AW11 headlights turn off spontaneously

[JarrodMR2]

Just bought an '85 MR2 in really nice shape with just a few little problems. I fiddled with some stuff to make the pop-ups go down when you turn off the lights. Replaced the fuse last night, which remedied the problem, but tonight the headlights started randomly turning off for a few seconds then coming back on.
I checked to make sure the relay was nice and snug and fiddled with the switch, neither of which helped. Bumps in the road don't cause it. I can just be cruising in fifth and they will blink off and then back on again. If anyone knows what's causing this, or even where to start in trying to figure this out, I'd really appreciate it.

[MR2Jedi]

Is it both lights at the same time? And does it happen during low and/or high beams?

[JarrodMR2]

Both headlights go out and come back on simultaneously. It has only happened with the low beams on, but I rarely use my brights. I tried to flick the high beams on one of the times it happened, but the lights came back on faster than I reacted. Tonight on my way home I'll see if it happens with the high beams on.

[MR2Jedi]

Originally Posted by JarrodMR2

Both headlights go out and come back on simultaneously. It has only happened with the low beams on, but I rarely use my brights. I tried to flick the high beams on one of the times it happened, but the lights came back on faster than I reacted. Tonight on my way home I'll see if it happens with the high beams on.

The reason I asked was because the same thing happened with my 2nd gen.
It ended up being the light switch in the steering column. I took it out, cleaned it up( there was some nasty gunk in there) and it hasn't happened since.Which I'm glad for, because Toyota wanted $265.00 for the switch.
Could also be the relay.
Also,sometimes the fuse looks good, but there's a hairline break in the fuse you can't really see. Of course, you can always test the fuse for continuity.

[JarrodMR2]

Thanks man. I think I've narrowed it down to the switch. It happened again tonight, but this time for long enough for me to try some different things. They went off under low beams, so I pushed forward on the stalk to lock on brights, and got nothing, but when I pulled back on the stalk, the high beams came on. This would have been waaay easier to figure out if my dash lights worked. I guess thats next...

[MR2Jedi]

Originally Posted by JarrodMR2

Thanks man. I think I've narrowed it down to the switch. It happened again tonight, but this time for long enough for me to try some different things. They went off under low beams, so I pushed forward on the stalk to lock on brights, and got nothing, but when I pulled back on the stalk, the high beams came on. This would have been waaay easier to figure out if my dash lights worked. I guess thats next...

Thats EXACTLY how mine acted!

[JarrodMR2]

I pulled the switch, cleaned it, and rebuilt it. I found a really really old forum post from MR2.com (ca. 1995) that detailed which pins were supposed to have continuity under different switch positions. Everything checked out with a multimeter. I checked the connector in the car too, also fine. But I'm still having an issue. After wiggling the connectors, I found out its just a bad connection. But I have no idea how to fix it.

[MR2Jedi]

Well, you can either splice in a new connector OR you can bend the tip of the pins just a little bit with some needle nose pliers and when you plug it back together, it will be tighter.
I know, jury rigged, but I've done this a few times.
Kinda like bending the prongs on a plug to make it fit in a home wall electrical outlet.
Just be carefull if you go that route.

[JarrodMR2]

Good news. Problem solved. Resoldered the pins to the circuit board in the switch. Good as new, and my dashlights work now too. Thanks for your help.