Headlight switch for 67 BB

[Ken Seddon - 25329]

Help! I am having a problem with my headlight switch on a 67 BB. As far as I can tell the switch is the orignal one and not a resto part.

While the car is running, if I depress the switch to raise the headlights the car stops running and the battery gauge goes to zero. The headlights worked fine last week.

I removed the two screws holding the switch to the dash and removed the switch from the dash. When I depress the switch I notice a little bit of smoke coming from the switch and the battery gauge goes to the far left (zero).

Is the problem in the switch or is there likely a short elsewhere? Are there parts in the switch that can be restored/repaired to fix the problem or do I have to get a resto part? Any recommendations on who can fix these?

As far as I can tell, there are no fuses for the headlights. Or at least all of the fuses under the driver's side panel are fine (checked with continuity meter).

Thank you for any help or advice. NCRS is Great!!!!

[John H.]

Re: Headlight switch for 67 BB

Ken -

Battery power is fed to the switch through a circuit breaker just above the top of the driver's side kickpad - there is no fuse. The switch then connects that battery power to either the "Up" circuit (yellow) or the "Down" circuit (dark green); those wires from the switch go through the outboard connector on the firewall, directly to the headlight motors.

Sounds like a short in the switch itself, or one of the two wires between the bulkhead connector and the headlight motors is shorted to ground.