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| | | | Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 | Well, they were working. The likelihood they both burned out at the same time? Probably not. Everything else works. Does not appear to be loose wiring. Replaced the headlight switch a year ago - interior light switch wasn't working. Headlights worked then. Now they don't. Tested sockets at headlight - no juice. Maybe the headlight switch? Connections all seem good. I'm not great at electrical, but I hate to replace headlights to see if that's the problem, then find it's something else. Thoughts?? BTW '56, 12 volt. Thanks, Dale | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | The most common cause of sudden headlight failure is the dimmer switch. It lives in a very nasty environment under the floorboard, and it's not uncommon for the switch itself, or the connector to corrode to the point the lights get intermittent or go out altogether. With the headlight switch turned on, one wire at the dimmer will be hot, and the Hi/Low switching goes from the dimmer to the headlight harness.
Jerry
Edit- - - - -switch up and down from Hi to Low a few times and see if the lights flicker or comer back to life.
Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 01/30/2010 8:51 PM.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 | Bingo Jerry!! You were right on target. I had tried the dimmer before, but it did not have any effect. Just went out and tried it again after reading your post -- and after 10 or 12 switches - on came the lights! Saved me a lot of time and effort, and probably $$s. Thanks a bunch Jerry! It is fun when problems get solved. Not sure if it's rewiring or replacement needed yet, but either way at least I know now what it is.
Dale | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | "I love it when a plan comes together"  Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 591 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 591 | Good call on the dimmer switch Jerry. Dale, just to be safe, I would check the headlight switch also. There is a "fuse-like" arrangement on the body of the switch. It looks like two strips of metal making contact. Sometimes they open intermittently, I had the same problem on a replacement headlight switch, it seems like the replacements are cranky sometimes. In any case, I would recommend a new dimmer switch and possibly re-do the connections. You wouldn't want to lose your headlights during a night drive (it has happened to me, it wasn't as much fun as you might think).
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,746 | Yes, that's a self-resetting circuit breaker that uses a bimetal strip like a turn signal flasher. It allows the headlights to flash in case of an overload, instead of going out and staying off. It protects the wiring without totally losing the lights. Good idea, and it's better than having a fuse or a manual-reset circuit breaker that would disconnect once and stay off. In case of a dead short between the battery and the headlight switch, most modern cars have a big fusible link that burns out if the current draw is excessive. When I do a rewire, I include appropriate-sized fuse links on all the major current draw circuits.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2008 Posts: 283 | Thanks everybody - I will check that headlight switch as well. I'm always leery of any reproduction, and in this case I was front-loaded to get into that first until Jerry told me about the potential for problems with the dimmer switch. Now that they are working again I have a little breathing room to go through the whole system and make it a little more bulletproof. Thanks for all the help guys --
Dale | | |
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