Help from electrical gurus

[bigdaddyinks]

I have a 1983 Monte. My dimmer swich went from working sometimes to not at all (no clicking) I solved this by unplugging the high beams. I went to go to work one morning and had no lights at all. I fixed this issue by replacing the headlight switch. Now I have lights again but within 5 minutes of turning them on I can smell the electrical burning smell. When the dimmer switch stopped working I was slamming it back and forth really hard to try and get it to click off high beams. My question is is it possibele that the burning smell is a result of breaking something off inside the column. I dont see any smoke (although hesitant to let it go long enough to see smoke..lol) But the smell is definitely coming from that area. Just wanted some opinions before tearing the column apart. Thanks.

 

[Blake442]

No need to tear the column apart...

Just lower the column and the switch is accessible near the base.

 

[Doober]

Yeah, usually an issue with the high beams not turning on/off properly is the switch that's down the column next to the electrical part of the ignition switch (once you lower the column you will see the high beam & ignition switches). The "switch" in the column is just a lever that pushes on a rod. Verify which rod is for the high beams... I'm assuming you don't know which is which, once you've dropped the column & done this once you'll see it's not very complicated. I'd suggest wrapping some electrical tape around the rods (making sure the high beam lever is all the way back to its rested position) before you start messing with the switches, those rods are NOT fun to get back into place if they drop out of their little socket on the lever! You may or may not have to replace the high beam switch judging by the smell. If they stop working again in the future, you can probably bet it's the high/low beam switch.
It should look like this... this (and the ignition switch) were used on a LOT of GM vehicles. The round, 'pure white' piece is where the rod pushes, you can see a small portion of the spring inside it.

 

[SafariWagon]

Not to Hi-jack thread or anything but do you guys know if this switch is what I need to work with concerning 2 headlights to 4? My car is a 81 lemans with 4 headlight set-up. Floor shift tilt came out of 1 year only 78 Monte (intermediate shaft is different than other years) which had the single headlight set-up. So when I flip the high beem switch it goes from one set of headlights to the other set, and turns off the first set. So instead of going to all 4 lights on high beem it just swaps over to the other single pair. WTF?

 

[Doober]

I could be wrong, but isn't that how most (or all) 4-headlight cars are? Rock Auto lists a separate high- & low-beam globe for the car. If you look at most new cars you'll also see they have separate high- and low-beam lights. The wiring is likely the same for the most part, just goes to different lights in your case.

 

[pontiacgp]

are you sure the lites that go off are a hi/lo lite and not just a lo beam?

 

[SafariWagon]

Ya, I think to go to high beam it's suppose to switch to all 4 lights. Instead it swaps from the pair of low beam lights that are already on to the pair that are not on and the original set turns off. Hence my problem I can't get high beam lights just goes from one pair to the other.

 

[Doober]

The way to know for sure... look at the headlights themselves. If there is only one pair of wires going to each light, then it's working properly. If one has 2 wires and the other has 3, then all 4 are supposed to come on.

 

[SafariWagon]

I am pretty sure to get high beam all 4 lights need to come on. 1 inner light has 2 wires the other inner has 3 wires and both outer lights have 4 wires. All original car so I don't believe anything has ever been "messed' with either. I was thinking it was some sort of switch problem and nothing to do with wiring.

 

[pontiacgp]

the wiring for the lites is pretty basic...you have a green, black and brown wires. They travel down the diver's side inner fender. Check with a circuit tester that you have power going to the headlight connector for the lo beam and the high beam and if you do then you have a problem with the lites themselves