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One of the small problems I have with my newly accquired 76 Coupe is with the pop-up lights staying up all the time. I can close them manually (I do this correctly by reaching underneath and gently pulling on the center bar till they close on their own) with the car off, but then as soon as I crank the engine they pop back up on their own without the light switch being on. Anyone else had this problem? Seems like there should be an easy fix if I just knew what to do.
One of the small problems I have with my newly accquired 76 Coupe is with the pop-up lights staying up all the time. I can close them manually (I do this correctly by reaching underneath and gently pulling on the center bar till they close on their own) with the car off, but then as soon as I crank the engine they pop back up on their own without the light switch being on. Anyone else had this problem? Seems like there should be an easy fix if I just knew what to do.
Not an easy fix. It's hard to diagnose this from sitting here at my computer. You need this: Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual It will tell you everything about the system, and you should be able to fix it from there. There's quite a few things that need checking.
I had a problem with the headlights popping up when the car was shut off. I went to my DR. Rebuild catalog and found there is a small check valve that needed replacemnt. Dr. Rebuild's catalog has a lot of helpful hints and is a good resource.
check the over ride switch for sure. it would be the easiest of solutions. i beleive it should be in the up position to be shut, and pulled down to over ride the system and open the headlamp doors (this feature exists so that the lights could be washed without running the car or turning the lamps on, assuming enough vacuum had been built up. when new, you should have been able to raise the headlamps about twice before expending the pent up vacuum. i would be surprised if you could still do that, but it really doesn't matter at this point, lol). the check valve could be defective, or it could be that someone installed it backwards. either way, it's a pretty inexpensive repair.
if neither of those provide a solution, it is possible that the vacuum relay connections are crossed and the system thinks the "closed" position actually has the doors open. the relay is (are) located mounted between the headlamp doors under the nose and is most easily accessed by opening the hood and working from the top. again, that's a pretty simple and cost free repair.
it is almost impossible however to give you an absolute answer, but i hope some of this starts you out in the right direction.