Lost my headlights tonight,,

Driving home tonight in the sedan on a dark stretch of road I lost my headlights,,,scary

I eased over into a driveway and got the flashlight and checked my 30 amp fuse,,pulled it out and it wasn't blown so I stuck it back in and lo and behold the dash and headlights came back on so I cranked up and head on home,,,

Trouble is I made it about 4 more miles and it happened again,,did the same thing as before and I was on my way again only to have the problem happen again the 3rd time,,,

This time I noticed the headlight switch felt very warm so as cold is it was outside I thought it might be a good idea to continue home with the cowl vent open to help keep the switch cool,,it must have worked because I traveled the next 12 miles with no problem.

Anyone ever experienced a problem like this?,,,is a headlight switch suppose to get hot? HRP

 

i believe your headlite switch is goin south.it should not get hot.nor any other switch for that matter. my 62 galaxie is starting to have the exact problem.i have one coming to fix it i hope lol

 

Probably a set of contacts in your switch not making very good, sounds like time to replace it.

 

I always wire my headlights off a relay, that way the load is on the relay and not on the switch.

 

also check the dimmer switch, if it is not integral with the headlight switch

 

Had the same thing in my T-Bucket this spring , replaced the head lite switch and every thing is good, I say head lite switch.

 

Let me know what you find out. My Jeep is doing that to me as well. But if I play with the switch or smack the dash they come on

Good luck!!!

 

Ditto on that or any high draw circuit.

 

If you have halogen bulbs it is probably too much load for the switches. I can't remember how many dimmer switches I burned out in my 71 GMC running H-4 bulbs but no problem since I put the relays in.

i agree with posts 2 & 3 though in that the switch may be going gunnybags along with the load being more than it wants to handle.

 

Why didn't I think of that?

The car has been up and running for about 12 years now and this is a new problem so I'm think it's a good possibly the headlight switch may be going bad so that's where I think I'll start trouble shooting. HRP

 

Lots of current goes through that switch. Try a new switch. Also make sure you are using a quality fuse. I had trouble with the fuse for my Elec fan. You could look at it and it looked good but it was open. Cheap fuse - it melted the solder inside the holder and would not trip the fuse.

 

check all grounds and connectors.

 

Get a rebel wire headlight relay kit. Way brighter and right from the battery. Mine is bad ass and works perfect, I think like $40

 

You must have been in the SEDAN

On my 32 roadster ... the headlight switch has a small breaker on the end. They are replaceable and they do go bad. The go off and will come back on.

 

My 55 has built in circuit breakers in the original light switch. If it gets to hot they open and shut the lights off. Had the same problem in a 70 Chevelle when I would hit the high beams. My solution for the Chevelle was to not run the high beams.

 

A built in circuit breaker in the light switch itself is pretty common, assuming you're using an OEM switch. They will automatically reset once they cool down. Something is drawing too much current - the headlights are too big, there's a loose connection somewhere, something like that.

 

Yeah,we were in the sedan and I will check to see if there is a breaker on the switch tomorrow.

High beam,low beam,,,makes no difference. HRP

 

Scary when that happens, isn't it? I was on the interstate one time and had been driving with my low beams on. Finally got a stretch with no traffic coming at me so I hit the high beams.............lights went out like someone shot them, and I was going about 70 mph. Got over to the side of the road and found my high beam wire to the lights got pinched in the grilleshell and was shorting out. Tossed a fuse in it and kept the low beams on all the way home.

It will make a believer out of you when there are tons of cars zooming along with you in traffic and you suddenly are in total darkness.

Don

 

I lost the headlights on 68 & 72 Ford trucks. Also lost the dash lights on a 78 Ford truck. The light switch was the problem on all three trucks.

 

12V or 6v??? I had a situation where my brake lights, wired through the headlamp circuit fuse) would melt the solder in the fuse due to to much resistance (this on 6V) I added a relay for lowbeams, and powered the brake light though a seperate and fused circuit. Also double checked the head lamps grounds. No problems since.

 

If you can not find a loose wire connection, replace the switch or at the very least tear it apart to find out where the arcing is taking place. The heat comes from a loose connection that is arcing. Battery cables carry a hell of a lot more amperage but don't get hot unless there is a poor connection with arcing causing the heat. Any time heat is felt on any size wire it is not good. It's arcing someplace.

 

I had the same exact thing happen Thursday coming home from a cruise-in. My 48 sedan is still six volt. I simply turned of the dash lights and havent had a problem since. On my Plymouth there is a dash light toggle switch to the right of the steering wheel. Hope this helps.

 

I pulled the switch and I'm thinking this just might be my problem,,it's marked as a 20 amp and I would thing it will be a cheap fix if this is the problem. HRP

 

I had it happen to me on various occasions, it usually was the fuze. One time I got into a snow storm that had snow packed on my lights and caused my fuze to pop. The last one was a bad headlight switch that got hot from loose fuze holders. it got replaced with an updated switch with a built-in circuit breaker.

 

Breakers burn wiring, if there is a problem it gets hot, trips, in the process cuts the power until it cools down, then resets as a rule...the bitch is when it does reset, if the problem is not corrected, it can stick in the on position and melting what ever wires are connected.

If the wires are bundled in a harness, it can damage other circuits too...worse case? It can burn your car down...I use fuses or relays only and heavy gauge wire....with this exception: keep in mind your headlights should be on their own circuit only and this is when a breaker is acceptable, if they do develop a short lets say going into corner at 60MPH they will.. well, should flicker or flash but not go out completely...at least not right away, which would help at least on your laundry bill

 

I have had the same thing happen on a couple of different trucks. Both times it was a ground problem. On my F150 it was the tail light housing and on my dad's OT truck it was the ground leads on the inner fender.

 

happened to me going to work this week at 5 a.m and all lights go out. kinda hard cutting light switch on and off and getting the seat cover out of my puckered butt. haven't tried to fix it yet. let us know what fixes it.

 

A lot of head light switches run a bi-thermatic strip which when heated too much current "open" and reclose once cooled down.Its an in built safety system before relays became popular, We think its the wiring system or such however the real culprit is 'TIMe" THE BI THERMATIC STRIP BREAKS DOWN OVER TIME AND CARRIES LESS AND LESS CURRENT BEFORE "OPENING".My 63 Dodge did this to me back in 1985 nearly shit myself at 65mph on a back road miles from home. The switch performs 2 functions.1 . switches the power on and 2. carries the load. Take away the load and they are fine. To those who are better auto sparkys please excuse my spelling

 

I had the same issue with my coupe and replaced the fuse/breaker on the switch. So far no more problems but it does make you pucker up real bad when it happens. I have halogen bulbs also.

 

You got that right,,I had ladyhrp and my granddaughter with me in the sedan,,It scared the bejeezies outta all three of us,,narrow road at night and driving along at about 45 MPH and sudden darkness!

I will pickup the replacement fuse/breaker today and report back and let you guys know if it solves my problem. HRP