Tonight i had 2 issues arise that previously i have never had.

First was the right headlamp. it was out. when i got home it was on. i jiggled the connector to the bulb while it was on and it would not even flicker on or off just stayed constant. i have no idea why 1 light would be out then later come back on as if it had no problem. that happened 2 times tonight

Second was after fueling up tonight (was close to empty and put in about 13.5 or 14 gallons or so) my fuel guage did not read that my tank was full. it stayed right above the green. i shut the car off and then turned it back on and still the same problem. The car was off when i was refueling. about 10 minutes after i refuled i noticed it crept up to about a 1/4 tank and after about 20 minutes it was around half. I've never seen that happen before. I had the gas tank TSB performed back in april.

Any thoughts on either of my issues?

Oh yeah one more slightly annoying but not major issue is i got a vibration in my dash above the instrument cluster. only happens sometimes and rattles but i cant figure out from what. if i give the top of the dash a good tap it goes away for a while.

 

new information on the headlamp issue. If i turn the lights off than on again it comes back on, stays on for aproximately 15 seconds then turns off. if i turn them off and on again it does that again.

 

Before you do any further diagnosis on the right headlamp, just go ahead and replace the bulb. Sometimes filaments will connect & open intermittently, and essentially the bulb is burned-out. It just doesn't know it yet.
Secondly, on the fuel issue, try running a bottle of Techron Cleaner in your tank. If that works, then consider buying better fuel. I run exclusively premium fuels from major dealers, such as Chevron, Union 76 or Shell. Cheaper grades of fuel have residual sulfur in them, and they coat the optical fuel sensor. A quick test before you spend too much for the better fuel is to sniff your exhaust. If you have a rotten egg smell, then that is sulfuric acid, and that is exclusively from cheap fuel.

 

for the fuel issue, mine has done that twice since I got the car. I just find that by the time I get home and turn the car off and on again it is back to normal. Almost as if the float was stuck.

 

Try pressing on dash face above the instrument cluster trim ring and see if you can make it squeek. I don't have my 05 anymore, but mine had a squeek/rattle that was coming from this area.

 

i only use premium fuel from shell. as for the headlamps i have changed the bulb twice both with the same issue. ive tried 80/100w nokya stage 2 arctic whites and the 55/60w bulb. both aftermarket. i never noticed with stock bulb so i will try that tommorow night.

 

OK, so since you have tried two different bulbs with the same result, so a third bulb most likely won't make any difference. Try tracing the harness back to the Power Box, and if a mid-path connector can be found, unplug it and check it out. Also, as you trace the power cable, manipulate the harness to see if the light flickers. I think it must be either a bad wire or a bad connector.
-OR-
Take it into the dealer and get it looked at under warrantee.

 

My 99 Ranger would lose one headlight if the instrument cluster/power fuse was pulled. (there are several different ones I don't remember for sure) You might want to re check all your fuses connections if you haven't already done so.

 

I've seen the headlight problem before. Take the bulb out and spray the connector with WD-40, shake/wipe out excess, then plug the bulb back in. If that fixes it then you had a dirty connector. Don't know why it happens, but it does.

 

it does not do it with the stock bulb. stock bulb works perfectly. both aftermarket ones ive used reproduce the problem. one is a 55/60w and the other is a 80/100w. any ideas? also if it helps my fog bulbs were changed as well. they are the Nokya H10 45/55w. the 80/100w bulbs are the nokya arctic white stage II and the 55/60w are some off brand i found.

 

i get like a burning smell form the right lamp after i remove it. do you think it might be a problem wit the socket or the wiring of the car? doesnt matter which aftermarket bulb i palce in there i get the smell although none of them are hot to the touch. stock still works fine

 

I'm getting that Circuit Breaker Overload feeling here. The High Beams run on their own left & right relays and fuses, but the low beams run on circuit breakers (I think). Perhaps the low beams draw more power that the circuit breaker can support. I also think that low beam circuit breakers are automatically resetting, which seems to match your symptoms. My guess is that you are going to have to get a heavier-duty circuit breaker. I can't find reference to the low-beam circuit breaker, fuse, relay, or anything for the low beams in the owner's manual, and I don't have a service manual for this thing yet.
Until someone has a beefier breaker for the low beam circuit, better just keep the stock bulbs in for now.

 

gearhead, thats what I thought an overheated lamp relay shutting off because it is getting too hot from the draw of the aftermarket bulbs.

In regards to the float sensor If I recall there is a TSB for a bad float sensor, fuel pump and I think it is replaced at the same time the tank TSB is done.

Especially prevelant with IUP equipped cars for some reason. Possibly the electrical sender that relays the info might be different then the non iup equipped cars. But again according to some info Kevin found out early non iup production cars had all the support electrical systems like the IUP cars down to the dash harness while later on non iup equipped cars began arriving sans the harness and some electrical components required to hook up the full functions of the IUP dash conversions.

you should probably run the stock bulbs until you can verify the current draw on the aftermarket bulbs does not exceed the relay's thermal breaker.

You could burn a wire or the relay and have no lights on that side at all.