fade to DARK

[express1]

I did kinda search for this but anyway here goes.

Less than an hour from home last night on I55, I was being pushed by a oncoming 4 wheel entering the interstate. Not wanting to be sideswiped I hit my high beams.

Next, I have NO LIGHT! NUN! ZIP! BLACK OUT!

All ended well.

I made it to the shoulder and the next exit.

We spent the night in the parking lot of a local restaurant.
Complete the trip in the morning after daylight.

I spoke to a couple of people. Ron Skeen, Tuga, and a tech @ Newell.

I remove the dimmer switch and will replace tomorrow.

This is located in the steering column.
More common of an issue than I would have thought.:confused:
After a 3800 mile trip this was our BIG ISSUE!

THANK YOU NEWELL:thumbsup:

[prairieschooner]

Matt,
We have a FORD Headlight Switch in our '82. Take a look at the switch from under the dash, you may have a Fuse at the Headlight Switch.

Be very careful not to use a Rock when trying to replace a Fuse!

[encantotom]

hi matt,

i am not totally sure about your headlight wiring, but i know on richards and earlier, there was no relays in the headlight circuits so ALL the power for those power hungary headlights run through the dimmer switch and headlight switch.

there are several posts about a number of us redoing the headlight wiring. i know michael, i, and richard at least have re run new bigger gauge wires to our headlights and in addition wired in 4 relays to take the brunt of the power. then we use the previous wiring to power the trigger leg of the relay. that will make the dimmer switch last almost forever, make the headlights brighter. (not as much voltage drop).

it is easy to measure the voltage at the headlights before and after and you will be surprised how much improvement there is. if you look at the performance charts for the headlamps, you will see how much increase in lumens you get for just a half a volt.

in addition, we added the euro version of our headlights that make an amazing difference. there is an entire section of this on the web site.

that is most likely why your dimmer switch burned out.

tom and darlene in herzliya israel

[express1]

Tom, thanks for the follow-up. I do remember reading previous post about up-grades but not failure. I will replace switch and post results. I would like to improve lighting but the up-grades seem a bit more above my pay grade. My son continues to speak of HIDs. on roof!:o

[rheavn]

I had the same thing occur in a 70's vintage motorhome many years ago. That motorhome used a Ford headlight switch that had a circuit breaker built in. When the lights went out it was caused by the failure of the internal circuit breaker. Not sure if your switch is designed this way, but something to check. I relate to your experience very well as it was quite shocking when all of a sudden the headlights quit--very dark, very fast!

[express1]

Follow-up.
Replaced dimmer switch in steering column.
$29.95 30 min. later.
All is well....
Thanks to all Again.

[Lewis and Clark]

Express1, I am having problems with my dimmer switch that is located with the blinker. Blinker is working fine, however when pulling on the blinker arm to turn on high beams it does not click or adjust lights.
I assumed replacing the blinker switch would be the solution, therefore I proceeded to remove the sterring wheel but came to a hault when I tried to use a puller to remove the collar. It would not budge. Any suggestion?
Stuck!!
Thanks in advance,
Nando

[MrE]

I'm not sure what year they changed to something else, but Newell used the Saginaw (GM) tilt/telescoping steering column for years. If that is what you have, this link will tell you everything you need to know about working on it. http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/images/d/d6/Jazzman_Steering_Rack_Rebuild.pdf