Can't see!! Lights go off an on

[doogan]

Just finished restoration an out for maiden voyage.  Everything runs and works fine.  At dusk pulled light switch and parking lights came on.  Great that is what I wanted.  As it got darker pulled light switch knob an headlights came on.  Again this was great.  About 1 minute later ALL lights went off as though I had pushed in the knob.  

 

Thankfully I got over into parking lot just as they came back on. By the time I reached up to scratch my head they went off again.  About 5 seconds an back on.  I noticed a click from the light switch as though a relay switching off each time this happened.

Well finally got home with blinking lights all the way.

This is a new switch wired exactly as diagram shows.  

Is there a relay in there Or just happens to be a made in China defect?

Anyone else ever have this problem in their 49 pilothouse?

 

 

 

[Todd B]

This happened to me on my 49 back in 1980.  There is a little white deal on the back of the switch that was bad.  Went to a junk yard and got a new switch and has been great since. 

[DJ194950]

The auto-reset breaker hooked into your wiring (see your wiring diagram) is over heated and opening the contacts. Opens the circuit and then rests to closed after it cools some.

 

The breaker may be getting bad or maybe something is overloading it.

 

What updates were done if any to the electrical system from stock?

 

Even a bad ground(s) on some component can cause this problem.

 

DJ

[Young Ed]

I would say you have an issue either with the switch or a connection somewhere that is triggering the circuit breaker. Because of the importance of lights it self resets. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

use the switch to energize a relay to power your lights....take the load off the circuit breaker that keeps making and breaking cut the wire from the light switch to the dimmer switch..install the relay pick up coil to this....run a fused wire from the battery to the relay input and output to the wire you had previously cut going to the dimmer...

[doogan]

Well today started some test to try finding problem.  

Problem:    Headlights will work for about 1 minute then go off for some 10 seconds then back on for 30 seconds before going off again.   This continues all the time and there is a click in the light switch each time lights go off.   None when they come back on.

Test:   Disconnect 1 headlight from circuit and all other lights stay on with no going out.

Check voltage at each terminal post and parking and running lights show 4.5 to 6.5 volts.   High beam terminal post shows reading of over 124 on the volt/ohm meter.

Reconnect all lights to terminals and turn on without engine running and they stay on indefinitely without going off.   Even left switch on for about 5 minutes and all lights stay on.  

With this I have found the only time the lights go off and on is with the engine running.   So this has me in a pickle as I can't understand anything that would cause this.  I tried it once again by turning on the lights with the truck sitting in the garage and they would stay burning until the battery ran down.   Crank the engine and let it sit there running with the lights on and they will start the intermittent going off and on.  Turn the truck off and they stay on indefinitely.  

I am just plumb bumfuzzled as we say here in south.   Have any of you ever had this problem.   I've gone over the wiring diagram and traced wires and they are all correct according to the diagram as shown in the manual.

Again I'm just plumb bumfuzzled.      Don

 

[TodFitch]

Vibration from the engine causing a short that is not present when the engine is off?

[ggdad1951]

or bad ground...

[Jeff Balazs]

I wonder what would happen if you were to disconnect the lead from the generator while it was running?

Jeff

[doogan]

Gone back through all the wires and tightened again which didn't change a thing.  

As for the electrical system I have a 6 volt 1 wire alternator with internal regulator.    I left the original regulator on the firewall and using the "Bat" terminal as the junction for wire from alternator and wire from amp gauge.   

My next plan is to remove these two wires from the old voltage regulator and temporarily tape them together.  This will eliminate a possible problem there.  

Still working through this trying to figure it out.     

Thanks for all your input and help.

Don

[Don Coatney]

Is this a new problem? How long ago did you install the alternator? Have you taken a voltage reading at the battery with the engine running and not running? Does this happen when the lights are on bright , dim, or both? When this happens is your headlight switch hot behind the dash when you touch it?

[MBF]

Just a guess, but I think the firewall mounted regulator is the culprit.  I too am running internally regulated alternators on my 49 1 ton, and 36 Plymouth.  I removed the regulator on the 1 ton, and the cutout on the 36 was part of the generator replacement.  I bet that your regulator is putting some type of load on the headlight circuit when the engine is running.  I'd be interested to see how you resolve this.    Good luck.   Mike

[Young Ed]

I had a very similar issue with my car only it has fuses. Mine turned out to be a wire from the dimmer switch had gotten against the clutch pedal and would short when the clutch was pressed. That could explain why you can idle all day but it pops when driving. Mine would do the same.

[doogan]

PROBLEM  SOLVED  at least for now!!!!

Well I have been bumfuzzled all day but finally fixed I HOPE.    Like I said whenever I would crank the engine and turn the lights on everything worked fine for about 2 minutes and then all lights would turn off for 5-10 seconds then back on for a minute or so then back off.   This would continue as long as the lights were on and the engine running. 
After all day of checking connections for tightness, verifying wired correctly, undoing, redoing, praying and wondering the problem was located.

 

I had replaced my generator with a 1 wire, internal regulator alternator.  Then left the old voltage regulator mounted on the firewall using the "Bat" terminal as a junction for the alternator/gauge wires to connect.    Well apparently the regulator was building up current back into the light system causing it to become intermittent.   So I removed the wires from the regulator and taped them together, cranked the engine, turned the lights on and let it sit and run for over 5 minutes.   The lights stayed on the entire time.   So unless something else pops up this problem is solved.

I plan on taking an old broken regulator and gut it leaving only the 3 terminals using one for the junction of these wires.  Or just stop by the store and get a junction strip and mounting it in place of the regulator.

Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions.    Hopefully this will help someone else from having to go through the same bumfuzzled day.  Again THANKS!!!

Don