sherod

Can anyone tell me if there is a separate breaker from the switch? I'm finding conflicting information on this.

This morning at 0330, I decided to take the old car to work. All was well until the lights went out. I managed to stop safely, and by then they had came back on. Left that car at home and went on to work.

The car parts stores list a 2 pole breaker for the headights, but so far I haven't found it in the car. The part when you look it up by number calls it a heater fan breaker.

Think back and see if you remember a separate breaker from the switch itself.

pind

There shouldn't be a separate breaker. Best thing to do, since they don't actually a headlight fuse, is check the only cb in the block, which is the one for your more power hungry accessories.

I would think, symptom based, that the dimmer switch is the culprit in this case. That is from overall experience, not limited to this particular model.

sherod

Thanks for the tip on the floor switch. I actually hadn't thought about that. I did go to high beams just prior to the "blackout".

pind

And there you have it, old school floor switch. Proudly supporting the dark ages, since the automotive age began.

Wire a relay into the system, use your floor switch to trigger it, you'll be happy as Larry for all eternity. The trouble with the old switch, is after a time, the contacts would arc enough, that they could no longer carry the full load of the lights. If you never used high beams, you would probably never discover this issue.

sherod

PIND- I pulled the carpet back and found the switch mounting very loose. Cleaned the contacts, and reinstalled. Seems to be working now, but will give it a good test tonight after it gets dark.

Rounding up the parts to do the relay mod. Thanks for the advise, you were "Spot on."

Mexstan

Was just chatting to a friend about motor cycles and I told him about a couple of old British motor cycles that I used to own that had the infamous Lord of Darkness electrical system. Then remembered your problem which made me look up some of the old jokes about these problems and am posting them here just for fun;

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness"

Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.

The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

Lucas dip-switch positions: LOW and BLOW (Bruce Miller, Welcome to the Hermitage!)

The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.

"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.

Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.

It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.

Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" "He replied, it doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens!"

Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.

Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.

Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times sunwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."

Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.

How to make AIDS disappear? Give it a Lucas parts number.

Recently, Lucas won out over Bosch to supply the electrical for the new Volkswagens. So, now the cars from the Black Forest will come with electrics supplied by the Lord of Darkness -- how appropriate!

Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices.

sherod

Stan, very good! I got a chuckle out of it!

railroaderone

That's a good one

SIXSLUG

Used to use the hi/low beam floor switches for auxiliary lighting on the race trucks, heavy duty and cheap, hands free....