silverriff

Ok as I said in my other post, I recently refinished my dash and put it all back together. Alittle while ago I went outside to double check all the lights to make sure they worked and this is what I found...I was having the issue of the domelight not turning on manually, only when the doors were open. Well I found that if I fiddle with the switch while turning it, I can get the dome/courtasy lights on. I have to kind of not pull it out all the way, push down on the ****, chant a spell, and it will work. Weird thing number one. Then I realized that both my headlights and highbeams are not working. I walked around the car and EVERY other light is working, just not the headlights. Weird thing number 2. Then even though all of my dimable dash lights like the lights above the heater, console,etc. WERE working, after I started fiddling with the lightswitch, they all the sudden stopped working. Eerie thing 3. Of coarse the first thing I checked was the fusebox, and nothing is blown. I though about the fusable like on t
he ignition which I had to replace recently, bu the car still starts up fine. All the other exterior lights still work, radio, dome and courtasy lights. Everything else is fine. It is jus the headlights, intermittent manual domelight, and the sudden lose of the dimable lights. All this
together seems like it points to the lightswitch itself. Any opinions? The only other thing I can add is that the dash is still not completely together. I still have the 3 main gauges out. Would them not being hooked up break the circut in this way? Anything?

Lady72nRob71

I'll say... Everything points to it.

Did you replace it or is this the old switch?
Bad part of this is that the switch is a pita to change with the dash installed...

Yellowstatue

Don't forget that the headlight circuit goes through the dimmer switch first, then onward and upward to the headlights...

silverriff

No this was the same old crusty one that was in there. I believe it is probably the original. Putting the whole dashboard in in the first place was a pita. Another thing I was thinking about was the grounding strap that is next to the lightswitch that has the little tab that exits to the gauge clusters.... Is that supposed to have one of those rings that the switch itself will fit through before you screw it down? Like the radio and cigar lighter does? The reason I ask is on the replacement dash I got, it had the strap, but it just had the straight section going to the switch, but no ring at the end. I double checked it and it didn't look like it had been broken off or anything. So I had just bent the straight tab to make sure it contacted the switch as best it could. Funny thing is when I was swapping out these parts from my old dash, I don't even remember seeing the old strap contacting the switch at all. When I swapped the dashes, I used the old switch, but just used the grounding strap that was on the replacment dash. I looked through my service books but couldn't clearly see how it should be. Is the strap supposed to contact the switch or not? Is this maybe why it burned out?

Lady72nRob71

The ring you are thinking of is prolly for the little light bulb (1445?) that lights up the "Lights" word. It may have only been used with "lamps and mirrors" package.
Some have it, some do not. I set out on a mission last year to replace that stupid little bulb and it took me over an hour.
The headlight bulb groundings are made at the chassis, near the bulbs.
The symptoms you describe are light switch related. Check for 12V at the dimmer switch (with headlights on) to ground. If nothing, replace the switch. Try to find a good one (if they exist). At 40+ years old, it is time.

I got a $13 otterzone special light switch for my old Furd as the circuit breaker was flashing the lights on and off. A year later, the dimmer part does not work. Crappy chinesium...

silverriff

Thanks for the help Rob. I just got off the phone with the awsome guys over at Fusick. I should just save some time and put them on speedial. So I have a new switch coming tomorrow. After looking over the car again, I thought that I would share another weird issue I have had since day one with my car. I have one of the map light rearview mirror options in the car. It was unplugged when I had purchased the car. So using the original wire with the bullet connector to the mirror, I plugged the other end into the accessory harness. When I tried to mount the mirror back to the roof, it started sparking and shorting against the roof metal. So I dissconnected it again. When putting this refinished dash in, I ran a new wire to the mirror and spliced it into the grey "dimmable" wire of the light switch "lights" lightbulb ( not confusing at all right?) after all was hooked up, I put the bullet connector back into the mirror and I believe that may have been the moment that I lost all of my other dimmable lights. Of coarse I dissonnected it again. Could that have put the final nail in the lightswitch coffin? This was still after I realized the headlights were not working, so the switch was already on it's way out. What's the deal with the maplight on the mirror? Isn't it supposed to ground against the roof? If so why is it shorting out when I try to connect it? I had it initially connected to the orange acc. harness and it still wanted to short. Jeez I hate electricity.

Lady72nRob71

Sounds like there may be a short inside the mirror, as it SHOULD ground through the roof and SHOULD be connected to a constant 12V source. The switch is on the mirror.
It should not go to the dash lights. If you connected it up to the dash lights and it was shorted out, it should have blown the 4A INST LPS fuse, but the dimmer may have been a weaker link.
Murphy's law, too. I saw a sony tv horiz. output transistor short out, burned open the costly flyback, and reduced a power resistor to dust. The inline fuse was fine......

silverriff

Yeah I double checked the little fuse and it was fine. And I discovered something really really irritating. Because I was in such a rush to get the dash back in, the grounding strap to the lightswitch that I was talking about was the wrong grounding strap. I found the old one that I took off my original dash on my work table. So essentially the light switch was only being grounded by the broken off tab that I had wedged againts the side of the case of the lightswitch. So I am positive that with all the banging and jolting of the dash bein installed knocked the tab off of it. I am not sure what the side effects of the switch not being grounded but I am sure it would not be good! Dammit!! Now I have to not only try and change out the old switch which may or may not be blown, but I have to swith out the grounding strap too. If I have to take that dash off again I am going to kick a puppy (just kidding for all you dog people). I just hate havin these stupid setbacks because of my rushing to get this stuff done. I am just really starting to stress because I have acually been laid off for the past few months, and this is my only car, so I really haven't been pounding the pavement as much as I should in my whole job hunt. But life of borrowing my sisters car when she gets home from work is really getting old. I am just sooooo close in getting this thing into a comfortable daily driver but it is just dumb stuff like this that keeps setting me back. I actually had the thought today of finding some crappy beater for a few hundred bucks to putter around in, but that's exactly why I have put so much time, and effort into this car so that I wouldn't have to drive around in an embarrasing turd all day! Sorry for venting! I just get overly frustrated every few irritating setbacks. Well the new swith should be here fairly early tomorrow and i will get on it and get this bastard going! As for the shorting mirror, is that something that you can actually take apart and service? If it is too much trouble than it's worth I was just going to get a new mirror, as the mirror itself is kind of cruddy.

Lady72nRob71

Sorry to hear about the job loss and this being your only car... Hope things start getting better.
Yes, it sounds like you do need a beater, as long as it does not keep giving trouble, too, like check engine problems!
Your Olds is fine now - just do not drive at night!

The light switch does not really need a ground. It supplies 12V to the lights and the bulbs are grounded elsewhere.
The switch will be a PITA - allocate a couple hours with the dash in. The A/C ducts and fuel gauge will need to come out and I hope your hands are medium to small sized... Hope you remember how to get the connector off - I do not and it is very tight in there.
I remember it all too clearly.......

The mirror lamp lens can be removed and you can see if someone forced a bulb in, bending the contacts. I never had one apart, so not sure what is involved. Do keep the mirror if you replace it - though broke, it is still a highly sought after option. Should not be too hard to fix by an electrical-knowledgable guy...
Heck just leave it disconnected and install it anyway. I never had to use that light myself.

silverriff

Today was a good day! I got my new lightswitch early this morning and went out to tackle this irritating task. Using my little snakeing 1/4 in screwdriver extension thing which is one of the best tool purchases ever, I was able to take out the switch and broken grounding strap in just a few minutes. After getting it out, I felt really dumb because I realized why the headlights were not working.... When I installed the dash I had already mounted the switch to the dash so all I had to do was plug the harness in the side of it, I had trouble doing so, and in the process I had squished down the headlight prong so that it was not even hooked into the harness. Duh. So I got the new switch and grounding strap in, which took significantly longer, but I got it in there and guess what? Headlights work, manually turning on domelight and courtasy ligths work, praise the lord!! The only thing I have to work out is the radio face light has stopped working, but it probably blew when all the other gaugelights did. Which I did confirm was from the faulty map light on the rearview. I replaces the fuse, gauges work. Hook up the maplight, gauges blow again. So I will try and fix the mirror this weekend, if not I will put it in my pile-o-parts I need to sell and just buy a new standard mirror as the mirror itself is pretty cruddy. But all in all a very productive day!

Lady72nRob71

Glad you got it mostly working. The radio light bulb prolly went out on its own. The problems you were having would not have damaged it. Switch needed replacing anyway, so biggie about the connector. Sounds like the need for a beater has sunk - yay!!

Bluevista

That mirror map light wire is probably bad where it goes through the mirror housing stalk and grounding out. At least most I've seen the wire breaks or the insulation gets worn off there.
I wouldn't pitch the mirror, fix the wire and get new glass, they even sell the harness. Those things go for good bucks even with bad mirror glass now. For some reason they're a "Super Rare" option on evilbay. If the mirror face surface is good you can take it out and send it in to be replated. Any marks or scratches on the surface will really stick out when it's plated if there are any.
I'ts beveled glass for the day/night feature so regular mirror glass won't work. Mine was 25 bucks including shipping.

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