66' Coupe Head Lights

[Daniel S.]

Hello folks,

I am Dan and reside in northeast Tennesse near Cumberland Gap. I have had several older vettes through the years, but, just recently a NCRS member.

I recently picked up a 66' Coupe, Rally Red, 4sp/Air/Side Exhaust/Knockoffs.

This car had many years of restoring and very well done. I am having a difficulty with the up/down of the headlights. They open up just fine, but, do not stow. They worked 4.0 when I bought the car. So, a couple of cycles of the lights and now having the "Stow" difficulty.

Any suggestions for a look at the difficulty would be appreciated as I do not have a Maintenance manual as yet. By the way, the manual movement of the lights by the knob at the light housings works OK. Thanks, Dan

[Jack H.]

Re: 66' Coupe Head Lights

The headlight open/close switch simply reverses polarity on the voltage fed to the HL door motors. That causes the DC motor to run forward or backward based on which polarity of DC voltage is presented. It's the same principal as how power windows works.

So, either there's a wiring issue (loose harness contact at switch or motors) or you've got a faulty switch (working one way but not the other). It's simply a matter of probing the voltage at the HL motors and working backwards to find the fault(s)...

[Daniel S.]

Re: 66' Coupe Head Lights

Thanks so much... I should be able to get a handle on it from here... I was worried that I had exceeded an "over-center" position or something like that. All you have is a visual that they are open/closed. Again, thanks, Dan

[Jim T.]

Re: 66' Coupe Head Lights

Daniel there was an article in a Corvette Restorer within the past year or two about how to take the headlight raise/lower switch apart and make it work like new.

[David J.]

Re: 66' Coupe Head Lights

Daniel, I had exactly the same problem with my headlights after a long period of storage. Based on information from the NCRS membership, I dismantled the switch (very simple), cleaned the contacts, put it back together and it worked beautifully. Do a search and check my post titled: C2 Headlight Motor Switch. You should find both printed directions, as well as, a PDF file with a series of pictures you can download to help with the process. If you can't find it, let me know and I will email it to you. Good luck. Dave

[Larry M.]

Re: 66' Coupe Head Lights

Dan:

Before you assume that the headlight switch is the problem and take it apart, check for voltage at the headlight motors in both the UP and DOWN switch positions. Like Jack Humphrey stated above.

I made this mistake a few years ago and took the switch apart, only to find that the real problem was in the firewall electrical junction block. The plastic retaining clips on the wiring connector had come loose and the bottom electrical pins were not making proper contact. These pins control the headlight UP/DOWN.

Long story short, I rebuilt the headlight switch, but it was not the root cause of the problem. However, I'm sure the switch needed a good cleaning anyway......right? And it was relatively easy to do.

You need a good FLUKE multimeter, some jumper wires, and patience/persistance when troubleshooting these mid-year electrical problems. Good luck.

Larry