The Ford Barn

lakeside · 06-22-2015, 08:14 PM

Hi,

When I turn the cowl lights on the headlights are also on , both low and high beam. When I turn the headlights on,the cowl lights are also on.Any ideas as to what is going on and how to fix it? Thanks.

Jim/GA · 06-22-2015, 08:45 PM

Look for bad grounds at any of the bulbs. Remove one bulb at a time and test the lights again to see which bulb improves the situation.

Once all 4 of the bulbs are out, see if you continue to get voltage at all 3 places (high, low, park) no matter which position you put the light switch lever on the steering wheel.

If you still have the problem, the wiring harness may be assembled incorrectly inside the light switch housing. Gently take it apart and look at how the switch inside the housing is contacting the brass buttons on the wiring harness. Look at how the spider is on the rod end and how it engages the switch.

lakeside · 06-23-2015, 07:06 PM

Thanks Jim. This is a great place to start. I was drawing complete blanks on this matter...no idea where to begin.

Tom Wesenberg · 06-23-2015, 10:25 PM

If you have a harness with 3 wires and contacts at the base of the headlamps, I would check the contacts. Some of the repro contacts are large and loose, and they touch each other. Since you have cowl lights the headlamps should only have two wires, but sometimes the wrong harness gets installed, or someone adds cowl lights without removing the headlamp parking lights.

lakeside · 06-24-2015, 07:26 PM

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I will check the headlight wires and contacts. The wiring,I believe, is all original but will find out when I look further. Thank you.

06-22-2015, 08:14 PM	#1
lakeside Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 134	lightissues Hi, When I turn the cowl lights on the headlights are also on , both low and high beam. When I turn the headlights on,the cowl lights are also on.Any ideas as to what is going on and how to fix it? Thanks.

06-22-2015, 08:45 PM	#2
Jim/GA Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Young Harris, GA Posts: 1,821	Re: lightissues Look for bad grounds at any of the bulbs. Remove one bulb at a time and test the lights again to see which bulb improves the situation. Once all 4 of the bulbs are out, see if you continue to get voltage at all 3 places (high, low, park) no matter which position you put the light switch lever on the steering wheel. If you still have the problem, the wiring harness may be assembled incorrectly inside the light switch housing. Gently take it apart and look at how the switch inside the housing is contacting the brass buttons on the wiring harness. Look at how the spider is on the rod end and how it engages the switch. __________________ Jim Cannon Former MAFCA Technical Director "Have a Model A day!" Last edited by Jim/TX/GA; 06-22-2015 at 11:28 PM.

06-23-2015, 07:06 PM	#3
lakeside Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 134	Re: lightissues Thanks Jim. This is a great place to start. I was drawing complete blanks on this matter...no idea where to begin.

06-23-2015, 10:25 PM	#4
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: lightissues If you have a harness with 3 wires and contacts at the base of the headlamps, I would check the contacts. Some of the repro contacts are large and loose, and they touch each other. Since you have cowl lights the headlamps should only have two wires, but sometimes the wrong harness gets installed, or someone adds cowl lights without removing the headlamp parking lights.

06-24-2015, 07:26 PM	#5
lakeside Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 134	Re: lightissues Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I will check the headlight wires and contacts. The wiring,I believe, is all original but will find out when I look further. Thank you.