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Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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WindWalker-AK
Novice
Nov 20, 2009, 5:44 PM
Post #1 of 17
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Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Dear Sir,
1991 GMC 1500 5.7L --- Truck parked outside.
When the temperature gets down to 0 degrees (F) the headlights, taillights and dash lights do not come on immediately. The turn indicators, inside dome light and brake lights work as they should. This problem started last winter.
The colder it gets, the longer the delay. Around +10 degrees the delay is only 5 seconds or so for all lights. Around -20 degrees the delay is about 4 minutes for the headlights and about 4 minutes later the taillights and dash lights come on. Around -30 degrees below 0 the delay is around 8 minutes for the headlights and about 4 or 5 minutes later the taillights and dash lights come on. This is with the motor running.
Have checked/cleaned all fuses and replaced the 2 relay switches on the fuse block under the dash on the driver's side., to no avail.
Respectfully request your advice on what to do (repair/replace) next.
Best Wishes
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 20, 2009, 6:34 PM
Post #2 of 17
(2121 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Windwalker; Just a guess, but this kind of points towards the headlamp switch. Is there any way that you could keep the interior warm for a few days to see if this corrects the problem? Portable heater? Usually, electrical switches act up when hot, not cold. But, you are talking temperatures that I have no experience with.  Fairbanks? Or worse? If that's even possible. LOL.
Loren
SW Washington
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WindWalker-AK
Novice
Nov 20, 2009, 9:46 PM
Post #3 of 17
(2118 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Mr. Champlain,
Thank you for the advice.
Will try to get an electric heater set up on the driver's side floor, in the morning. By blanketing off that half of the cab, no higher than the top of the steering wheel, it should only take a few hours to warm up the switch.
Will keep you posted.
Best Wishes from:
Sawmill Creek, Alaska
Temperature this morning was -29 degrees below 0 (F)
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WindWalker-AK
Novice
Nov 21, 2009, 9:36 PM
Post #4 of 17
(2110 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Mr. Champlain,
Today the temperature was a very comfortable -8 degrees below 0. Tried the light switch, neither headlights or taillights came on.
Installed the electric heater in the truck on the driver's-side floor without placing a blanket to trap/concentrate the heat to the driver's side of the cab.
Let the heater run for 3 hours. There was still ice on the outside of the windows but the cab was noticeably warmer. Turned the switch on and the headlights immediately came on. Taillights and front parking lights did not. Turned switch off.
Allowed the heater to run for another 2 hours. Ice was gone from the outside of the windows. Turned the switch on and the headlights immediately came on with the taillights and front parking lights coming on about 2 seconds later.
Unless you recommend otherwise, will see what I can do about troubleshooting the light switch next.
Weather guy is predicting temperatures may drop back down to -30 degrees tonight, in our area. Hopefully it may warm back up to -5 below 0 beginning of next week. Think I will wait until then to work on the problem as at 71yrs of age, am getting too old (lazy?) for the cold weather stuff, except for emergencies of course.
Thank you for sharing your insight/experience! Will keep you posted.
Best Wishes from,
Sawmill Creek, Alaska
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 22, 2009, 5:29 AM
Post #5 of 17
(2105 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Wow, that stuff is scary.....
That stuff never happens around here. Most of out cars don't even have working heat.............LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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chickenhouse
Enthusiast
Nov 22, 2009, 8:30 AM
Post #6 of 17
(2102 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Wonder if it came with factory a/c? If so WHY? 60's here today- ABOVE zero!
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 22, 2009, 12:04 PM
Post #7 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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<<Hopefully it may warm back up to -5 below 0 beginning of next week.>>
Wow! That's almost T-shirt and shorts weather, to you? LOL.... I've been racking (or wrecking?) my brain the past couple of days to come up with some wisdom to pass on, but not much makes sense. This is another 'wild' guess;
Could it be that any moisture that is in the cabin is freezing? With those temps, I would think that the air is quite dry, though. I have no evidence, but I still suspect the switch. I'll try and do a bit more research into this and get back.
----------------------------
Completely off the subject; We did the AK cruise a few years ago. Hit Juneau, Skagaway, and Ketchican on the way. The ship dropped us off at Whittier. Then, took the train to Denali, which was the highlight of the trip. Spent two days there, then two days in Fairbanks. I will remember that trip the rest of my life. Just read that North Pole is no longer going to do the Santa Claus letters. Guess that the mayor is raising hell, but it's the USPS that made the decision. So sad. We sure enjoyed visiting North Pole. We can't wait to go back, but next time, I'd like to drive. It's the area from here to Anchorage that I'd really like to see...the wildlife. I tried 'googling' Sawmill Cr., but didn't get very far...Are you on the northern tip of the Kenai Pen.? Or, closer to Denali?
Loren
SW Washington
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 22, 2009, 12:59 PM
Post #8 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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WindWalker; Couple more questions; Does your truck have daytime running lights? Have you tried switching from high to low beam (dimmer switch) when the problem is present? I searched TSBs for this problem and found nothing.
There was a couple dealing with poor connectors, but... The headlamp switch is very inexpensive (around $25 from CarQuest or NAPA), but it is still just a guess at this point. Looking at the wiring diagram, looks like the headlamps and tail lamps run through the DRL module, so it is suspect, too. (wiring is my weakest area, among many)
Loren
SW Washington
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WindWalker-AK
Novice
Nov 22, 2009, 2:03 PM
Post #9 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Mr. Champlain,
No Sir, it does not have daytime running lights and yes I did try the dimmer switch a couple of time, when the lights did not come on. Made no difference, lights still did not come on. When the temperature drops below 0 (F) we do not have any moisture in the air unless it is snowing . Glad to see we are still thinking along the same lines.
Please pardon my ignorance but what is the DRL module and where do I find it?
When I trouble shoot the light switch, thought I would try to bypass it at the switch to see if the lights will come on.
We have both CarQuest and NAPA available "locally"; 50 mile trip. What the heck, it is a 10 mile trip to our mailbox (You know, the one that sets out on the road in front of your home.). That is a lot better than having to go to Fairbanks for the parts which is a 5 hour trip. So no complaints here.
Glad you enjoyed your trip to Alaska. We always welcome tourists.
For the young man who was curious as to whether or not our truck came with A/C, of course it did. We are not heathens up here. (Well, not all of us anyway. ) After all, we too enjoy the creature comforts. When the temperature hits +76 degrees and the humidity climbs to 35%, lot more comfortable to turn on the A/C rather than sit there in a pool of sweat; heh, heh!
Best Wishes to one an all
Sawmill Creek, Alaska (located in Interior Alaska, East of Fairbanks)
(This post was edited by WindWalker-AK on Nov 22, 2009, 2:11 PM)
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 22, 2009, 2:21 PM
Post #10 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Windwalker; The DRL (daytime running lights) module idea can be thrown out the window, then. >>We are not heathens up here. (Well, not all of us anyway.<< That was too funny! LOL.
Loren
SW Washington
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chickenhouse
Enthusiast
Nov 23, 2009, 6:36 PM
Post #11 of 17
(2079 views)
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Not being disrespectful by any means, the "selling refridgerators to eskimos" came to mind and I could'nt help myself! Too funny. Thank you for your posts and your insight and I hope your problem will be resolved. I thought electricity flowed easier the colder the temp. Has to be hitting a roadblock somewhere.
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Nov 23, 2009, 7:21 PM
Post #13 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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>>Haven't you ever pinched a wire between you fingers to hold the current back? <<
I tried that ONCE on an HEI distributor. My head flew upwards into the hood. Didn't work. The blood, pouring down from my forehead, evidently insured conductivity. The 'pulses' that I felt were NOT GOOD.
Loren
SW Washington
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 23, 2009, 7:22 PM
Post #14 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Hahahahahaha................. I hate it when that happens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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WindWalker-AK
Novice
Jan 23, 2011, 1:51 PM
Post #15 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Mr. Champlain,
You were right!!
(Temperature here at our homestead this morning is -33 degrees below 0 (F). One of our neighbor's has -42 and another has -45. We are a hair warmer due to living on a small knoll.)
Anyway, last Friday morning finally decided to pull the headlight/taillight switch. Upon removal noticed a sticky substance on the outside of the the switch "box". Called the local CarQuest (50 mile trip) and lo an behold, they actually had ONE in stock. Asked them to hold it for my pickup. Turned on the pre-heaters for the car, for a couple of hours. (It was warmer that day.)
Noticed the new switch did NOT have any sticky stuff on the outside of the "box". Could see there was some sort of electrical/assembly grease applied inside the unit. Disassembled the old unit and found the grease had melted and migrated to the various electrical contact points. Thin but present. So.......as long as temperatures were moderate, the sliding switch parts could make an adequate electrical connection and the lights would immediately turn on. However, once our normal winter temperatures set in, the grease congealed and prevented the electrical circuit from completing and the lights would not come on. Once the temperature in the truck cab warmed up, the grease thinned and allowed the circuit to be completed. The colder it was outside, the longer it took.
Bottom line is, once we replaced the switch as Mr. Champlain recommended, the lights now function normally; regardless of the temperature.
THANK YOU KIND SIR!
Best Wishes
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jan 23, 2011, 5:59 PM
Post #16 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Augustus; Thanks so much for the reply. To be completely honest, though, it was just a wild guess. We're having 50F weather, here. Unusual, but not complaining. Jan/Feb are our 'winter months', but not this year???? Has been in the 20's for a bit, but looking at an early spring?
Loren
SW Washington
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jan 24, 2011, 2:17 AM
Post #17 of 17
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Re: Cold Weather Delayed Light Activation
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Good work Loren but again that's why you make the big bucks
I'm really posting to apologise that two posts were removed TOTALLY unrelated to the thread now in our "naughty room" and could be brought back out if wanted as a new subject and thread. Sorry for the annoyance of notices of a reply made and nothing will show but this one now to all those involved in this success story,
Tom
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