I am trying to install a "headlamp flasher" into my 67 Special. Very necessary equipment driving in Europe :grin: While doing so I checked and followed the orginal wiring of the low/hi beams and could not find a relay for these lamps. This is in line with the 67 wiring diagram but it also means that the full electrical power is going from the battery through the dashboard - knobs - hibeam switch to the headlamps. That is scary. Can anyone confirm that you have the same set-up? Secondly I wasn't able to determine which fuse is for the headlamps. none??? Please guide me...
It is the same set-up in most of our old cars, relays simply wasn't used for lighting. The light switch is powered via a fuse-able link near the starter motor I believe. In case you have a short that part (fuseable link) will burn out instead of the entire harness.
Patrick, The fusibile link is located under the engine, close to the starter motor. Here's an old scan from a Buick Chassis Manual: Power runs through the headlight switch, it's better to use relays, you will also have brighter headlights that way :TU: Scheme: Click here for more info :Comp:
That repair would be a piece O cake with the engine out of the car. Try to get tape to stick to anything under there with all that grime covering everything in that area. Mine failed going down the road and I temp fixed it with a piece of wire I found along the side of the road and a pocket knife.
Putting in relays for your headlights is a good idea. You will get brighter lights and less chance of burning down 40 year old wiring.
Most headlight switches are also self reseting circuit breakers. If the amp load is high enough (aka shorted) the lights will cut out with an audiable click from the switch. When the heat has disappated from the headlight switch/breaker it'll click back on and if the short is still present it'll click back off. So it's not a completely unprotected circuit, it just doesn't put all the amperage through the fuse paneling. The headlights were the single largest amperage draw in cars back then so that's how they engineered it. As others have mentioned, given the age of the wiring and increased resistance in the wire from its age, it's not a bad idea to install a relay to bypass the old wiring.
Yes, the '66 manual also shows a circuit breaker in the light switch. EDIT: 67 manual does not show a circuit breaker in the switch. Buick did add a fusible link for the light circuit, located at the starter solenoid. A 2nd fusible link supplies power to the rest of the car. (end edit) '66 and earlier did not have a fusible link. It's a recommended upgrade for those cars. Your 67 should have it. Here is one example of a headlight harness upgrade for H4 headlights. It's designed for a 67- GMC truck, but maybe it'll work on a Skylark. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=512511 I installed a similar harness on my '01 Cherokee from Putco that was under $30.
As explained in the scan posted by Erik the fusible links are attached to the start motor solenoid. I wouldn't bother changing them unless you have lost power to the light switch. If a fusible link is gone then I recommend that you check entire wire harness for electrical short before connecting the battery again. Good luck Christian :gp:
After the relay you might want to consider replacing the high/low headlamps with Hella H4 headlamps and use halogen bulbs rather than those almost useless (IMHO) stock headlamps. The European beam pattern is much better at putting the light on the road. Just a thought.
Great info. Thanks guys. After completing my headlight flasher idea with relay and new cabling I will amend the old wiring by also installing relays and thus taking away the power from the old switches/cables (intended wiring just as Erik showed). That can't be wrong. Means more work for me but should definitely improve safety. I take it some of you have done this already to your respective cars? Someone recommended H4. That is actually mandatory over here for low-beams. You are not allowed to drive the American sealed (low-)beams. As for hi-beams I still have (legally correct) the old ones but one just blew so I am also converting to H1 as they are simply better/brighter.
I think it's an European rule that you are not allowed to run sealed low beam units. On my supercharged 1996 Bonneville SSEi I had a special note in the car registration that I was allowed to use sealed beam (big combined unit) headlights because there were no replacements available. You can simply order Hella replacements for your car from any automotive store in Germany. Board member "75Riv" (Rob) knows the part number if they can't figure it out at your local store :TU: There's this bloke in the greater Amsterdam area selling bright replacements, the blue refelection you see in the Lincoln photo is the reflection of the blue coverall that the photographer was wearing. (that's what he claims in the text) Click here for the advertisement :Comp: Not sure if they are road legal according to the TV rules, here in the Netherlands they are.
I switched my 70 headlights to a relay system years ago. Only way to go, more reliable, safe and gives you brighter lights.
