head light switch

[cowboy4x4n]

guys, need alittle help.

69 charger head light switch is acting up.  feels warm to the touch.  not sure if thats normal.  i cleaned the back of the metal connectors and used dialetric greese.  while driving and turning lights on the dash  panel lights wont come on unless i move the switch slightly down.  also while driving the lights will turn off ever so often making it really fun in the dark wooded roads.  any suggestions.

[cowboy4x4n]

any  help guys.  any ideas what the issue is.  i think with the brights on a while the switch acts up more

[bill440rt]

I'm no electrical whiz but it sounds like your switch is taking a dump. Especially since you have cleaned it already & are finding that jiggling it causes your dash lights to come on. Check your connectors at the dash harness as well. Make sure none of the wires are loose where they are inserted in the connector.
Replacements are out there, reproduction switches are currently available.

[nvrbdn]

heat is resistance. bad connections, dirty connections. if the contacts are cleaned and power can flow,i would agree that the switch itself is bad.

[cowboy4x4n]

well cant expect everything to last forever.  42 years had a good run lol.  thanks for the input

[bakerhillpins]

As far as the dash light dimmer/switch is concerned my 69 does the same thing. I have to wiggle the dial just a bit to get them to come on. I only get ON, any other "dimmed" setting is just off. I need to take the dash out and clean and test or by a new one.  Was a bit interesting driving home until I realized that I just needed to fiddle with it to get my dash lights back.

[bill440rt]

As far as the dash light dimmer/switch is concerned my 69 does the same thing. I have to wiggle the dial just a bit to get them to come on. I only get ON, any other "dimmed" setting is just off. I need to take the dash out and clean and test or by a new one.  Was a bit interesting driving home until I realized that I just needed to fiddle with it to get my dash lights back.

The design of these original dimmer switches just suck. 
The coils are very fragile, & are prone to breakage and/or wear. Mopar Action had a great tech article a while back with a fix for these things, you might be able to find it archived on their website. I don't think the repros are that expensive, and might save you some time dicking around with your original switch as a "maybe" to get it to work.

[twodko]

Same issue with my '69. I bought a new headlight switch (OUCH!) and got it installed without pulling the dash (you'll need to pull the drivers seat for this task). The old one had some connector melt on it but the dimmer portion was unaffected thankfully. My HLs still came on and off for no apparent reason. I checked all other connections and grounds then Nacho suggested the dimmer switch may also have been damaged. Sure enough a new dimmer switch and now all is well.

[cowboy4x4n]

Oh wow maybe ill try that first. 

[b5blue]

Hey Cowboy,
  There is an internal breaker INSIDE that switch for the headlights. (The wipers switch has one too.) If the contacts are old and corroded that could be the problem. Remove the switch (Granted no small job!) and carefully take it apart for cleaning and reassembly. while your at it remove the dimmer and clean it's contacts also, you may be OK then! 
  Your lights are going out from to much resistance, clean headlight bulb connectors contacts and clean the ground for them also try replacing the High/Low foot dimmer switch, as they are cheap.