headlight switch gone i think

[roger01]

i think its shot because im not getting any power to the cluster fuse or the tail light fuse .
i unplugged it ,cleaned the connections and still nothing ..
      so i unplugged it at the switch and brought the wire down to the bottom of the dash where i can see it hanging .
      i then plugged a wire into the power prong hooked it to one side of . a new toggle type switch
      i then plugged a wire to the tail and parking light feed , and another to the headlight harness feed.and hooked it  to the other side of the switch
      everything works fine now .      Is it ok to run this like this until i get a new headlight switch ...
                NACHO ?....ANYONE ?...anyone who finds wiring fun 
     also theres a fourth pronge with a wire to it , but when i put power to it ,it doesnt do anything really, but everything is working without it, so i left it out of the equation..what could it be for ?  any input is appreciated ...

[lisiecki1]

jumping wires can be a very sticky situation depending on the wire gauge you're using, be careful of the fire risk....I would think it's alright to run it like that for a very short amount of time, but make sure it's easily visible so you can check for hot wires/smoke/melting insulation......do you not have an electrical schematic?  that would be the best way to determine what the mystical 4th connector is for..

Randy

[b5blue]

Think it feeds dash lights dimmer...remember there is a breaker INSIDE the switch, you may be able to take it apart and clean it up if nothing is broken by removing the cover on the back of the switch. If your temp switch is rated for AT LEAST 15-20 amps and wire is as big as factory your temp fix should be ok.

[roger01]

yes i used heavier guage wire then original ...you say theres a fuse insde the headlight switch ?......im gonna have to take it apart and take a look before i hunt down another switch.
   

[b5blue]

Not a fuse...thermal breaker...like a circuit breaker in your home (without a reset) if it heats up points open, cool down they close. If the contacts get crusty over time and make poor/no contact no power for lights. Also contacts in switch can just get corroded and mess up, there's a plate that slides up and down in there. 

[Nacho-RT74]

I never have known if really have a breaker inside on those or 3rd gens ones... maybe yes maybe not .

I didn't get exactly what you did to make it working, BUT I THINK if you got working, will be fine. if something worng then all you get is a blown fuse, for load.

switches carries 2 inputs. One to feed ONLY the headlights ( Pink ) and the other one to feed parking and cluster ( black traced ). Does look both on 68-70s s come from fuse box

then you'll find 3 outputs: One green to run to floor switch selector ( this one only linked to the pink wire input ), and two blacks. One black is to feed cluster dimmer and rear parking lights, and the other one to feed just front parking lights. on 69 and 70s this two outputs are jumpered on harness to keep fronts still on when turning headlights on, using same switch.

So, if you want to try everything, if you unplug the switch you can jump pink wire with green wire at plug and you should get headlights, assuming floor selector switch is propperly working.

same about black traced and black wires.

You can cross any of the inputs ( black traced and pink ) to the other output since as stated BOTH are constant positive sources, but the test I'm telling you is jut to match the correct switch setting.

If you find a gray wire that is just a splice to feed clock. that is just to get the closer constant positive source to the clock as posible, what is the lights switch pink wire.

if jumpering you don't get power to lights then wiring is damaged, fuses, or anything out of the switch.

If you want to test the switch, you can check for continuity, between pink and green wire locations on full on position ( 2nd step ), should get continuity, not on the firts step.

on 1st step is a little bit more complex. Between black traced wire prong you'll get continuity on both of the other prongs, BUT one of them will cut to the front parking lights prong when switching to second switch step ( thats the reason for the jumper on wiring )

[b5blue]

Ola Nacho! I thought he had a 69 from his avatar?(2nd gen.) Good explanation for him  !   

[roger01]

great explanation ...thats what i did ...i plugged into those 2 outputs and hooked up a switch between them and power on the switch  works fine.....i flick the new switch to get lights parking light and dash lights ....then i flick the old dash switch to get the vacuum doors to open ....i can live with it like this ...but im gonna take a look at that switch when it cools down a little up here ...thanks everyone

[Nacho-RT74]

I never have made a COMPLETE test of the system, because just have in hands a 2nd gen cluster once and wasn't searching fro any problem with lights related, more than just the cluster dimmer itsefl, so I'm just making the explanation based on the circuit analisis.

I'm assuming pink input feeds headlights and black traced feeds parking and cluster just because the JUST the load to headlights makes me think the clock should it be on pink wire, due the LOT OF BULBS being on the other input ( black traced )

Beside that on 3rd gen, parking lights OUTPUT ( this time just on one wire, not two like on eraliers ) is also a black traced one

[b5blue]

If 69 Charger Registry is like the one for 70 they have a color wiring schematic online.