2005 Jeep Wrangler Exterior lighting Problems

“Had been noticing a plastic burning smell for a couple months, never found a cause or anything not working properly. Driving home early one morning I noticed my headlights were not working, the brights worked and so did the fog lights, but no low beams. After looking on Jeep forums and noticing a lot of people were having the same problem I decided to take the cover off my column and take a look. The wiring harness connected to my multifunction switch was burnt, proof of at least one small electrical fire, if not multiple small fires. …”

“Fog lights would not shut off, had to pull fuse. Mechanic found left side multi function switch had an internal defect and the connector was melted at the switch. Both the switch and the connector had to be replaced. Concerned that this a potential fire hazard.”

“Wiring overheating and melting blower motor fan switch at 36,500 miles. Wiring overheating and melting multifunction switch for turn signals, headlamps, hazards, etc... At 37,800 miles. Unknown cause for either failure. Replaced blower motor control switch assembly after failure myself as it was only $25 usd and 10 minutes time. Now the multifunction switch is doing the same - melting and causing headlamps to fail. Is there a voltage control problem with the electrical systems to cause these failures? Will the replaced parts fail again? Will a fire result the next time? …”

“On 12/6/09, I pulled the level to switch to high beams. I heard the switch click to high beam and then heard a crack. The switch would not switch back to low beam. I took the switch out of the vehicle on 12/7/09. I contacted my dealership on 12/8/09. They stated there are 1263 on back order in the united states. They did not have one but would order one. They did give me the names of 2 dealerships that showed them in stock. I contacted one dealership. They stated that theirs was ordered for a customer and could not sell it to me. …”

“The contact owns a 2005 Jeep Wrangler. While driving approximately 65 MPH at night with the high beam headlights activated,the headlight dimmer selector failed to function when engaged. The driver continued operation with the high beams in activation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection. The failure was contributed to the dimmer switch. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction due to the unavailability of the manufacture part required for the repair. The part was on national back order. The failure mileage was 90,000. The current mileage was 95,000. …”