Joined: Mon Feb 20 2006, 08:12PM
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 950
If I drive my '65 windsor too long with the high beams on the entire light system fails.. but if I quickly put it back on low beams everything will come back on... and ideas what might be causing the problem?... I hate driving around just on low beams... I'd hate to hit a deer... &|
Joined: Sun Feb 05 2006, 11:51PM
Location: Pa
Posts: 3064
Sounds like an over-heated headlight relay or circuit breaker. Once the draw is reduced it cools down. Check the fuse box for small shiny metal circuit breakers. See if that gets hot while high beams are on. Also have you tried another headlight switch? These get pretty worn out over the years...
Joined: Mon Feb 20 2006, 08:12PM
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 950
I'll see if the breaker gets hot on the next warm day..lol... and the switch is also a good idea... were these switches the same with other mopars or just the c-bodies?
If there is a breaker in your fuse box, instead of a fuse, then it was probably added earlier because it was blowing fuses all the time. So about how long does it take to knock them out? and how long till it comes back?
I had a short under the hood once that kept blowing fuses. It was really sporadic and we put in a breaker while we chased it. It would take about 3 minutes for that breaker to reset.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Ahhh All you electrical geniouses. . . . There is no fuse on the head lights. Only on the tail lights. The head lights are protected by the head light switch. There isn't any circuit breakers in the fuse block either, unless someone put on in there. The breakers were usually used on the seats, if present.
Now 56. Pull the bulk head connectors off the firwall on the engine side. Inspect them for corrosion and over heating. If they are corroded, clean them with a little vinigar and a tooth brush. Rinse with a very mild soap solution. Let dry or blow dry . Do the same on both sides.
Smear some vasoline on the connections, and reinstall. While there, check the heavy red and black wire spade connectors. It is very common for them to burn out.
To fix that, the factory TSP called for a wire to be inserted through the connector and solderless connectors be installed on each side.
While you're waiting for the bulk head connectors to dry, check the connections on the high beam switch. It's comon for them to get corrosion also. Here again add some vasoline to the connections. Make sure the high beam switch works smoothly.
I saved the best for last. They has a circuit breaker built into the head light switch. If the headlights are failing after checking the obvious connections, then you need a new switch. If you find corrosion on the terminals, they may have been raising the current on the breaker causing it to drop out. That's why I saved this for last <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Sun Feb 26 2006, 06:59PM ]</span>
Joined: Mon Feb 20 2006, 08:12PM
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 950
Thanks for all the replies.. I will look at all of it..once the weather gets a little better out..
I've never actually had the lights go out.. but my stepfather ( who owned the car before me) warned me of this.. he said it would take about 15 minutes on highbeams for the lights to shut off... and that if you turned off the highbeams right away everything would come back on..
I don't need that type of thing to happen to me on the way to a car show with my kids in the car...!
Joined: Tue Oct 11 2005, 01:33AM
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 5893
Are both low beam bulbs and high beam bulbs the correct wattage or have they been "upgraded" at some point to higher some higher wattage which is simply too high for the headlight switch breaker?
Someone on the board will probably know what the correct bulb wattage should be.
Another area to take a look at is the high/low dimmer switch, I don't remember if the '65 is floor mounted like my '70, but if it is, check it for rust and corrosion. Those switches were a weak point and are easily changed.
In any case I'd service the bulkhead connector simply because of the extreme fire risk it introduces if it is dirty. Once you know the bulkhead is in good shape, changing the headlight switch is your next logical upgrade. The headlight switch breaker is probably getting tired after being tripped so many times. Self resetting breakers are not designed to handle a lot of trip/reset cycles and once tripped a bunch of times they will fail. The breaker uses a bi-metal strip which when heated by the current load, deforms to open a contact. When the strip cools the contact is automatically re-made. What happens during one of these cycles is some arcing occurs at the contact which over time reduces it's ability to carry current because of pitting which causes even more heating. At some point one of two things will happen, the breaker opens to soon (maybe your problem) or worse the contacts weld together and won't trip at all (fire). Modern versions of these breakers have a snap action which opens and closes the contact quickly and greatly reduces arcing and the resulting pitting.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Good Point on the head lights. Last I knew they were 60 watts. Halogens are 55 watts and twice the light. They make all the difference in night time driving.
BTW, I know how to spell genius Sponge Bob. I was being witty. Scott, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with B.S. LOL
