I went to the local Friday night gathering in the '51 Shoebox, everything was running and working fine on the way there. When I headed home I discovered that I had lost my taillights and dash lights. Great.... 12 miles later I was safely at home with no close calls- a guy (total stranger) got behind me at a light and yelled that he would follow me as far as he could. I gave a thumbs-up and he stayed behind me to within a couple of miles of the house before he turned into a housing development. A few minutes of troubleshooting with the test light Saturday and I found the problem to be the headlight switch- I can wiggle it around and eventually find a spot that gives me a connection (and taillights) but it is clear that I need a new switch. No complaints, it lasted 67 years (assuming it is the original one). I'm always impressed with the life-span of the old parts- things were built to last back then. Imagine getting that kind of life out of an Autozone Chinese switch today. Unnnnnn- likely! Anybody else got a "no-lights night time driving" stories?
Might try to repair your old switch, new ones ( Chinese) sometimes don’t work very good or very long. Bones
Shoebox Central has headlight switches, not sure where they come from though. Rebel Wire has them too I think. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If it works after you shake the wires it's ether a loose contact or a bad wire. You say you have the original switch is it also the original wiring? HRP
Night time no lights story is our "death ride" we called it. In late 70s a friend of mine bought a. FF1 Subaru wagon, I'm thinking it was a 1970 French fry one we called it. So we packed as many people as we could in it and took off down some middle of nowhere country area we'd never been to clipping along at maybe 60 or so when no light...pitch dark...no moon, not even dash light. The girls screamed, last thing I remember was the road being fairly straight , but driver never saw a T intersection and stop sign. Some guy going down other road was towing a boat...we just missed him. We ended up out in a corn field, someone had a lighter, someone else had chewing gum, so I wrapped that foil around a blown fuse I found. We made it home OK. Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
Some time ago, coming up on the on ramp, as fast as my Shovelhead could muster, no moon, slightly overcast, no other cars, in the country, pitch black,....lights go out about the time I hit the highway! Shit! Tried to slow down, keep it upright..... then the circuit breaker pops back on! I’m still alive, but smarter. Two light systems, now. Bones
It was the 1st few months after I put my '59 Ford together. Totally rewired, new HL switch I bought with the harness. Coming home from a cruise night on the Ocean Parkway, I lose the dash lights, tapped the brake lights and they went on, decided to run for home. No running lights, no parking lights, just headlights. Take the HL switch out. I had solder sleeved a large wire connection somewhere and it came apart. My brother was over and he soldered the connections and shrank some sleeving over it. Been ok since.
If your tail lights go out and brake lights still work, you can just adjust your brake switch to stay on at all times. I know it's not ideal, but in a pinch it's a bit safer than driving dark on country roads. Ofcourse some types of switches may not work but this could help some one in future.
HotRodPrimer, I should have been more clear- I was wiggling the H/L switch shaft and pulling/pushing it in and out. All connections were nice and tight. And, unfortunately, it is still the original wiring but that is on the list of things that are going to change this winter.
I’m going to be rewiring mine this winter as well! I’ll be using the 16-circuit Rebel Wire kit Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have always thought that Standard brand parts should be held on high regard. But about 20 years ago I was dogging on my 460 powered F350, and the headlights went out in a sharp corner. I bought a new Standard headlight switch, and the lights kept going on and off (breaker). I brought that back, and new one had the same issue. I finally pulled the switch from a f150 parts truck, and never had the issue again. Moral of the story- OEM stuff is usually what you can rely on.
Right now I'm leaning toward the Rebel 12-circuit kit, it looks well made and the guy that owns it is on here; he is always willing to answer questions and offer suggestions. I like to support people that support the hobby/lifestyle.
I rewired my ‘50 shoebox with Rebel Wire, and the light switch is from Shoebox Central. For now everything works perfectly. It’s only been a year or so, but so far so good. Oh, I went 12 volts with an alteranator, so that helps.
This isn't a switch or wiring story but it is a "lose the lights at a bad time" story. I decided to install sealed beams in the 38 as the original lights left something to be desired even with 12 volts bulbs. I swapped 'em out during the day and then drove to Omaha (about an hour from where I lived) in the late afternoon. Well it got dark, I turned the lights on and they didn't work. I found a gas station (this was in the early 80's) and borrowed a test light. I had power......well, what I had done was installed six volt bulbs and they worked for a short while.....I drove to a K-Mart, bought new bulbs, installed them in the parking lot and drove home. It could have been far worse.
I've replaced 2 50s Ford headlight switches in the last year or so. I didn't purchase either one, and they came in different packaging but I'd swear they came out of the same factory. Neither one worked all that well, the dimmer resistor for the dash lights on one had some spots where the lights went out. The other didn't engage the knob shaft very well and I had to modify the groove in the shaft to make it hold in place. Made in China not always the best choice even if it's the only source of new parts. I might consider trying to fix the old switch.
My dad parted out a 68 mustang for the motor/trans and many small parts when building his 37 ford pickup. He also used the complete wiring harness and headlight switch. As a fleet mechanic I've had a lot of experience with 60s-90s ford headlight switches. They were junk when new. My brother and I were driving the ol' man's 37 ford pickup home after a cruise in town when the lights went out. 5 seconds they came back on. We were 35 miles from town on a skinny hiway, at night with no moon. Went around a corner and met a state police pickup, continued around the corner and the lights went out again. Off-on-off-on all the way home. Never was so glad to get outta a ford pickup in my life!
I had a fast '67 Impala SS that was a magnet to the cops. I had wired in a toggle for my brake lights, just in case and one night it came in handy. I came down my dad's block and saw a cop come out from where he was parked, I killed the lights and flipped the toggle... invisible! Made it to my turn off, my dad's house was on a corner with 2 driveways. I went up the back driveway and the cop went right by on the other street. I hung out in the yard standing behind a tree for a while, then went inside. Sold the car soon after.
40 miles from home in the 37 and lost the generator. It was dark. Friend placed his quick jump battery between my wife’s legs, ran a jumper out the window and into the engine compartment and we drove the whole way home between other old cars traveling without the lights on.
Same thing happened in my '51 Tudor, totally different reason. Going to replace the entire harness this winter with one from Rebel.
Assuming original ford switch: 1. Remove knob (there are instructions on here somewhere on that, same switch roughly '41-51) and let it hang down. 2. functions of terminals are marked in the plastic terminal plates. With a screwdriver jump from one of the 2 bat terminals to tail terminal, if they light up problem is switch. 3. if so, remove switch to bench labeling things as necessary so you can get wires back to right places. 4. Carefully pry back tabs and remove plastic terminal plate...be VERY careful to hold down plate and lift it off slowly, lay out the parts in order. Do all this over a shallow container, lock your cat in a closet until done. Then just clean all the muck off of everything without losing location order with thinner, polish all the brass contacts, slather with light grease. Put some extra grease around plate to body joint and around where knob shaft goes to help keep out dust. Instruct your children and grandchildren on procedure for 67 years down the road. Seriously, the Ford switches are well built and if you have gone to 12 volts they will be relaxing with half the amps they are made for.
Thanks, I'll give that a try- when the new switch arrives I'll install it and rebuild the original as a spare.
The Jalopy Journal
