Whisperhead

Hello again all - I have another question (or more of an idea at this stage).

My high beam doesn't work (pulling the indicator stalk towards me has no effect, and no resistance felt), and I understand this is because either the plastic rod that activates it has moved/snapped, or the switch may be faulty.

My idea is to move this switch (or replace it with a toggle/2-pole switch) to a location on the dashboard instead of trying to repair the problem inside the stalk, which having read a little around the repair seems to be a right pain in the backside.

Has anyone here done this? Can anyone offer any advice on the procedure? I'm hoping I could use a simple toggle switch mounted in the dash plate and simply move the existing wiring to this new dash switch, and then activate the lights as required when driving.

I've not done any electrical work like this before and would appreciate your input ladies and gents

Thanks again!

383vett

A service manual will have the complete wiring diagram of the whole car. You should be able to locate the high beam wires going into the steering column and intercept them for your switch.

Tom400CFI

Put back down on the floor, where it belongs.

skyhawk50

Do you have a worn tilt steering column. Just about every C4 I bought had a loose column, do to PO's using the wheel to dismount the car. This looseness changes the angle of the rod that goes to the switch. I drove one car for a year, pulling down on the column to activate the high beams. The switch is not realy that bad to correct. I believe that a floor mounted switch would be a pain. I've got barely enough room there now for both feet.

gerardvg

Hi What year?

On my 85 its a metal rod from the stalk to the high beam switch on steering column under the dash, easy for it to get loose and the rod to pop out of the switch.

Maybe remove the hush pad under column and have a look?
should be a simple refit the rod into switch and tighten screws, or replace the high beam switch on the column.

Why waste time / molest the car by retrofitting something else?
The factory high beam switch and rod has never failed on my 85...

WVZR-1

OP - you asked questions regarding coolant for a '94 earlier so Id think it certainly more advisable and likely easier to attempt diagnosis of "what's really wrong"!! Have you or anyone else done any repairs to the column or been under the dash recently? Is there any other functions of the column that maybe don't function well or don't? Directionals etc?

If perhaps it's the switch on the column it's a very straight forward replacement. Dimmer actuator in upper column certainly more difficult and your location certainly might be a hindrance.

If you remove the hush panel from the driver side and a single reinforcement the dimmer becomes quite accessible for diagnostics.

The second snapshot in this link shows the dimmer (in white) and if when you pull towards you the rod to the switch doesn't move the upper column failure is more likely. If the rod has fallen out of the switch or the switch is loose and not secure maybe it's very easy. Can you trigger the dimmer by moving the rod?

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...pictorial.html

There are comments through that thread that could be interesting. I've not ever read the thread in it's entirety because I understand the column but if you look/read/check appropriately I'd think you could maybe decide if you can tackle the diagnostics.

Do you have the FSN (Factory Service Manual) for your car? Actually for the dimmer pivot etc there's likely threads that can help maybe better.

Moving the dimmer function - I wouldn't but maybe if you've no concerns. Do you require any safety inspections where it could become a requirement?

A better read for the upper actuator and pivot explanation maybe

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-actuator.html

Whisperhead

Sorry, yeah, forgot about that bit! It's a 1994 LT1.

It has a fair amount of play downwards/leftwards so its been used as a support for someone getting out for sure.

Not sure I understand what you mean here WVZR-1? Ive only just acquired the car and am still learning, it's my first American car so it's all a bit new to me. Sorry if I appear a little dim!
Thank you for the links though, it certainly helps to see photos of the dismantling and rebuilding procedure. I'm going through them at the moment.

I don't have a FSM yet, and over here they're sitting in the £200/$250 region and with Christmas right around the corner I'm having to wait until the new year to get a copy. Haven't had a chance to browse the "For Sale" section here on the forum yet however, so will do that too

We have a yearly roadworthiness test here in the UK, and it's not legal to use on the roads if it does not have a valid MOT certificate. Mine is due in April, so plenty of time to sort the little issues. I understand there is a similar procedure/check in some states over there?

Ill have a look under the panel and get a better idea of what is going on. Thanks all so far for your input

VikingTrad3r

repair it to oem stock.