the passenger headlight, just had to tighten it up

thanks for the help guys

 

Great!! How'd you check it?

 

well actually my friend was playin around with the lights and we narrowed it down to the passenger side, it wasn't very visible but the ground right behind the headlight socket was a little loose, we tightened it up and all was solved

 

what a great feeling when you fix a stupid little problem like that