RIVNIK Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Greetings, While out for a nite-time cruise in the '65 I realized I had no taillights or dash lights.... Brake lights & blinkers work fine, courtesy lights, headlights, front parking lights all work. That points to a bad headlight switch in my estimation. Does that sound right to you guys? I installed a new one a few months ago and the reostat function never did work so I'm hoping it was just a crappy Chinese switch and maybe I can find one of those great Mexican ones everybody's talking about. Thanks to anyone who can confirm my suspicion or offer any other possibilities. Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaycee Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 I'd check the sockets on the tailights . I had the same problems on a 65 that I restored, and all the rear sockets needed replacement. Also check the wiring. kaycee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Greetings, While out for a nite-time cruise in the '65 I realized I had no taillights or dash lights.... Brake lights & blinkers work fine, courtesy lights, headlights, front parking lights all work. That points to a bad headlight switch in my estimation. Does that sound right to you guys? I installed a new one a few months ago and the reostat function never did work so I'm hoping it was just a crappy Chinese switch and maybe I can find one of those great Mexican ones everybody's talking about. Thanks to anyone who can confirm my suspicion or offer any other possibilities. DrewALWAYS check the fuse first, Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted May 18, 2014 Author Share Posted May 18, 2014 Thanks for your suggestions, guys. Brake lights & blinkers work fine so I figured the taillight sockets, which have recently been refurbished, should be OK, but I will recheck them......fuses are all good. The only thing I can think of that would also cause the dash lights to go out, aside from a coincidental failure in that circuit, would be the switch. How a switch failure would cause the taillights & dash lights to go out while other functions worked is a mystery, but I will dig deeper later today & report back. meanwhile, keep those ideas coming if you've got em. Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Hi Drew,Yes I would say it's the headlight switch (if the fuse is good), probabably a bad contact AND reostat. The bulbs are dual filiment and share a common ground. If one half of the light bulb works (the brake and turn filament side) then it must be the 12V not getting to the tailight filament portion of the bulb. Also like kaycee said see if the tailight socket contacts are not corroded. While it would be strange to have them both go out together, I have seen stranger things before. Mine were both bad and I since replaced them. The dash light issue is most likely the reostat part of the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 1#. Any time there is a problem ALWAYS check what was recently done, ESPECIALLY if someone else did the work! 2# If something doesn't work as expected, remove the improvements and restore the original design.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Check the ground. You might consider running a dedicated ground wire to the tail lamp sockets rather than depending on 50 year old sheet metal and die-cast to create a solid grounding circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Here are my taillight grounds:Nice and bright!Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Thank you gentlemen, I'm on it asap, & thanks for the pics ....gotta go relearn to solder, been a long time since 9th grade shop class Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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