'72 Restoration - Headlights and Dashlights not working

[Roger D.]

Folks:

C3 Body off restoration continues. Car is all back together (except the wipers and wiper door). Today my brother and I connected the battery and checked the lights. All lights work, e.g., brake lights, back-up lights, courtesy lights, emergency flashers, marker lights, turn signals, however, neither the dash lights nor the headlights will light up.

All the fuses check fine. There does not seem to be any power to the headlights. Not sure about the dash.

During restoration, the steering column was disconnected at the rag joint and pulled back as part of the steps to pull the body. We did not remove the dash for this restoration, although some work was done in areas under the dash so the headlamp switch was not replaced. It was working fine before the restoration started and was not touched during work on the car.

I've perused the previous posts and still not sure what next steps to take. Apparently something did not get re-connected during the restore and/or something got inadvertently disconnected. Hoping someone point me in the right direction to get this problem resolved so we can go onto the next step in getting the car finished.

One question I do have to start... Can someone tell me where on the car the headlamp ground (shown in the diagram below) is actually connected to the car? Thanks in advance! You folks have not failed me yet

Regards,
Roger

[Jimmy P.]

Re: '72 Restoration - Headlights and Dashlights not working

Roger,
I would check the headlight switch plug in connector to make sure it didn't come loose during all this. If all the other lights work as you describe, you mention that it worked fine before the resto. Also check to make sure the vacuum hoses are connected correctly to the switch and to the bi-pass switch. The vacuum hoses go on a specific way. Do the lights pop up when you pull the bi-pass knob? If so the vacuum hoses are correct on the switches. I assume that you started the car to build up vacuum in the storage tank needed for the lights to pop up? The ground wire you ask about is mounted to the front of the radiator frame. Photo attached is from my 73, but I would think the 72 would be in or near the same location. It's mounting hole should be visible on the right side about three quarters of the way down.
Hope this helps!

[Edward J.]

Re: '72 Restoration - Headlights and Dashlights not working

Rodger, use a test light or volt meter to check for power at the dimmer switch and the fuse for dash lights when switching the lights on. If you have power at these points check the fire wall connection . If no power check your connecter at the light switch.

[Roger D.]

Re: '72 Restoration - Headlights and Dashlights not working

Jimmy, Edward, All:

Thanks for the suggestions. Turns out that the dash lights were working after all, they just weren't very bright compared to the bright environment we were working in. I covered the windows and with it darker inside, the dash lights were visible.

As for the headlights, there were a couple of issues. First, after 4 years of sitting during the restoration, the contacts on the light plugs were somewhat corroded. That's one reason why we did not get any power indicated on the voltmeter when checking them. We cleaned the contacts and then were able to get the lights working (sort of). The vintage T3 headlights that I was able to procure during restoration tested fine on the bench, however for some reason they don't work real well with the plug sockets on the car. Interestingly, the newer Sylvania headlights that I had in there prior to restoration work fine. My first thought was that prongs on the Vintage T3's had slightly different width and thickness dimensions but checking with a micrometer, they are the same. I'm going to try the Vintage T3's again but this time using some conductive contact paste to see if that will enhance connectivity to them. I'll post later and report if that worked or not.

Thanks again everyone for your help! It is very appreciated.

Regards.
Roger