Stattiolds69

Hey all,
In my 69' 98 I replaced the indicator bulb in the dash. When the indicator is lit only the 2 outer bulbs are illuminatedp; when I click the dimmer switch and all 4 lights come on the indicator goes out. Is something backwards here or am i just having a brain fart ? I remember someone saying before that the full size luxury cars had all 4 bulbs on with low beam as well as all 4 with high beam, so could it just be the 2 inner bulbs are burnt on the high then ?

jaunty75

All four headlamps should be on when in hi-beam mode. The two outer ones switch to a different filament while the two inner ones turn on. You may have a wiring problem. A quick, cheap possible fix is to put in a new dimmer switch as all headlamp wiring goes through it. Autozone has them for $8.00.

Also make sure that all contacts to your headlamps are clean and secure. Pull the connectors off the back of the lamps and make sure the copper tabs on the back of the lamps are clean and tight and that there is no corrosion on the connector.

Based on the fact that the hi-beam indicator is working backwards has me guessing that your problem is the dimmer switch.

Stattiolds69

I had a spare dimmer switch laying around and tried that too, All contacts look clean, and both dimmer switches seemed fine, no corrosion of any sorts. The lights did the same with either switch

jaunty75

Probably a dumb question, but are you sure that the connectors are connected to the correct lamps? In other words, the connectors that should be connected to the low-beams are actually connected to the low-beams and vice-versa?

Also, what is the history on the spare dimmer switch? Is it new and just been sitting, or is it used? If it's used, I'd spend the $8.00 and try a new one. Doing so may not fix the problem, but you could at least comfortably rule that out.

Stattiolds69

Hmmmm, I'll have to check you never know what the guy before might have done.......

jaunty75

Aaah, the infamous prior owner.

In my experience, the problem is almost always due to something weird done by a previous owner. The story I could tell you about getting the taillights to work properly on my '67 Delta and what an earlier owner did to the wiring for reasons I could never understand would make your hair stand on end.

jaunty75

There should be three-wire connectors to the low-beams and two-wire connectors to the hi-beams.

Stattiolds69

I just checked, It has the typical 3 prong low beams and 2 prong high beams, all are connected as they should be. I guess that throws that "special luxury car headlight" theroy out the window. Could the dimmer indicator have been wired backwards from the factory? This car looks the most untouched as i have seen for a car this old. Most of the ones i've had were all goobered up, but this looks as if I went back into 1969 and brought it back with a time machine, lol. But seriously this one's got me scratching my head. The spare I'm pretty sure was new but never used, i could be wrong, it's been a few years.

jaunty75

I think that's unlikely. Just to rule it out, I would still try putting in a new dimmer switch. Or at least make sure the wiring to it hasn't been reversed, although I don't think that's possible given the configuration of the connector.

Stattiolds69

Hey, the problem cured itself. I started her up last night when I left work and I turned on the headlights, the indicator was on and all 4 bulbs were too. When I clicked the dimmer switch, the indicator went out as it should and just two outer bulbs were lit in low beam mode. Must be some gremlins, lol. If it does it again I'll put a new switch in, it may be faulty like ya said. Thanks for the input though !!!

jaunty75

What you've experienced is what I experience sometimes and what causes my wife to be impressed with me at times and thus I am permitted to continue to live in the same house as her.

I can't tell you how many times a lamp or an appliance of some kind stops working, and merely taking it apart and putting it back together causes it to start working again. I really don't know what I did, but I don't tell my wife that. She's just impressed that it works again.

I'm sure that the taking apart and putting back together of your wiring is what did it. A contact somewhere was made better, or a bad ground was fixed, and the thing starts working correctly. It's amazing how something as simple as a bad ground, which you would think would cause whatever it is to stop working altogether, to instead start working in some weird way as electricity flows in directions through circuits that it was never intended to.

BlackGold

Speaking of bad grounds .... is your core support grounded? There is supposed to be a pigtail coming off the negative battery cable which gets screwed to the core support. It commonly goes missing over the years.

Stattiolds69

Yea, that ground is there, it looks a bit tattered though, it probably wouldn't hurt to replace it. It's funny how little stuff like bad grounds or loose connections can make electricity do weird things. Thanks for the input guys !