Please read and help serious safety issue

Just a thought here - do you have a fire extinguisher on board - one that is rated for electrical fires? If not you may end up with a toasted '50 Ford....

 

trace back the harness and eliminate anything shady. Start from the switch and work your way out. Sounds like you SHOULD check, if not replace, everything. With your switch getting as hot as you stated, you should be able to also touch the individual wires coming from the switch and be able to find one that feels warmer than the others. This will lead you to what area of the harness is having the issues. If they all feel the same I would lean toward the switch being bad. Also, not saying you did do this,but just in case, I have seen where some one rewiring the tail lights in an older car didn't realize that they get their ground through the housing. Connecting power and ground to the wire leads causing a short.

 

Mudslinger, thats exactly what happened to me, haha. I think that may be the issue, but cant be certain. I know im sounding like a novice and lazy as well, but I HATE electricity. Im not good at it and it scares me. Theres a lot of variables and im just trying to narrow it down before I start ripping things apart or spending money. Thanks for the help guys, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

Im goin to check out the dimmer switch now and see how that looks and go from there.

 

Can I just suggest that until you fix the problem, you disconnect the battery when you leave the car unattended? Too many cars lost to fire lately. Good luck, hope you fix it.

 

It Is the dimmer switch on the floor!!! The contacts corrode heat up and the lights go out. 70's fords a famous for this. The shoebox is the same type of switch.

 

i would say so, and even if its not it needs fixed, bare open wires are gonna be a problem some time down the line.

 

hows that for ugly

 

Replace the switch and your problem should go away. I have had several of these fail on my old 68 bronco. Water on the floor speeds up the process. You get used to the lights going out.

 

And a flashlight so he can see the road to drive home or a parking lot.

 

Just got one from Napa Auto Parts, 16 bucks and its here tomorrow. im excited. Can I just clean it for tonight? Or just not be an idiot and drive my f 150, haha

 

The breaker could pop if you are pulling too much current through a wire (period). The gauge of the wire is not pertinent, other than the fact that a thin wire get's hotter than a thicker wire for a given amount of current, to a point where the thin wire will burn before the thick one.

The current rating of the battery really isn't something you need to consider regarding this problem, as a short is a short. Any battery capable of cranking the car is more than enough to cause the breaker to open if there is a short. The only thing a higher current battery will do is give you more a higher breaker trip count between re-charges.

 

wrong! wire size is very important! electricity travels on the surface of the copper. the more copper you have, the better it will deliver power to whatever needs power. for example, you wouldnt wire an a/c unit with small wire would you? no you wouldnt, i know we are talking about a 6 volt system, but everything has its proper size for the job.

i think in your case you just need to rewire the whole car. its 60 years old. time to redo it. it does suck if you have never done it, but you will be happy with the end result. they do sale books to help you follow how to do it, believe me you can do it!

 

+1 on replacing that wire. Once that old rotten "so cool" cloth covered wire starts breaking down you end up with shorts everywhere.

I'd do just as a couple of the others suggested and go back and go over every inch of the light circuit wiring in the car.
Check around every clip and check every place it goes through a panel of any kind.