Hello Everyone, My headlights have started to go off by themsleves. When I move the headlight switch dimmer they will come back on, then go off , then on, then off, then stay on. I'm thinking its the headlight switch going out. Can you recomend where I could get a replacement and what kind it should be. Also could you give me some guidance on how to replace. I have no clue about how to do it but I'd like to try myself. I have a 1971 Comet GT. Thanks!!
The switches are available at any parts store. I got one for my car out of a Ranger in a salvage yard. Ford used the same switch for years. On the switch itself, there is a small 'button' Push it and the knob and shaft will pull out. unscrew the nut and push the switch back into the hole. Unplug the wires and it's in your hand. Sounds simple bu there is not much room to move around in there. It might help to remove the dash cluster and perhaps the heater control assy.
If you are wiggling the dimmer and the lights flicker back on it may just be the dimmer that's bad. Try jumpering across the wires on the dimmer and see if it stops flickering. If that doesn't make any difference then the headlight switch may be all that's wrong. RS
Very common problem with those headlight switches. It has a built in circuit breaker and it will make the lights go off when it gets over heated. It usually comes back on briefly as it cools off. Usually does worse if you use bright lights.
OK. I understand mostly how to change it out. But where is the nut you refer to that is holding the switch on. Is it on the backside of the dashboard or the front side. I found a picture of the switch and I don't see anything like a threaded area where a bolt would go.
The chrome bezel is the nut that is being referred to. To take out the push pull lever by pulling the lever all the way out like you are turning the headlights on. Then push the button on the other side of where the wiring harness plugs in (it is a botton with a spring on it) and then pull the lever out the front of the switch. Then you be able to see the front of the bezel. You will see that it has places in the front to put a tool (screwdriver) to unscrew the nut. then just push it out the back and unplug the switch. Remember to disconnect the battery before you start, the dash light dimmer resistor coil is exposed and if grounded it will short out. Good luck on the replacement.
It looks like I'm going to have to take out the tray to get better access under the dash and reach the switch. Will that give me enough room to work. Will the wiring harness have enough slack to drop the switch down so I can see it. Or should I also take out the Wiper switch to drop both all the way down. If so, is it the same procedure to remove the wiper switch,
Much easier to remove the gauge cluster and heater switch. It only takes me about 5 minutes to get the cluster out of the way.
OK, how do I remove or just move the heater switch out of the way. Can it be done from the front. Or does it have to be done from the back like the headlight switch.
Something else to look at if your lights are blinking on and off is your charging system. If overcharging, it will cause the lights to cycle like that. Found that out in the middle of the night on a 1300 mile road trip ... fun times ... Fixed the charging problem the next day, but a week later had to replace the switch because of hours of abuse.
Bad contacts inside the beam selector switch will also cause the head lights to flash on and off. Found that out one night when the oncoming traffic was a cop with a problem.
Success Took me 20 minutes to change out. I moved the heater controls to the right and it gave me enough room to work. Thanks for all the advice. THIS FORUM ROCKS!!!!!!!!
heater control How did you remove the heater controls to get them out of the way? i have to replace my headlight switch due to no dashlights. thanks
Once you remove the heater control faceplate there are a couple of screws holding the control in place to the dash. Remove the screws and push the whole control panel back in and to the right inside the dash. That gave me just enough room to get my hand in an unplug the headlight swith and also remove and replace it.
