Hi All, I have an '87 GT Convertible that had a broken headlight switch. There was a lot of play in the switch so the lights would come on and off at will which as one could imagine is not very safe. So, I installed a replacement I got from a reputable seller on eBay. The headlights work perfectly fine. However, the parking lights and instrument panel do not light up at all when they are supposed to. the parking lights only come on in that weird halfway position between turning on the parking lights and the headlights. I don't know if it makes any sense, but the parking lights and instrument cluster only come on when switching from parking lights to headlights. If you hold it halfway between the two switch positions, they stay on. Even so, it’s very finicky and definitely not how the car should be operated. I've checked and the fuse is intact. Has anyone had a similar issue? What can I do to fix it so my instrument panel lights come on with the headlights? Thanks.
Electrical Headlight switch not working properly
- Thread starter MaxFerguson
- Start date
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Not sure, I ordered a second switch off of RockAuto as well as a new connector for the headlights themselves. I am hoping this new switch works better than the eBay one.
Ok, what's the part number for the rock auto one?
I believe there were changes on some years and the aftermarket and some 'sellers' offer one size fits all parts.
I believe there were changes on some years and the aftermarket and some 'sellers' offer one size fits all parts.
rednotch
Founding Member
better off buying one from a local parts store for the lifetime warranty and replacing the pig tail since they are known to over heat and fail from the Fog lights with the factory wiring over heating them, not uncommon for the wires to be lose in the connector. Most parts store switches are either standard or wve reboxed as duralast or carquest...
Turn signals and parking light issues can be from the connector, I allways replace those on GT's and rewire the fogs threw a relay so it doesnt draw as much amps off the switch . another area to look is the multifunction switch on the column , check the wires on those pigtails for being loose or signs of melting, inspect those and pull the column cover off same for the dimmer switch as that's tied to the cluster lights and they get pretty worn from age where the slider contacts and spring needs a good cleaning. The way they wired the cluster and switches in these cars kind of sucked, best to remove the whole cluster and replace bulbs & inspect all the wiring pigtails at the same time too.
Turn signals and parking light issues can be from the connector, I allways replace those on GT's and rewire the fogs threw a relay so it doesnt draw as much amps off the switch . another area to look is the multifunction switch on the column , check the wires on those pigtails for being loose or signs of melting, inspect those and pull the column cover off same for the dimmer switch as that's tied to the cluster lights and they get pretty worn from age where the slider contacts and spring needs a good cleaning. The way they wired the cluster and switches in these cars kind of sucked, best to remove the whole cluster and replace bulbs & inspect all the wiring pigtails at the same time too.
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