87 fog light problem

when i cut my fog lights on ,about 2 mins of driving my fog light switch headlights and fog lights start flickering on and off and when i cut the fog lights off the head lighs stop flickering and everything is fine. they all of a sudden started doing that one night and ppl thought i was flashing them and its kinda dangerous at night when the cut on and off ...anyone know anything

Do a search.... this is a VERY common problem that has been discussed in detail hundreds of times over the years.

Sorry to hijack but tell about the Ranger with 478K.
Is that original engine? How about some details.

Headlight switch in the column needs replaced, and then a foglight relay installed so it doesn't do it again in the future. It has been discussed here a bunch, but I couldn't find it in the tech articles or in the FAQ's, but the foglight relay stuff in there. Hmmmm. Maybe someone can do a write up on this common occurrence and a "how to" on fixing it for the FAQ's. Anyway, here is some reading on the subject...

http://natomessageboard.com/ultimatebb.p...613#000000

http://natomessageboard.com/cgi-bin/ulti...1;t=016803

Good luck!

Kev, actually the problem isnt the MFS in the column, but the circuit breaker in the light switch itself getting weak. The solution is to replace the light switch with a NEW part (JY part will likely be as bad as the one being replaced), and install a relay to power the fog lights as outlined in the tech articles.

Originally posted by Jeff K:
Kev, actually the problem isnt the MFS in the column, but the circuit breaker in the light switch itself getting weak. The solution is to replace the light switch with a NEW part (JY part will likely be as bad as the one being replaced), and install a relay to power the fog lights as outlined in the tech articles.

The MFS (multi function switch) and the light switch are not the same thing? The piece I'm talking about is on the left hand side of the column, visable when the outer plastic of the column is taken off, and the wiper/blinker stalk plugs into it. Changing this piece (which was burned and melted at some of the wiring connections) is what fixed my bird from doing the exact same thing that 82Cobra describes, and it fixed my wife's bird...and my brother's bird.

Kev, the clue here is that the problem only happens when the fogs are on...... the light switch (lower dash, left side) has a self resetting circuit breaker in it that gets weak with age, and trips on / off with a pretty regular period with the extra load of the fogs.

Sorry for the conflicting info. To anyone reading this, I would definitely listen to Jeff K- he has tons of experience with the wiring of these turbo coupes and I absolutely do not. I was just stating the scenarios that I have experienced and what fixed them.