Headlights not working

[judasentinel]

I've read through the thread about the issues with erratic headlight function, but none of them seemed to address what is happening with my car:

The headlights seem to have a mind of their own. Every now and then when I turn the switch on, they come on, but most of the time, they do not. I have sort of ruled out the possibility of a bad/loose ground because yesterday evening, when I tried to turn them on while the car was just parked in the driveway, they wouldn't work. So I just left it alone. Today, I went outside and turned the switch and they came on. WTF? I don't understand it. Some have suggested that it could be the turn knob, but I don't think it's that. If there were a build-up of some sort inside it, wouldn't it not work at all? And if the headlights are not turning on at all, no matter however many times I do it or whatever way I turn the switch on, they wouldn't come on.

Anyone have an idea as to what it could be?

Thanks,

Munib

[Daryl @ RightDrive]

Sounds like the switch to me. If it were a ground or broken wiring they probably wouldn't ever come on.

[Skym]

The contacts inside all of the switches on dash get dirty and need to be cleaned, bent back into place. Switch will slowly stop working over time. What you do is pull switch apart and bend the contact's and clean them with a pencil eraser or similar. That's what was done with rear demister switch on my car and works like new when had similar problem. If are not confident enough to attempt this repair (there are online tutorials on how to do this), pay a auto electrician to do it for you or replace switch.

[caliber676]

It's a pretty easy test if you want to be certain. Find out what wire is power and which is ground, there will be a few depending on setting. Check for voltage to the switch to rule out the circuit before the switch. Measure across the switch power to ground with the lights "on". If you see voltage it's something after the switch, if there's no voltage it's your switch