Wife and I went to the USAC midget races tonight. I drove the Model T. Great racing. Kyle Larson won from 14th. His 7th in a row. We got there late so it was a long walk to the car after the races. Get in and start it. Turn on the lights. NO LIGHTS. I have tail lights, turn signals and parking lights, but no headlights. I'm about 2 miles of state highway and 3 miles of dark country roads from home. With so many cars leaving the races I figured I could slide in between a couple of cars with headlights and negotiate the 2 miles of state highway. So off I went. Okay until I hit the 3 miles of dark, deserted country roads. Whoa! I mean it is dark tonight. No moon. I stopped and let my eyes adjust to the dark. Turned my phone flashlight on and had the wife hold it out the window so I could see the side of the road. Made it home slowly and luckily didn't see one car on the country roads. This didn't make a good impression on the wife, needless to say. Quite an adventure. Hard on hotrod/wife relationships. I am sure it is the switch. It happened once before, and I replaced it with the same switch. A mistake in retrospect. It is an elcheapo Speedway unit. Not going that route again. So I am looking for recommendations on where to get a good quality headlight switch. Ignition is the same crap from Speedway and it is so loose now that any key will start it. So, if you have any recommendations on ignition switches I'd like to hear them also. If I gotta get in there I might as well fix 'em both. Thanks guys.
I use a tubular key switch and a remote hidden starter button. No wobble, no play, and only your key fits.
Ebay is littered with old US made new old stock stuff...and as a result, lots of switches. I looked up NOS headlight switch and there's tons. Found a universal type deal we like to use. Search ds-135 and you're bound to find one you like. Same goes for an ignition switch..
Have the headlight switch run a high amp relay for the headlights. Takes the lad off of the headlight switch.
If constant lighting doesn't bang on your notions of traditional, eliminate that switch. Being a bit of a safety nut, doesn't bother me at all. I got talked out of constant light twice so far, not for the next build.
That's really not a bad idea. The only downside I can think of is the lights on while trying to start the car and figuring out where those seven wires go.
Using relays to power up the Headlights gives you 2 options for the pull switch. You can use power to close the relays or Ground. If you use the ground system your pull switch should never fail being there is Zero load doing that job. I suppose Tiwan switches could just fall apart with enough vibration though.
Way back in college, I drove a '53 F-100. One cold winter night while driving back with my date from the nearest big city to the small town where the college was, the lights went out on my truck. The good news is there was fresh-fallen snow and a full moon. It was almost like daylight. She married me anyway, 40 years ago this summer.
jaw22w, that for sure is an adventure. We don’t get a chance to go on as many as we used to so enjoy the memory. It will be something to laugh about later when your wife tells the story to friends. She might even jazz it up a bit so it sounds even more exciting. I’ve been on a few myself and the best ones were the ones with company.
Well, I've had this one for going on 50 years, so I don't think she'll run me off. Probably not as bad as the time I dumped the motorcycle in the yard with her on the back.
Since you have relays in your setup, check out how you wired them in. As for headlight switches, I use the ones the OEM use. You can turn on your lights, dim the instrument lights, and switch on the dome light with the same switch and work great.
Cole Hersee has quality aftermarket automotive switches.... OEM switches are generally the best but many have proprietary mounting hardware that can make installing them difficult. Cole Hersee switches use a more 'universal' type mount.
I put relays on my '24 Dodge roadster hotrod. 1st trip was to Bonneville pulling my little TrailorBoat camp trailer. After all the salt and car washes I was on the way home and turned off the highway at Mountain Home Idaho and just after passing a cop on the side of the road my headlights went off. Big drop off on the right. Went what seemed like forever and finally found a pull off on the left so I swung around and got to work. Suspected the switch but finally found it was the relays. I popped the plastic covers off and scratched around at the contacts with a knife to get one working on low beams. After I got home the next trip was to NAPA and bought 2 more sets. I popped the covers off and sealed them up with high temp black sillycone and snapped the covers back on. No problems since. I keep the spare set behind the seat just in case. Rear bumper added for just the trip to support the trailer hitch! Dave
Yeah, I just now got the switch out and started checking. I have power to the relays from the battery through the maxi fuse, so that side is good. I have 12 volt power to the headlight switch and I have power to the dimmer switch through the headlight switch. So apparently not the switch. Went to lunch and thought about it. Came back and tested for power at the relays from the dimmer switch. No power, high or low. Tested the dimmer switch for continuity and switching. AOK. Plugged the dimmer switch plug back in and the headlights came on. Apparently there was some corrosion or something preventing contact. So, I greased it up and put it back together. I coulda fixed that at the race track if I'd a known what it was.
For what it's worth, I've always done well Ron Francis stuff. Lotta miles on my 48 P/U, had one issue. The dash light dimmer went erratic about a year and a half in, questioned it and they sent me a new one. The other Ron Francis suff over the years have always worked well. Bill
I coulda fixed that at the race track if I'd a known what it was.[/QUOTE] But we would've missed the dance [story ] Ben
Back in my 20s (1970s) I had throw together a ratty 51 Ford Convert. with a 289. One drunken night, driving home (about 10 miles) after the bars had closed, I lost my headlights on the hiway. Pulled over and found a 6 ft piece of wire in the trunk, stripped both ends with a bic lighter and my thumb nail. Jambed one end into the headlight plug and plugged it back on to the bulb. hooked the other end of the wire to the positive battery terminal and had lights for the drive home
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