losing my lights!!

[Not4you]

The past few times I have driven at night, after about 30-40 minutes of driving, my lights shut off for a few seconds then come back on, then off and on. There is no steady pattern, it is intermittent. It does not seem to be related to the speed that I'm driving, not related to hitting bumps, not related to turning either direction. It just starts happening and continues once it has started. The car is a 1985 Mustang and as far as I am aware it has the original lights, wiring, switch etc - although I know the frontend has been removed and put back on.

I have noticed that I can trigger this to happen sooner if I put on the highbeams, but it WILL still happen with the highbeams turned off the entire time

Any thoughts?? I am heading on a long roadtrip soon with lots of night driving so I need to get this resolved.

Thanks guys.

[Ltngdrvr]

Headlight switch is bad, common problem.

[plstktnkr2]

yes tis true, My old lincoln looked like a disco going down the road

[grtskydog]

The circuit breaker in the h/l switch has gone bad and keeps tripping. As mentioned above, you have to replace the whole switch, as the CB is built in.

Congrats. The suddenly going dark at 60 mph is a rite of passage among the 4-eye community

[Mr. Squirrel]

I bet you were dancing to the hustle everytime those lights starting to go off and on the lincoln.

[dy85merc]

Headlight switch is bad, common problem.

X2, it took me forever to figure mine out.

[plstktnkr2]

I bet you were dancing to the hustle everytime those lights starting to go off and on the lincoln.

yeah something like that, that dang car was the best cruizer/hoe-tel, motel, limo I ever had
damn I miss that car

[Mr. Squirrel]

heck yeah those cars had some serious space. you talk about a family car. those were the ones to have. you don't find cars like that and the cars now days are to dang small to get your shag on. what I love about those big cars is that when your turning them those dang things are so smooth. the seem for ever turning as well but I love them and would get one if I found the right one. I love the old school Mercury Grand Marquis. Those are some beautiful cars in my opinion

[86capriASC]

My 80 Bronco did this to me all the time.

[Chris81579]

I had the same problem with my light in my 83 capri replaced the headlight switch fixed the problem. My first car was an 86 grand marquis I loved that car and have one word to describe it indestructable I just couldn't kill it maybe thats why I love 5.0L

[Mr. Squirrel]

haha, yeah those engines keep on ticking for a very, very long time. they were made to last a long time.

[s4501]

It will also help if you install a relay in the system. A 40 amp relay for a foglight system will do the trick and will actually allow you to run silverstars if you like. I have been using a relay system and silverstars for a couple of yrs with no problems. I actually installed a relay for the low and the high side. Its really simple.

[TuxStang]

Even after changing the headlight switch, problem will be back sooner or later. Relays will definitely solve the problem and enhance headlights efficiency.

[Not4you]

so if I understand this correctly:

- the switch has a circuit breaker built into it
- replacing this switch should solve the problem completely
- but the problem may come back since the new switch could suffer the same problem down the road
- installing a 40A relay into the circuit will eliminate the problem for good
- lincolns have a lot of room for shaggin'

thanks guys.

[In2Fords]

Yep, Yep, yep, Yep, YEAH

and do it soon, scared the heck out of me driving thru a forest corridor in the middle of nowhere doing 65 and pitch black as theres a big turn Im heading into !!!!!!!

[s4501]

The electrical system was not made for the better halogen headlights that are out now. also over time the headlight switch cb will get weaker. My jeep wrangler did the same thing when I put a new set of halogens in it. The old ones worked fine but one had condensation. New stock halogens and the lights would turn off and on.
If you put a 40A relay in between the headlight switch and the headlights you can run the newer silverstars with no problem. You will see a huge difference between these and regular halogens.
I actually run 3 relays. 1 for low beams, 1 for high, and 1 for foglamps.
It is a little over kill but I havent had a problem in 3 yrs and my headlamp switch is still the original.
I think a fog lamp relay is around 3 bucks at any auto parts place. do yourself a favor and dont buy the kit. just get all the good connectors (not the cheapys) and some 14 or 12 ga wire and hook it up.

[TuxStang]

I actually run 3 relays. 1 for low beams, 1 for high, and 1 for foglamps.
It is a little over kill but I havent had a problem in 3 yrs and my headlamp switch is still the original.

It's not overkill ... it's the way to go.
Relays don't only prevent the circuit breaker of the headlight switch to act, they provide almost full electricity (there are still some loss due to wire length) to your bulbs.

[Not4you]

new switch is in, but in the interest of time (I need the car running safely right away) I did not put in a relay - I do plan to sometime soon though.

thanks all for the great tech.

[82mustang]

for more lighting you can put in 4 silverstars that are both hi/lo beam, and higher wattage style(for an S10 so the plug is slightly different) with relays.. lets just say with lo beams on it's waaay better than stock, with lo and hi(yes both!) beams on i blind oncoming traffic!

[85stanggt]

yes tis true, My old lincoln looked like a disco going down the road

lol

and, yeah, switch is common. I just replaced mine without going the relay route. I may do it, but the original switch lasted 22 years. I'm not running any fancy higher wattage lights, though, so that definitely prolongs the life of the switch.

[TuxStang]

Don't expect your headlight switch to last as long as the original, replacements usually don't. Sooner than later, you'll have to change it again. Cure before needing to treat.

On our cars, about 2 volts can be lost by the wiring between the battery and the most distant bulb ... that's enough to reduce significantly your bulb output. For an H4 bulb, that's around half the amount of lumens (the light output ... more usefull than the Kelvin of HID bulbs) lost. Give your headlights the power they were designed for, no need for higher - off-road - bulbs or HID conversion, these cars light really well when properly wired.

Never heard somebody complaining about the relay mod neither going back. There's no emergency to do it, but i see no reason not to do it when possible ...

[04FordHarleyF250]

Check with your local ford dealer (or online) as a motorcraft switch may still be available. I bought one last year. Yes, they are more pricey than the china knock off at your local parts place but it'll last much longer. GT's take a different switch from the LX as they have the fog light provision.

[caissiel]

I have never driven in the dark with my new switch and the other night I was on my way from the beach in the dark and my lights shut off on high beam. Its a new switch that I installed from Advance. There is going to be 2 relays installed for sure soon