Hey guys I'm new so I hope I'm posting correctly! So with that being said I have been working on a 52 Chevy truck ton and half series, I converted the ol 216 to 12v and so far have been successful with all the lights and everything....only problem was the dimmer switch you clicked it lights would be on, click it again they would go out....click it again the highs would come on..so on so on. So I got another switch put it on this morning and now they come on, flick the switch and they go out and that's it I'm not sure when they are on exactly if they are on the high or low side but i dont know why the switch would be cutting the current and turning them off as anyone had this issue throughout the years? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! And like I said that's with a new switch from Napa! Thanks again for any help!
Do you understand how the lights should be wired to the swtich? Have you checked the lights to make sure they're not burned out? My guess is that your original switch probably worked fine, but there is another problem. Do you have a volt meter, or a test light, so you can test the switch?
Wired correctly the lights DO NOT GO OUT when you click the switch, they either go high beam or low beam. If they are going off that means you are going Low beam off low beam again or high beam off high beam again as you have the power wire running to what should be the connector for high or low beam rather than for the power input.
Hey guys thanks for inquiring! yeah I have a volt meter and all that although I didn't get to fool with it much today because of work but here's what I did, I took the first switch out, theres three terminals on the back before I took it off I Colo coordinate each wire and terminal so when I took it off I put it back together correctly. So I took it off cleaned it all up put back together and same thing....so that's when I picked up another switch just to try that thinking itd be a easy fix but nope! Lol same issue and there is brand new 12vheadlights in the truck as well! One wire is hot all the time that's the top terminal which on switch is marked (battery) so that's power and the other two I switched them and it did the same thing!
You have to have a switch that is in the power line to the dimmer switch..The damned dimmer switch does not run directly to hot all the time power. I have owned that truck in my avatar since 1973 and have changed out a few of those switches.. Your previous owner screwed up when he hooked it up. You turn the "headlight switch" on the dash on be it a real headlight switch or a toggle switch and that sends the power to the dimmer switch so you can have power that works both the high and low beams. the foot switch is NOT an on/off - high/low switch.
Yes sir I 100% understand that completely. It might have sound like I didn't but I do, when I pull the light switch on the dash the lights come on, flick the (dimmer switch) they go OUT, do it again they come on again....ok so the top post on the dimmer switch is the battery that's your HOT and I have 12v there...the bottom two wires are the ones I tried like they was originally and it didn't work (like u said maybe the guy wired it up wrong years ago) so i switched them and Still did the same thing!!! That's why I am asking what would be the next step you would try.
Find the wire that gets power from HL switch. Then use test light or VM to test the other two wires at the dimmer switch. Each time you click, power goes off on one and then has power at the other one which was dead before you clicked. You start at the dimmer switch first. If the switch is doing what it is supposed to, and not losing power when it shouldn't, on those two other wires(High & Low)...then the problem is between the dimmer switch and the sealed beams. Also make sure those 3 terminals are not corroded where they crimp to the wires.
Like 48 Chev says. You have the switch wired in wrong. Put the power in wire to the middle terminal and try that. The other two wires can go on either of the other terminals.
Hey thanks guys! It sucks having to stop working on something in the middle of something that has you stumped lol so I wanted to clear it up in my head lol my brain was beating me up!!! Lol
I'm not absolutely positive that the top pin is the hot. I know I had to stop and check more than once to make sure I had it hooked up right. Power only going to One pin when you work the switch should mean that the power feed is hooked to one of the light pins rather than the input pin.
Touch the hot wire at the switch to one of the other wires. It should light one side of the headlamp, if not, check the wiring to the lamp or plug in a known good lamp. The other wire should light the other element. If both light, the problem has to be in the switch, unless the voltage to the dimmer switch is going away under load, which would send me back towards the headlamp switch or wire between the headlamp switch and the dimmer switch, D Oh, check to see if there is a common ground for the headlamps that might be causing the problem.
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