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I was headed out the other evening for a cruise in and with it getting dark early, I had my headlights on. Then about a mile from the house the headlights went out. I turned around and drove home, luckily it was still dusk and the parking lights were still working. I tried the floor mounted dimmer switch and the lights would come on, but would go out if I removed my foot from the switch. I figured that the floor mounted switch was the culprit. I went on-line here and found the instrument panel lights usually gave the most problems. My solution order both. Now the floor mounted switch is pretty easy to change, two large Phillip headed screws and a plug in electrical connector. I decided to order from Eckler's as they are just a few hours up the road and would arrive quickly (they did). I had no idea how to remove the head light switch, so I searched and watched several YouTubes, however none spelled it out, so I thought I'd post what I learned.
To remove the **** with the shaft its mounted on, operate it in and out and finally push it firmly back in. Now directly on the bottom of the switch is a small round headed button that is spring loaded. This releases a detent of some kind that catches on the shaft near its end, when you release it you'll see the circular slot on the shaft. Press the button fully in and pull out on the light switch ****. It should come straight out, if not wiggle and repeat. Now looking at the front of the switch where it protrudes from the instrument panel you'll see a wide slotted piece that is really just a big screw with a hole in the middle for the headlight **** shaft to pass thru. I have some big screw drivers, but none were wide enough to engage both slots, I did read some guy had a big Phillips Head screwdriver that worked. I found a small pry bar which worked for me, I'm sure someone sells the correct tool, or somebody like harbor freight might have something for a cheap price that would also work, so size this up before starting. By threading this retention screw out counter-clockwise it releases the switch from the instrument panel. Now on my '64 Coupe with factory air, the outlet duct blocked removal of the switch. If you have this problem there is a screw just left of the outlet nozzle and another about in the middle. Remove these and the duct will drop down onto the hood release cable. Pushing down easily on the duct onto the cable will give enough clearance to pull the switch out far enough to remove the large plug in electrical connector. I was amazed the engineers had specified enough wiring to allow this freedom of movement, this was not the case with the floor mounted dimmer switch, it was an exact tight fit.
Plug the electrical connector onto the new head light switch and position it back in position for you to thread the retention screw back into hold it firmly in place on the instrument panel. Push the ****/shaft assembly back into the hole until it catches on the detent. Mine didn't so I wiggled it to get proper alignment and it then snapped into place. Next I re-positioned my AC duct and fastened it back in place. This fixed my headlight issue, so it was $30 well spent, I didn't need the floor mounted switch (see below) but for $10 it wasn't too bad of a financial hit....lol
I had first removed and replaced the floor mounted dimmer switch by pulling back the carpeting to access the switch. By removing the Philips screw and carefully removing the electrical connector the switch is free to remove. I've removed several of these before as I grew up in Rochester NY and the slush from snow and salt would quickly corrode and fail these switches. This didn't solve my headlight problem, so I moved onto replacing the headlight switch I describe above.
I hope this description helps someone out someday when their headlight switch decides to quit.
From your above post:
"Now looking at the front of the switch where it protrudes from the instrument panel you'll see a wide slotted piece that is really just a big screw with a hole in the middle for the headlight **** shaft to pass thru. I have some big screw drivers, but none were wide enough to engage both slots"
I have always used either needle nose or snap ring pliers to remove the retainer ring/screw that holds the switch to the dash.
I recently replaced the headlight switch in my ‘64 convertible. Immediately, the headlights started working poorly. They will come on, but after a few seconds, they go off only to come back on a minute later once the substandard circuit breaker in the switch cools down. Apparently, this is a well known problem with aftermarket headlight switches, so be careful. My solution was to build a harness with two relays that plugs into the existing headlight harness (no cutting required) so the switch only controls the relays and doesn’t carry the load of the headlights. Works great! Search for a thread by me on how to do it if interested.
I don't recall seeing you post in my thread about the meaning of screen names. Do you own a Dodge Dart?
My mother always asked me why I didn't, it's my last name! A friend gave me several "DART" emblems he had collected, each of my vehicles has one on their license plates.
As to the repro headlight switches -- don't discard your old one if its original, unless the dash light dimming rheostat is shot, they can be disassembled, cleaned up and put back in service and the internal thermal cutout (second picture) is stronger than the repros..
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Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Dec 7, 2018 at 09:43 PM.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
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Headlight & dimmer switch replacement.
