'68 300 - no low beams or side marker lights...why?

[barsteel]

Hello!

I've been beating my head against a wall trying to get the low beams to work on my '68 300. Yes, I replaced the dimmer switch, no it didn't fix anything. The wiring is bone stock and appears to be in good condition. I ran temporary grounds to the bumpers and to the light housings, no luck. Checked the feed with a test wire and confirmed that the lights are not getting any current.

Could a bad headlight switch cause no low beams?

If not, is there anything else that typically goes wrong with C bodies that would cause the low beams to not work?

Sorry, but this is all new to me...my first C body.

Thanks...

Chris

 

[Big_John]

Try running a 12 volt wire to the low beam side of the dimmer switch. If it doesn't light the bulbs, it's from there forward.

I'm thinking it's an issue with the bulkhead connector on the firewall.

 

[Wollfen]

Hi Chris, yes the headlight switch is most likely the source of your problem, with Chrysler light switches the main power to the headlights goes directly through the switch which after many years of use causes it to fail. As an aside, you don't necessarily need to replace it, i have found in the past that by using a relay the switch will still do its job as the main power now goes through the relay. If this doesnt work then put a new switch in and having the relay in place is an added bonus to preserving the life expectancy of the switch.

 

[Big_John]

I don't think it's the switch. The car has high beams.

The switch just sends power to the dimmer switch. The dimmer switch then sends power to the high or low beams.

 

[barsteel]

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

Big_John, thank you! I checked that I had power going to the dimmer, then ran a hot wire to the high and low terminal in the plug. Same results - no low beams. Disconnected the lowest bulk head connector and ran a hot wire to the high and low terminals...and both worked. So...current was not flowing through the bulkhead terminal.

I cleaned/scraped/wired brushed the terminals on the sockets and on the bulkhead terminal itself, clean it up, and Voila!!!! High and low beams working...and, as an added bonus, I got my right hand signal to work as well.

Thanks for the help...

Chris

 

[Big_John]

You get bonus points for spelling "Voila" correctly.