Over Heating light switch & Guage Lights

First off... when it comes to electrical, I am partially retarded ou:
not that you guys couldn't figure that out anyway, just look at my avatar, it's a requirement for Raiders fan's to not be too bright.....

I was out later than usual the other day adn needed head lights.... they were on for about 10minutes and I started to smell something burinig and I was pretty sure it was electrical. I grab the headlight switch it's very warm to the touch. So I proceed to drive the balance of 5 miles home mostly w/o headlights.

Plus, all my guage lights are out. These 2 problems could have been around for a while, it's been a few years since I drove the car at night. Don't get me wrong, I pretty much driver her every weekend, it's just always in the day.

I'm going to do the obvious and check or just change all my fuse's and get a new headlight switch, but where do I go from there in case niether of these are the cause .... o No:


Thanks
VinMan

 

The switch is getting hot because it is getting more juice than it should.

I seriously doubt it's a fuse. A blown fuse wouldn't do that, and one not blowing when it should would be bad, but would not be the actual problem. There are also two fuseable links at the starter - one should be for the headlights. If there were a short somewhere in the lighting circuit, the link (a small section of wire that looks like it is crimped on) is supposed to melt. That is if it works right, and if it is in fact there (some people remove them).

Check your grounds. There should be one from the headlight switch to the metal under the dash. The gauges should also be grounded - but those will be hard to see.
You can also check for a short - it's possible something is rubbing on the gauge's circuit boards, or that the switch has gone bad. You could have a short anywhere in the lighting circuit - meaning it could be under the hood too.

You can convert the setup so the headlights themselves do not run directly from the switch - so less electricity is going through it. That way, the headlight switch merely activates a relay that turns on the lights. I've not done this yet. I think someone here was once offering a kit. However, this is not a solution to your problem - you'll have to find and fix it before deciding to modernize your lighting.

Your gauge lights could be burnt out, though that is not unlikely.
Combined with the hot switch, I'd suspect a short under the dash somewhere (switch, gauges, etc.) that is not allowing electricity to flow to the gauge lights.

To be safe, I'd not drive the car, perhaps even disconnect the battery. Though it's likely the lighting circuit, you don't know for sure. The short may be somewhere else, and you don't want to drive around until you know for sure.
Maybe invest in a cheap VOM (Volt - Ohm - Milliammeter), or simple continuity testor (basically a light with a battery and a couple wires). The former will be more useful in general, as you can do more tests with it, and use it for many things - not just cars. We can tell you how to use it to investigate your problem further.

Look for obvious things first, before buying anything.

 

I have a very good meter and I do now how to use it, my ignorance in electrical is usually nailing down the exact culprit. I'm lucky that my company has 3 divisions & one sells Fluke. Hence, I have some fluke meters, one of those high temp laser meters..... etc.

Thanks for the excellent advice again, this board is great. I'll replace the switch and look at the ground then I'll post the results.

Thanks again guys.

VinMan out......

 

One division sells Fluke? Must be nice.

 

Once you get the short chased down, I highly recommend wiring relays, one for the low beams, and another for the highs. You'll GREATLY reduce the current going through the firewall/switch/etc, and you'll get brighter headlights.

They're easy to do - the original headlight wires switch the relays, and you run a heavy-gauge wire straight from the battery to the headlights through the relays. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Guys,
Where should I buy the switch from?

I'll go seartch Year One, TA, the normal Buick folks, but if you have a better suggestion let me know.


Truzi,
We also represent Panduit (we have since 1967). So I have every type of Tie wrap you can think of. I have Terminal, Disconnect & splice sets.... cripming tools....cool storage bins.... you name it. Panduit ROCKS.

L8er Guys
VinMan out....

 

AutoZone shows one for $10.99, p/n SW144. NAPA oughta have them also...

 

Stupid question... instead of a relay, are there any reliable, reasonably priced, solid-state devices that can handle the juice to the headlights?

 

My bet goes to the headlight switch. With switches this old the contacts and possibly corroded and the springs that hold them in place are probably getting weak and not holding them in place as they should. The switch is cheap, easy to change and even if it's not the problem it is still safer to change it and not worry. From past expierence I have found that to be the problem many times. ntil you find the problem for sure leave the battery unhooked.
Mike

 

I stopped by All Parts on the way home for some things and they also had a switch in stock, it's a Borg Warner brand.

I'm going to swap it out tomorrow, any tips on removal/installation?

I'm sure it's no big deal, but when working on 36 year old cars you can always count on some "thing or clip or....whatever" .... that you tell yourself next time Instead of this task taking me 20 minutes, I can do it in 5 because now I know "x". capeeeesh.


VinMan out.......

 

I know you've seen it before, but seriously - disconnect the battery! :Smarty:

Then jam your hand up in there (I think on the right-hand side) is a little button that you push in while you pull out on the knob, might have to wiggle the button while push/pulling the knob...once you get the knob and its shaft out, just unscrew the chrome ring and the switch will come loose. Once it's out of the way, the switch should drop down where you can get ahold of the wiring to unplug it. Pretty straightforward, and it helps a lot if you have tiny hands and reeeaaaaallly long fingers. If you've got big paws like me, ask the 10-year-old from down the street. :laugh:

 

jam,

Yes, the battery has been unplugged since I saw the first post. I didn't get out there today, but sometime over this rainy weekend I'll get out there and do this.

When you say push this button and its on the "right side"..... do you mean "right side" of the switch if I'm sitting in the drivers seat looking at the dash?

Because once I'm underneath and reaching up under the dash, my right will be my left...... ou:


Thanks guys

 

Thanks larry.

Would have definately taken me some trial & error to figure out that button/spring releases the knob.

If I still have any problems I'll let you experts know.

Thanks
VinMan

 

Guys..... I was traveling allmost ALL of January, have not driven the car since Christmas break. Now for some of you that live in area's that have extreme winters, you're thinking.."so what"... but for us CA people besides annoying rain, that's about it.

I finally have a free no wife or kids garage day... :beer .. so I climbed in the car reached under the dash and easliy found that little "button", I compressed it and pulled out the knob but it won't come out all the way. Before I force and break something, I just wanted to ask some advice. I have the buttom pressed and the knob seems to be pretty far out, I have pulled on it pretty hard whlie depressing the button, before I pull REAL HARD is that what I need to do, just grunt force until it's out....... o No:

The bezel easliy unscrewed out, so I'm just stuck with the knob.

 

Very Frustrated Gentlemen.... :rant:

This should not be giving me this kind of problem, I read the shop manual and it clearly says to "pull knob out to farthest point, then depress spring and knob will come out"

Well...... I've done this with the knob out and at every possible position and after 30 minutes of dicking around, I can barely feel my finger because it is literally balck n blue from depressing that spring..... WTF!

 

Larry..... I have literally tried every angle...
Shaft pushed in... depress spring...then try to pull out
Shaft half way out...depress spring.... try to pull out
Shaft all the way out.....depress spring.... try to pull out
all times trying different rotated positions.

When the shaft is all the way in, the spring can be bottomed out easily, as soon as I start to pull the shaft out the spring comes out some no matter how hard I depress.

If I follow the book and have the shaft all the way out, then try and depress the spring it only goes in a little bit no matter HOW HARD I press.... :rant: :ball:

I took a break, opened a bottle of vino (not a beer guy unless I'm at a ballpark) and I'm now washing & waxing my Black on Black CTS-V. When I'm done I'll crawl back under there and re-do every angle and try again. Maybe with a "buzz-on" I'll get it out.


Thanks