The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Headlight switch woes (pic)

I've tried three brand new repop switches for my '59, each faulty in a different way. I give up.

I local shop with a good rep sold me a solid state switch also available at several online vendors that he says lots of guys use for this application.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d...ickup/headlight%20switch_zpsamylefnj.jpg

The terminals are labeled, but It has no terminal for brake lights. Taillights, yes, but not brakes. Whassup with that?? What's the solution?

Also, if I assume the front-most terminal is for dash lights (no label) where does the dome light connect? The stock repop has a ground terminal for the dome light and this switch has neither power nor ground. The guy at the shop says it grounds through the dash and the dome also goes to the dash terminal with the rotation of the knob turning one off and the other on. Anybody confirm?

Aaargh.

Brake lights don't go through the headlight switch- - - -no reason to. The light signal will either go directly from the brake light switch to the rear of the vehicle if it's not equipped with turn signals, or through the firewall to the steering column if there are turn signals. The same bulb filament is used for both turn signal and brake lights.

Power is supplied directly to the dome light from the fuse block and a second wire is routed to the headlight switch terminal that is grounded when the light switch knob is turned fully counterclockwise. The dome light socket does not have a ground.

The light switch should have a separate terminal for parking lights, so they don't illuminate when the headlights are on. If you want the park lights to burn all the time, just connect the park light wires to the tail light terminal.
Jerry

The stock repop switch has a terminal for brake lights and the replacement harness has a wire (orange) to connect there. So, should I run from that wire to the brake light switch?

Both switches have a separate terminal for parking lights. No problem there.

The stock config had no fuse block except what was added for accessories like electric wipers, heater, and lighter. So the dome light has to come off the switch...somewhere.

Hey pathwayrev,
What's wrong with the original? Unless you had parts missing or broken you can bring it back to life relatively easy. Even then if you have two re-pops that are bad you can cannibalize parts to repair the old one. I wrote a tech on reconditioning headlight switches with some pics if you didn't already pitch the old one.


your dome light will come off one of the three prongs closest to the light knob. They are separated from the rest.

The first switch - when the knob is all the way in the dash lights remain on. There is a "sweet spot," a fraction of an inch out, but miss it and the battery's gonna die.

The second switch - the catch doesn't work; won't grab the detent on the knob shaft. I tried a gazillion times with every permutation I could think of.

The third switch - I'm no fool. When it showed up I tested, and yes, the switch grabs the knob shaft. It just WON'T LET GO! That spring-loaded button will NOT release it.

I'll look for your tech tip!

If the universal switch does not have a dedicated brake light terminal, connect the lead to the 12V input terminal.

I was thinking about that, cletis. That terminal on the original has to be the power supply to the brake switch.
I installed a 6-fuse auxiliary panel and have three open slots, so I may run it to that, with a 10a fuse.

And can I assume that I can ground the dome light anywhere? (no ground terminal on this aftermarket as there is on the stock.) Seems like it should work.

Ok for the switch keeping the knob hostage it is because the flat parts of the assembly are not all lining up. Look down the housing and make sure they all line up before you "stake" the knob. I have broken one that way,I like to test fit off the truck then put it all back after the test was good.

Here is my tech hope it might help you out:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...on-a-delco-remy-headlight-switch.940829/


The dome light should ground on the housing much like HRL said. Same principle as the tail lights.

I would suspect that if the universal switch has a dome light position in conjunction with the dash light dimmer it would supply power, not ground. A multimeter reading will tell you.

You may need to use a toggle switch to ground the dome light.