1965 Buick Riviera Clamshell Switch

Hi, I have a relative who just bought a 1965 Buick Riviera. When he bought it, the headlights were open. He does not know where the switch is located to open and close the clamshells or if, when you turn the lights on and off, if the clamshells open and close with the lights.

I was wondering if someone could let me know so that I can tell him if there is a separate switch for the clamshells or if they should open and close when you turn the lights on and off.

Thanks
Billiepi@aol.com

 

I have a '65 and here is the scoop.

The switch is in the upper left on the dash. You pull it straight back to turn the lights on and open the clamshells. If the shells are open, then the shells are either not hooked up to the motor. Or the more likely reason is the motor is burnt up. This is pretty standard on them. I ended up collecting parts from 4 different sets to get mine working finally. But I recently heard about a guy in Cali that rebuilds them. Maybe someone here could chime in on that.

 

I have a 65 Riv. You have several things to look at.

1. Is power getting to the headlight relay?
2. Is the relay working?
3. Is the secondary relay for the motor working? It's under the main headlight relay, next to the battery.
4. Is the motor plugged in or are the contacts in the plug in good shape.
5. On the motor there are 2 switches used to sense the position of the headlight motor, are they broken/adjusted correctly?
6. Is the motor jammed?
7. The headlight covers have springs that ***ist the motor, are they in place?
8. Have you lubricated all the joints and hinges in the linkage?

There are a few different people that rebuild the motors, finding the relays can be very difficult. I found my motor on eBay, I sent my core and he sent me the rebuilt one. The one I got seems to be working fine. It cost me about $300 for mine.