Head Lights Turn off after 10min

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360-68cudu

360-68cudu

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I'm new to For A bodies only and I need some help. When I drive my car with the head lights on at night they will only stay on for about 10 min. or so I can switch the lights off for 30 to 40 sec and it will give me another 5 to 7 min. of headlight power. If some one can give me some pointers to help me fix my problem I would truly appreciate it.

(I have recently put a new alternator and regulator and the other day I figured maybe my battery was running low so i put it to charge, after 5 sec the green light came on saing my battery was at fully charge)
 
Headlight switch in the dash and/or Dimmer switch on the floor

Replace both, they are cheap!
 
Im definitely not a wiring expert but I would start with cleaning all the grounds and connections in the system.

It may or may not fix the problem but it's free and never a bad idea on a 40 year old car.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Im definitely not a wiring expert but I would start with cleaning all the grounds and connections in the system.

It may or may not fix the problem but it's free and never a bad idea on a 40 year old car.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice.
 
CUUDAK said:
Headlight switch in the dash and/or Dimmer switch on the floor

Replace both, they are cheap!
Click to expand...

1968FormulaS340 said:
Im definitely not a wiring expert but I would start with cleaning all the grounds and connections in the system.

It may or may not fix the problem but it's free and never a bad idea on a 40 year old car.
Click to expand...


what they said... really check the plug on the headlight switch too. those suckers can melt pretty bad if the switch crapped out.
 
The problem is most likely in the switch itself. There is a thermal safety disconnect inside the switch that will turn the lights off if it overheats. More modern lights draw more current which ativates that thermal switch. There is one in many wiper switches too because owners will turn the wipers on while they are frozen to the glass.
I've seen that bi-metal strip in there crack after some number of cycles.
 
I,ve got a Challenger that does the same thing. Seems to be worse on brites.
 
Yep I had a similar problem, going down the road at night and my lights would go out. I then would turn the switch off and then back on the my lights would come back on so I change my dimmer switch, end of problem...
 
Gator said:
Yep I had a similar problem, going down the road at night and my lights would go out. I then would turn the switch off and then back on the my lights would come back on so I change my dimmer switch, end of problem...
Click to expand...

Yup a bad dimmer swicth can feed high and low beams both at once. That will over heat a headlight switch real quick too.
 
be sure to look at the connector.. this is what mine looked like after doing that...


DSC_9166.jpg
 
The guys above are on the right track

In a rare instance, the two filaments shorted together in one headlight. this essentially connected both together, and fed power back across the harness up front, so that ALL FOUR filaments were always lit up, causing more current drain.

If the connector and or switch is in poor shape, it makes HEAT. The switch has a built-in circuit breaker, and this HEAT will cause it to cycle. Sometimes the problem is right in the breaker itself, either of which means "a new switch"
 
Check headlight switch/dimmer switch for heat build up. I have had headlight switch get real hot as it starts to crap out.
 
Mine was doing that too. But would flicker on and off. Would stop for a few and it was fine again for a while then would start doing it again.

Took the switch out. Cleaned and tightened all contacts. My switch looked like Abodyjoes up in that pic. One wire was even arcing off of another wire and it was getting very hot. But after I Cleaned and tightened every thing up it has been working good.
 
So I went to O'reilly's on my lunch break. The switch cost me only $15.99 with a lifetime guarantee. So I went to switch out the switch and it was fried and all melted down. So I hope this will fix the problem. I also want to thank everyone for all there helpful advice.
 
360-68cudu said:
it was fried and all melted down. So I hope this will fix the problem. .
Click to expand...

Don't just HOPE, really check it out. IF the switch is that bad, the connector is probably toast, also. Check things out so you don't have to go through it again, wrench, repeat.
 
I had a Mirada that used to shutoff on me when i was driving...really scary thing when its pitch black out. Turned out the bulb had a short in it
 
There is another problem that crops up from time to time. These cars were designed, wiring and switch wise, with seal beam head lights and the amount of current they draw is measureably lower than the newer quartz halogen head lights that a lot of newer owners have put into these cars. The result is you will overheat the headlight switch even with good wiring. The remedy is a simple relay at the front of the car that controls the power to the headlights and you simply use the head light switch to turn the relay on or off. No high amps running through the switch.
 
360-68cudu said:
I'm new to For A bodies only and I need some help. When I drive my car with the head lights on at night they will only stay on for about 10 min. or so I can switch the lights off for 30 to 40 sec and it will give me another 5 to 7 min. of headlight power. If some one can give me some pointers to help me fix my problem I would truly appreciate it.

(I have recently put a new alternator and regulator and the other day I figured maybe my battery was running low so i put it to charge, after 5 sec the green light came on saing my battery was at fully charge)
Click to expand...

I just went through this myself. You need a Daniel Stern headlight relay kit. My lights would last 15 minutes and then off and on all the way home. I drive home at 3am. There is a circuit breaker in the headlight switch that trips and resets. I put the relay kit in in less than 10 minutes and the lights are brighter all the time and don't dim at idle. It is a huge difference and I recommend it to anyone. The power for the lights will now come from your battery and the only thing required of the headlight switch is to energize the relay.
 
Thanks for the great advice you guys. So I'm going to check out the wiper seal and check to see how one of those Daniel Stern headlight relay kit work and cost. Mopar to ya do you remmember how much the kit went for?
 
360-68cudu said:
Thanks for the great advice you guys. So I'm going to check out the wiper seal and check to see how one of those Daniel Stern headlight relay kit work and cost. Mopar to ya do you remmember how much the kit went for?
Click to expand...

Ahhh!
You don't need no stinkn' kit! Relays are cheap at the parts house and easy to wire up. Do it yourself and save a few bucks.

Here is a diagram of how to wire a 5 pin relay below,
 

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360-68cudu said:
I'm new to For A bodies only and I need some help. When I drive my car with the head lights on at night they will only stay on for about 10 min. or so I can switch the lights off for 30 to 40 sec and it will give me another 5 to 7 min. of headlight power. If some one can give me some pointers to help me fix my problem I would truly appreciate it.

(I have recently put a new alternator and regulator and the other day I figured maybe my battery was running low so i put it to charge, after 5 sec the green light came on saing my battery was at fully charge)
Click to expand...

don't drive more than 9 mins from home
 
i had this happen in my old val if i had seen this b4 i would have jumped in lol i happy u got the help u needed i didnt tell it damn near brurnt the car up way to go fabo
 
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