Hi everyone,


A friend of mine having some electrical problem with the lamps.. Parking lamps and dash light does not work properly..


When the headlight switch is in 0 position (off) All lights is off.


When headlight switch is in 1/2 position ( in the middle ) All lights is still off. (Parking lamps should work when switch is in this position).


When headlight switch is turned 3/4 up (almost all the way up) The headlight, parking lamp and instrument panel light works.


When headlight switch is in position 1 (all the way up) The headlight works but parking lamps and instrument panel light stop working...


Any ideas what the problem can be?



Thanks
Nicklas-Sweden.

happened out of the clear blue? any related (electrical) changes preceding this issue? I'd start by pulling the bakelite connector off of the HL switch and pulling the switch out so you can access it's terminals & (1) ohming the switch terminals in the on/off positions you mentioned to see if it is an internal switch issue & (2) jumping fire to the various connector terminals in the bakelite connector & see if the appropriate bulbs light up. this'll point you in the correct general direction to start on if it is the switch or the wireing & www.mymopar.com has the colors for you

Another possible item to check is relay and it's wiring for the road lamps if equipped with such. I recall my 70 cuda parking lights all came on when road lamp switch was turned on. Headlight switch off.

Car is a 71 and does not have the road lamps.. Owner have the wiring diagrams and thinks the wiring is correct.. The car has been restored from a basket case.

Use a factory service manual wiring schematic before any of the ones on mymopar.

You could easily check all the circuits by hot wiring the plug. Maybe use a fused jumper to test.

Could be a bad switch.

If it's not a 100 point show car, put a good headlight relay kit on it. The owner won't regret it!

A 71 with one of my kits installed, before and after on low beam.

I had something like this happen before too.
You may want to check all of the grounds. With my car, the side lights ( inside the fenders ) were loose from the under coating. I made a clean grind to metal, then re- tightened those. It did make the blinkers work with the running lights. Also I removed the front headlight wires of the grounds - to grind clean to metal - re tighten the screws helped in my case. Also I found a couple of the bulbs were burned out in the lower valance. sometimes the connector ends get loose of corroded - pull them to see. If key on, you should be able to pull them apart, then back again to see how good the connection is.


hope this helps...


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Correct, bad grounds anywhere in the system will cause havoc with other lights (mild illumination when not supposed too). Especially when they share a ground point.

Sounds like a bad switch. I would talk to JS restorations for a new switch. Stand up guy and quality parts! I got my new switch for my 71 cuda from him.

Ground and Switch could both be a problem.

The rear light housings on those E-Body's sometimes lose their ground connections. Many of us have to run a separate ground wire from the nut in the back of the housing to a good ground like near trunk release.

Also, the light switch bracket itself often benefits from a short ground wire from the bracket to the dash frame.

Those are two cheap and fast tests. If that works, then you are in business. If they do not then I would call Jim at JS Restorations and get a reconditioned switch.