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1955 Buick Headlight issue


bhead1968

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Hello!  I have a '55 4 dr Special and have an issue.  My headlights stop working but everything else does.  I know the lamps themselves are good as they were just working but believe my headlight switch is the culprit. How can I be sure? Also it seems there isn't anyone remanufacturing those and all I see are those universal ones.  

 

Thanks for any help

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Have you pressed the floor dimmer several times? They get dirty/corroded and stop letting the headlamps work.

 

Can you get to the three terminals of the floor dimmer with a meter or test light? One should be hot whenever the headlamp switch is in the headlamp position. The others, one is for low beams and the other for high beams.

 

If no wire is hot with the headlamp switch on, then I would look at the headlamp switch. Maybe the circuit breaker (built into the headlamp switch IIRC) has failed. Do the parking/tail/dash lamps work?

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I agree with checking the dimmer switch first if park and dash lights work. The dimmer switch is usually easier to get to to run any tests. Power goes from the headlight switch to the dimmer switch for both low and high beam. If the wiring diagram I have is right one of the two outer terminals will be your headlight switch power feed.

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On 1/11/2021 at 10:58 PM, Frank DuVal said:

Have you pressed the floor dimmer several times? They get dirty/corroded and stop letting the headlamps work.

 

Can you get to the three terminals of the floor dimmer with a meter or test light? One should be hot whenever the headlamp switch is in the headlamp position. The others, one is for low beams and the other for high beams.

 

If no wire is hot with the headlamp switch on, then I would look at the headlamp switch. Maybe the circuit breaker (built into the headlamp switch IIRC) has failed. Do the parking/tail/dash lamps work?

Thank you!  That did the trick!  I had taken out the headlight switch as i had to fix some wiring anyway, I put it back on and just vigorously pressed the dimmer switch several times and boom... my headlights turned on!  Ha!  I was actually thinking of changing the dimmer switch anyway, but i don't have to know. 

 

Again thank you very much!

 

#untilthewheelsfalloff

IMG_3551.jpg

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You're Welcome.

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