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Buick guys: Lets talk headlight switches

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Gas Giant, Sep 18, 2008.

  1. Gas Giant
    Joined: May 14, 2008
    Posts: 402

    Gas Giant
    Member

    Car is a 56 Special.

    I picked up this cheap piece of crap headlight switch at Advance auto parts. Never mind the fact that the pull shaft on it isn't long enough to be useful with the dash trim, but it is doing something odd. (When I got my car, it didn't have a headlight switch)

    I have checked continuity to all the lights, taillights, marker lights, headlights, and as far as the wiring goes, it appears fine.

    But when I pull the pull knob all the way out, the headlights come on, but in doing so the marker/turn signal lights go out. (Tailights are on at this point). On ever car I have ever owned, the marker/turn signal lights stay on with the headlights.

    Push the pull shaft back in one click, to where just the parking lights are supposed to be on, and the marker lights work. The dash lights are on throughout the range, except when the switch is in the Off position.

    Is this normal? It doesn't seem like it, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't some wacky 50's thing I didn't know about. The headlight switch is wired correctly as far as I can tell.

    Thanks in advance for tolerating what is probably a stupid question.
     
  2. There should be 4 screw connectors on that switch. One side the 2 of them go together and those are the ones that go to your parking lights/tail lamps/ dash lights. They stay on with either "click". The other side (2 screws) are seperated by the "clicks" use one for low beam, other for high beam. Look at the switch close on the underside and you will see. OR use the first "click" on the seperated ones to go to nothing, then the second "click" to go to the dimmer switch.
     
  3. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    If you are a youngster, then every car you've ever owned had the park lights stay on with the headlights. But if you've messed with cars older than 1968, you'd have quite a different experience...the older ones all had the park lights turn off when the headlights went on. Tail lights stayed on of course.
     
  4. Yay, first time in 10 years someone called me a youngster. I owe you a beer.

    Ok, back to my previous post, that would be how you do it IF they were to stay on.
     

  5. Judd
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 1,894

    Judd
    Member

    LOL! You beat me to it. I was going to call him a young punk. LOL

     
  6. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    I had a bad headlight switch on a 54 Buick that kept the turn signal lights on whenever the headlights were on. The bulbs melted my NOS turn signal lenses.
     

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