Headlight wiring question

H

Hipopinto

Member
Hey all

As many of you k ow I am a newbie here

I have a really silly question

I have been trying to locate the “short” in my electrical system

I’m pretty sure it’s in the headlights or the switch

I disassembled the switch and it looks worn out. I started looking on Snyders to get the correct wiring parts

This is where I’m confused what is a two bulb bs a single bulb is it as simple as it sounds?

I noticed the headlight switch has 9 brass terminals and three divots what is the correct position of the switch arm and what are the three actual positions?

I hate to sound stupid but I really don’t know and I do t have anyone left to ask

Thanks for the patience

Dave
 
2 Bulb lights will have 2 bulbs in the reflector. The small one in the top is the Park Light. The center bulb is a 2 filament bulb,i.e. high beam and low bean.
Single Bulb light will have only one bulb in the center of the reflector. It is a 2 filament bulb, i.e., High Beam/Low beam. These light systems will have Cowl Lights installed.
The correct position of the Headlight Switch is with the lever down, i.e. 6 O'Clock.
Position 1 - Down = OFF
Position 2 - Lever on LEFT = Park Lights
Position 3 - Lever one position to Right = Low Beam Headlights
Position 4 - Lever two positions to Right = High Beam Headlights
 
Someone posted a great link, the first page was Model A Ford Wiring, Keeping the Current Flowing...I printed it off and realized the first dozen or so pages were the only ones that printed, ran out of ink and have about 50 blank pages...I looked through the first 20 pages here on the Model A Forum and can not find it again, anyone here know where I can find it so when I get my printer cartrige I can print it off? Maybe this will help the original poster too
 
A great link for all things Model A wiring is below.

While you have the switch apart, measure the resistance of each wire to ground to test for shorts. The ohm meter will say OL if the wire is not shorted and a very low resistance, near zero, if shorted. If you find wires that are shorted look at the connector at the base of the head light bucket. The original connectors were OK but some replacements will cause shorts. A lot of people run the wires to inside the bucket and then use the bullet and tube type connectors there.

Where are you located?

https://www.mafca.com/downloads/Seminars/2018%20Reno%20Electrical%20System%20Alex%20Janke.pdf
 
Thank you so much guys

That link is awesome to s of info and clear as day

I’m in north eastern Ohio

My A model is pretty clean but mostly original and as with anything that’s 90 years old it’s just older!

Thanks again
Dave
 
I would bet dollars to donuts that you'll find the short is in the socket for the bulb. The two terminal ends of the wires (that make contact with the lead dimples on the bulb) are held in place by small springs working against a fiber spacer/insulator that tends to warp over time. Sometimes they warp such that the two terminal ends touch each other, in which case you don't have any difference between high and low beam. Sometimes they warp so that the terminal ends splay outward and touch the body of the socket. If that happens you have a dead short to ground every time you turn on the headlights. Most of the warping occurs with reproduction wiring. Original sockets, rewired using the original spacer/insulators, are the way to go.
 
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