Re: [AMC-list] headlight not lit

[Marc Montoni <Freedom@xxxxxxxx>]

C The <kwtheaker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:


>didn't notice till i got home & a few days later, the headlights
>don't come on (neither do parking lights). 
>
>i see from the chilton's wiring diagram there should be a ground 
>on the headlight wires. 
>
>perhaps that's the problem?  i traced the headlight wires and don't see
>any where obvious that something should be connected to the body,
>though i don't really know what i'm looking for, an obvious wire
>going into a screw? 
>
>but hey upside down and backwards i could be missing something. 
>
>so if that is a good guess can someone tell me where to be looking? 
>or if not a good guess, what else? 


You're on the right track.  I just traced out the exact same problem on my 68 AMX.

My test light attached to ground indicated I had power through the light switch and through the dimmer switch, as well as power at the headlights, but they still weren't lit.  Realized the test light had a good ground, the headlights did not.

Eventually figured out that the wiring for the headlights goes to ground THROUGH the right side headlight.  The right side headlight has a black wire that runs to a single ground terminal, right above the heater area, on the right side of the firewall.  There should be like three or four wires attached to the same screw.  Unscrew it, take them all off, wire brush the body contact, the screw post, and the metal crimp terminals attached to each wire, then put them all back on and screw the nut back on securely.

I'll bet they'll work fine, and that it's just a matter of a bit of corrosion on a 40 year old post & nut assembly -- no fault of the shop (unless they removed the wires and painted the area and so interrupted ground; or just didn't screw the post nut back on tight enough.

By the way, AMC wired the parking lights to go off when the headlights were on.  I never did like that arrangement, but that's the way they're made.  You might want to turn on parking lights only and see if they work by themselves.


>- chilton's AMC book shows the headlights on a circuit
>breaker.  assuming that resets itself if there was a problem?


The circuit breaker is, as I recall, inside the headlight switch itself.  If it overloads it will shut off.  I forget if it automatically resets or if the act of turning the headlights off and then on again resets it.

I think it's a GM unit -- not that it matters.

-- Marc



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