THE GOOSE

Everything works great on my car untill i turn on my headlights. with the car running and lights on, after about 90 seconds the headlights start flashing on and off and the headlight doors go up and down. i happen to feel up under the dash behind the radio and there was a very very HOT silver cylinder about a 1 1/4" long. any help would be great,

THANKS: GOOSE

67 GTX

aren't the headlights vacuum operated on your car?

mr340

The headlight door motor is 12v, sounds to me like there is a high amp draw in the lighting system causing the circuit breaker to drop out. The headlights are not on a fuse, but rather a breaker so that it can reset when it cools down and the lights will come back on. I would unplug the door motor and see if the problem persists.

THE GOOSE

thanks ill give that a try. if it is a high amp draw do you know what may cause that?

mr340

Check for loose or corroded connections, bad ground wires a bad door motor, or even a shorted lamp can be a problem. Just a starting point...

THE GOOSE

i unpluged the door motor and the lights still blink. i forgot to mention the problem started sometime after i installed aftermarket headlights. do you think this could be the problem?

mr340

Sometimes it's the little details... What type of "aftermarket" lights did you install?

scotts74birds

You sound like a candidate for a 30 amp relay under the hood for the lights. What you are doing is using the headlight switch as a switching control only for the relay. That keeps you from running hi-current through the switch, and through the bulkhead connector [another place that is vulnerable to hi-current/heat damage].

Buffalojoe426

Not that its the same but it sounds like the lights might be drawing more amps than the switch can handle. I had a similar problem when i jerry rigged a set of fog lights on my truck, the lights started blinking and the switch got very hot. A relay might help. Mine started acting up the other day on the way to work. I suspect that I had my high beams on for too long. I would look into how many amps those lights pull.

scotts74birds

I'm actually having the same problem with my 95 Ram headlights on HIGH. They just dont size the components large enough anymore to carry it with age. Engineers design it, accountants ruin it.

Buffalojoe426

Yea i would say that over the years the resistance builds up and the parts get hot. I need to see what a new switch would cost, I was lucky the cop across the road was responding to a call and did not have time to worry me about my headlights. It seems like when a car gets old enough all kinda crap starts breaking down.

THE GOOSE

i got the lights off ebay, not sure what brand but im thinking you guys are right. i unplugged a headlight and it took a longer time to flash. so i think im going to install the relay or put the glass ones back in.
thanks for the help i will let you know how it gose.

THE GOOSE

dose anybody have a wiring diagram for installing a relay on my headlights?
thanks: GOOSE

scotts74birds

http://www.midnightdsigns.com/james/.../Schematic.jpg http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/headlight-simple.htm

72RDRNR

If its electrical I look yto Scott!!! He almost always has the answer!!!
Thanks
Scotty!!!

THE GOOSE

thanks for the help! i changed my headlights back to the original ones to make sure that was my problem. and it fixed it, so now i can wire the relays in and reinstall the newer headlights.

thanks again guys!!!

mr340

Glad to see you got it pegged!

Buffalojoe426

Well it seems like your problem found my truck. On the way to work this morning my lights started to go out. I bought a new switch this after noon and tried to swap it. But the new one is broken. So I have to take it back and see if I can get one that works. Just from having the old switch on for more than a minuet got the switch hot enough to burn you.