Headlights Cutting out

[Gandy Dancer]

Hello FABO - Quick question. I have a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda and when I turn my headlights on, after 10 minutes of them being on, they cut off by their-selves and come back on. They do this repeatedly. Pretty nerve racking at nighttime. Are there any recommendations on what I should check? The wires all seem to be tight.

Thanks
Gandy Dancer

 

[Ben Drinkin]

My guess is the switch heating up and cooling down. Look into a relay setup. One of our members sells a quality plug and play setup.

 

[itate]

My Charger did that when I put halogen headlights in and it cleared up after switching back to standard bulbs.

 

[TrailBeast]

The headlight relay kit would solve this, and your lights would be a lot brighter.

 

[mderoy340]

IIRC the headlight switch has a built in circuit breaker. Install the headlight relays and get the load off the switch. Relays and halogen bulbs do wonders a night.

 

[RustyRatRod]

The headlight switch has a basic circuit breaker in it. When it become overloaded, what you are seeing is the result. The relay kit crackedback makes is a great way to get full alternator voltage to the system while unloading the headlight switch and turning it into a low voltage trigger for the relays. I would still replace the headlight switch though.

Rob (crackedback) is a super good guy. He builds quality stuff with American made components. He will fix you up.

 

[Gandy Dancer]

Thanks everyone for your recommendations! I will certainly research them and let you know how I make out.

 

[RedFish]

All you really need to do is replace the headlight switch.

 

[crackedback]

The headlight switch has a basic circuit breaker in it. When it become overloaded, what you are seeing is the result. The relay kit crackedback makes is a great way to get full alternator voltage to the system while unloading the headlight switch and turning it into a low voltage trigger for the relays. I would still replace the headlight switch though.

Rob (crackedback) is a super good guy. He builds quality stuff with American made components. He will fix you up.

Thanks RRR.

Yes, I make a relay kit that's plug and play. Sounds as though there is some major resistance somewhere in the OEM harness causing the switch circuit breaker to trip. AS RRR mentioned, my kit removes the load from the OEM harness and improves light output by a substantial amount. Check out the Cuda picture, both on low beam. Customer said low beam now looks like old wiring on high beams.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=216514

From what I've seen, I'll guess the headlight switch and connector have some degraded terminals/connections. Plenty of burned plastic over the years. Replacing doesn't answer WHY is the switch or connector burning/tripping.

Want better headlight performance, install a relay kit.

Rob