High Beams stick on.

JSeery said:
Henry, most of them are made with modern wiring covered with the cloth on the outside. The cloth is purely cosmetic and nothing like the originals functionally. I wouldn't use the shrink wrap that way myself, but I don't see how it would hurt anything, just overkill.
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When I got under the fender there was one light that had a sort of hose/conduit that the wire went through. The cloth wrapped original wire was still like new so the heat shrink probably wasn't necessary. The other light didn't have the conduit but it had the grommet the wire goes through at the bucket. So, I've ordered two conduits, and two of the bucket grommets. (The shorted out wires would have probably been fine if they'd gone through such a grommet, which they didn't.) I've also ordered the gaskets that go between the headlight bucket and fender so I don't get mud oozing out around the headlights.
 
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As I look at the buckets closer, it looks like I've got two different kind of buckets. The left one had the conduit but no grommet. The right one had a grommet but no conduit. According to C&G it's one or the other, i.e. the grommet's used when there's no conduit but not if there is. But, the Green Bible shows both. So, I'll get grommets and conduit for both and see how it all fits together.

Headlights_zpsvrcwoq43.jpg
 
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Also have ordered various lengths and diameters of asphalt wire loom from Sacramento ford... or was it fleabay (cant remember). It's kind of nice to have stuff in stock in the garage. Not real expensive and has a nice authentic look. Sizes big enough to be used to cover welding wire 00 battery cables.


LOOM-grp_150.jpg


http://www.vintageford.com/sect_search.cfm?Line=Wiring Shop&Category=Loom- Cotton Braided

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/cloth-wire-loom

Have ordered all the cloth wire harnesses i've ever replaced, with the Sacramento ones. Nice quality stuff.




.
 
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Don't need a grommet and couldn't install one if I wanted to because the hole in the sheet metal has rounded edges so it won't cut into wire. It also has a clamp right by it to secure the wire so there is no movement that would cause cutting.

Headlight%20wire%20hole_zpswf9ikmw9.jpg
 
Old Henry said:
Don't need a grommet and couldn't install one if I wanted to because the hole in the sheet metal has rounded edges so it won't cut into wire. It also has a clamp right by it to secure the wire so there is no movement that would cause cutting.
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You certainly could put a grommet in a hole like that. They have different depth and style grommets.

But I'll stop bugging you with suggestions. Enjoy your ford craig.
 
Tinker said:
You certainly could put a grommet in a hole like that. They have different depth and style grommets.

But I'll stop bugging you with suggestions. Enjoy your ford craig.
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It can sometimes be very difficult to see a huge forest out there, especially if all those trees right in front of ya keep gettin' in the way. DD
 
Tinker said:
You certainly could put a grommet in a hole like that. They have different depth and style grommets.

But I'll stop bugging you with suggestions. Enjoy your ford craig.
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Sorry, I didn't realize this was so important to you. So, I spent some time in Home Depot and Ace Hardware today looking for a grommet that would work but didn't find any. The set you referenced on eBay wouldn't work. They are all for a hole in flat metal, which mine is not. I'll keep looking for some kind that will work. If you find any let me know and I'll buy them and put them on.
 
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I just looked at 75 grommets of every kind that Mac's sells for all Fords and didn't see any that looked like they'd work for a hole with curved sides like mine.
 
Gee wiz....Isn't it amazing that old wire lasted about 69 years in that rounded hole without a rubber grommet, that probably would have dried-up and cracked out by now!! Henry knew what he was doing...
 
Both wires going through that hole were covered with a rubber coating that is still like new. One more reason a grommet is not really needed in that hole.
 
Looks like someone had a bad day. Even the best of us have them. Sorry about that. Hope tomorrow's a better one.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions and believe I will get this fixed eventually.
 
I really, really don't like stepping here, buuut,,, I see time and again 'your car, do what you will.'--- (NO we can't stand to see anything cut!)--- So here is a one and only user marching to his own drummer, and we can't accept it. Were it a case of no available funding for the project, no one would criticize.

Which brings to mind a question... why would some one want to skin a cat?:rolleyes:
 
I just learned something interesting about the wiring harness that can be bought to replace mine. First, let me say emphatically that I DO intended to replace my wiring harness someday and maybe soon, just not before I leave for Alaska in 5 days. That's a no-brainer that I need to do that. What I learned, however, is that, if I had replaced the main wiring harness for under the dash to the engine compartment as several suggested, it would not have fixed this short problem that I have that turned out to be in the left headlamp bucket. The wiring harnesses do not include the headlight pigtails. I only mention this as a reminder that before we start throwing expensive high labor intensive parts at a problem it is always best to actually accurately locate the problem and diagnose it and a solution addressing that problem. I know some don't like that idea but that's how I try to do things.
 
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