Deanoko Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Low beams work fine. High beams work fine for a bit and then the whole shebang starts cycling off and on. No other engine or electrical symptoms while this light show is occurring.Ideas?Thanks.Deano K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rsteere Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Deano, You have a short in your high beam wiring. The breaker gets hot, trips, cools down and the lights come back on. The 3 places I would start looking are the bulbs them selves and the dimmer switch. If anyone has done work to the car lately you might look where they have been too.Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Deano,The headlights are designed to cycle on/off like that in the event of a short. Instead of a fuse, there is a 15amp circuit breaker in the switch. Randy describes the breaker cycle very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 You might want to put a new dimmer switch in, just for general principles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Turn on the brights...check to see if one of the lights is not functioning at all or not at full brightness. If so, look for the short in that circuit. If all the lights are functioning correctly feel the dimmer switch or the wiring and check if it is hot to the touch. If so, you will find your short in close proximity. Dont disregard the possibility the breaker in the switch could be weak due to age.When I am troubleshooting a short in heavy duty trucks and have no luck with typical procedures I bypass the circuit protection and watch for the smoke..not for the faint of heart but usually pretty effective! Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Thanks for the steer guys. I'll get to work and post my findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 In the garage with brights on it takes over a minute for the light show to begin. While driving it is almost immediate. Unplugging a high beam light stops it. Doesn't seem to matter which one. Reoccurs when all 4 lights are plugged in.Purchased a new floor switch which made no difference in the problem. Nothing obvious, so will do some more wire chasing when I get back from the beach. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I agree with Tom. If all lights come on proper brightness, I would say the breaker built into the headlight switch is weak from age and the switch needs to be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 I've got a new headlight switch on order from CARS. I had just bought a new one in the low $20 range from the local Chevy muscle car repop parts guy which must have led to my problem, since I didn't recall ever having the flashing business going on prior.. It looked to be the same physically, but I guess it doesn't feature that more robust internal fuse that has been talked about (for twice the money)Deano K.63 Riviera58 Chevy 2 door55 MGTF 1500 72 Volvo 1800E73 Volvo 1800ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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