Had headlights, then high beam only, now nothing

Bill440cars said
Now, I don't have the sealed beams installed, right now. But I turned the headlight switch on & the violet wire gets hot, BUT, there is no voltage there. And that is as far as I have gotten, so far. had to stop & work on getting a rental vehicle & a way to get there. Oops, forgot to include that with the new headlight switch, the high beams work with or without the engine running. Low beams, cause the amp meter to jump quickly, to the left (discharging, of course).

Oops, forgot to include that with the new headlight switch, the high beams work with or without the engine running.
Please take the time to look at what 67Dart273 wrote, or the schematic I posted, or both.
Follow the flow path from each power source to the headlight switch. When the alternator is working, power flows from it. When the alternator is not providing power, it flows from the battery. In both cases it goes through the main splice. High beam, low beam, it doesnt matter.

Low beams, cause the amp meter to jump quickly, to the left (discharging, of course)
Any time the ammeter swings all the way to either side is really bad. That's 40 amps or more! You will damage the system running that much current through the circuits. Stuff will melt, and if there are combustibles near the hot wiring there will be a fire.

Now, I don't have the sealed beams installed, right now. But I turned the headlight switch on & the violet wire gets hot, BUT, there is no voltage there.
Can't comment on voltage, but there is current flowing through there. Its getting back to ground even though there's no lamps in the sockets.
The fact its getting warm means that the voltage is higher on one side of that hot area than the other. How much higher and how much above ground really doesn't matter.