Prince of Darkeness

[PH4]

My 62IIA fuse blew and the lights went out and truck cut-off. This has happened twice in the past two years and I just replaced the fuse(blade) and go on my way. However, this happened the other day and if I replace the fuse it will run fine until I switch on the lights then the fuse blows. After two nights of driving back in darkness(downtown with lots of street lights) I need to fix the problem. Any tips or advice? Where to start?

[Les Parker]

Out of the Darkness

What headlamps do you have fitted?
Do you have relays fitted to hi/lo beam?
Also I suggest checking the connections of the wiring on the hi/lo switch and relocate it from the drivers foot well to a more weatherproofed location.
Let us know how you progress.

[greenmeanie]

Is it the original harness? You mention a blade fuse which would suggest some modication from OEM. I'd trace the circuit from the fuse box to the switch and then to the lights themselves. If it's a 46 year old harness you can expect some insulation degredation. At that point a full rewire is best or you'll forever be chasing the Prince of Darkness.

Single best mod for the electrical system is realys for the lights. That's closely followed by a decent fuse panel.

Cheers
Gregor

[BackInA88]

I have bought 2 of these from this same guy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=025&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=380018276945&rd=1

One about a year ago for me Series when I went to halogens to keep the high power requirements out of the switch.
Removed the spades from the new headlight plugs and s***** them though the little hole in the buckets with some new grommets and a little silicone to seal them up and everything is golden!!!
And just but one on my D2 this weekend.
Easy plug and play install.

OK the yellow looks like crap but I just got some black loom covering from the local Auto parts.

Power comes right off the battery and all your switch does now is turn on the new relays.

Steve

[adkrover]

I had a similar problem but it happened shortly after remounting my turn signal switch. It didn't happen when I used the signals (that would be too easy) but when I turned a corner. Apparently there was a hot lug on the back of the switch that was ever so close to the dash that when I turned a sharp corner, it tweeked something just enough to flex the dash and make contact. Fortunately, I remembered I had just been messing with the switch so I knew it had to be sometihng in that general area. Have you been messing about? Otherwise, get plenty of fuses, a good volt/ohmmeter and start unplugging things until you can isolate the short.

[PH4]

I have the Hella 4s mounted and have had so since 1998. I have taken the top off and left it open for the past 4 months. I can think of no particular reason reason than I took the single wipers off about 1 month ago. Maybe I should check those wires. I will try and figure out this weekend. What is a relay and what does it do?

[Daurie]

A relay is a remote switch basically. The way it works is you route the power for your lights from a 12v source through the relay contacts to the lights. The relay has a second set of terminals that operate a magnetic coil that closes the relay / switch. The coil is controled by your original light switch. What this accomplishes it it keeps the high amp draw of the headlights from going through the old and likely undersized contact points inside the headlight switch. All the current is handled through the relay now. No major rewiring required other than a few jumpers to connect to a suitable 12v source and the jumpers to the headlight switch from the relay coil.

It's an easy task but ask questions and google relay schematic and you will likely come up with something..

[txeagle]

Here's a good link that discusses relays for headlights. They have a lot of good technical info that has really helped. Click on the top link mark electrical tech for more good info.

http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/brighter-headlights.shtml

Personally, when it finally comes time to get the queen out of the garage, she'll get an update with a 12 fuse harness from EZ Wiring,

Ben

[PH4]

Checked all wiring and found no problem. Sprayed some corrosion block on dimmer switch in foot well and no more blown fuses and high-beams fine but no low beams. Thoughts?

[Jim-ME]

It sounds like a bad dimmer switch to me.
Jim