1960 Headlight Problem

[Joe M.]

About the only part of my car I have not worked on in the past 2 months is the headlights and the switch. The photo on the left shows what illuminates when the switch is pulled out and low beams are on; driver bulb is very dim, driver high beam is slightly glowing, and the passenger beam is fully illuminated.

When high beam switch is pushed, no change to the driver side, but both bulbs are illuminated on the passenger side as they should be. The car was judged on October 27th and the lights worked as they should.

What is going on with the driver side?

Can a worn out headlight switch cause this problem or bad ground somewhere between switch and headlights?

The headlight switch will no longer turn on the under-dash light by twisting it to the side. I was told to check the rheostat wire and clean it to solve that problem.

[Don H.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

There are many possibilities, always check grounds first. Then use the wiring schematics in the ST-12 starting at the switch. Good luck, Don H.

[Bob M.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Joe, If your wiring in your car is original, you might continue having trouble with the grounds in the system. I am on my second 60 and the first thing I do upon getting the cars, look at the wiring. If it is original ( over 50 years ) I change it to avoid future problems.

[Philip P.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Agree with Don check the ground, it appears that the power is coming from the switch as you can light the right side. I would pull the wiring plug apart they are located just below the hood opening and check for voltage there. It really looks like a grounding problem on the left if one is glowing dimly and the other is out.. The dash panel lamps could be either a switch problem ,wire or the ground. Changing the wiring is always a good idea as old as these cars are and in reality it is not all that bad of a task of course my view is a little taited as I worked in electronics all my life. All the grounds should be checked, cleaned and tight.

Phil

[Bill M.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

The headlight switch will no longer turn on the under-dash light by twisting it to the side. I was told to check the rheostat wire and clean it to solve that problem.

If the under-dash light comes on when you open the door, the copper leg in the headlight switch may be the problem.

Here it is open:



Here it is closed:



That switch provides a ground path for the under-dash light. Any switch closed lights the light.

[Joe M.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

The wiring harness was replaced several years ago. The light switch appears to be operating properly as it turns on the parking lights, headlights, and dims the dash lights. The headlight switch will no longer turn on the under dash courtesy light.

Where is the primary ground point for the driver side of the headlights? I will study the wiring diagram in the 1960 AIM.

I forgot how to remove the headlight switch. I pushed up on the spring-loaded button on the bottom of the switch and tried to pull the knob out, but it would not come out. What am I doing wrong?

[Donald H.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Joe, I think the knob needs to be pulled all the way out, then push in the spring-loaded button. On mine, I had to fiddle with it a few times to get the pull handle out.

[Thomas H.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Agree with Don check the ground, it appears that the power is coming from the switch as you can light the right side. I would pull the wiring plug apart they are located just below the hood opening and check for voltage there. It really looks like a grounding problem on the left if one is glowing dimly and the other is out.
Phil

Joe,

I just looked at my car and Phil has a great point. Disconnect the connector going to the right side headlight located above the grill in the front of the hood opening. If you have a volt / ohm meter, you can check for voltage at two of the three terminals with normal beam (lt green wire I think) and high beam (tan wire?) Wire colors are in the AIM. Use a known good ground for this measurement.

If you have reasonable voltage, say battery voltage minus maybe 0.5 to 1 volt, then the voltage is getting there.

Next, with the meter set to "ohms", measure from the black wire to a known good ground. I would expect to see less then 0.5 ohms for a good ground (touch the meter leads together first and note the reading. This is the lead resistance of the meter leads. Subtract this reading from your measurement). I was going to take mine apart and get a measurement, but they don't look like they will come apart without a fight as they are the originals. So I'm leaving them alone.........

Also check the cleanliness of the connections within the connectors, you may need to clean them a bit.

I'm with Phil, been in the electronics field for many, many years. This is an easy fix as it is either a bad connection or a bad ground.

Have fun and Happy New Year!

Tom

[Thomas H.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Joe, I think the knob needs to be pulled all the way out, then push in the spring-loaded button. On mine, I had to fiddle with it a few times to get the pull handle out.

Agree. My original came right out, the replacement switch I had to fiddle with (and curse at) a bit to get it to come out.

Tom

[Philip P.]

Re: 1960 Headlight Problem

Joe, the main ground for the front appears to be the black/white stripe that connects to the left side valve cover. This is probably all right as you have other lights working. The connector can be taken apart you need a small flat tip screwdriver push the wire forward slightly and then you can bend the tab that retains the wire in connector, it may be corroded or the wire broke and just hanging on. If it just needs cleaning you can bend the tab back and reinsert it if broken you should be able to redo the wire. I believe the tie point for all the grounds for the front of the car is imbedded in the wire harness that may not be an easy repair and I would think that it is probably good anyway if all other items work ie parking lamps horn etc.
Phil