Need Headlight Help

[railroad]

Alright guys, this should be an easy one, but I cannot get my mind to click.
I have good highbeam lights, but low beam is yellow.
I am running a sealed beam light, halogen.
I have a generic pull switch, 1 parking lights, pull 2 all lights.
I have a 3 wire dimmer switch.
I replaced the dimmer switch with another used one and got the same results.
I ran a separate ground to the ground wire off the headlight lamp plug, no change.
I was under the impression I should have a hot to the dimmer switch, in which
high beam sends current to both filaments. The next position drops the high beam.
With a voltmeter I get 11+ volts, engine off, on one leg for high beam
On low beam the smaller wire, low beam, reads 5 to 6 volts, thus the yellow light.
I have 11+ feeding into the dimmer, how does it drop to half exiting to low beam?
I could have two bad dimmer switches and will probably buy a new one tomorrow
unless you guys can educate me.

Apparently the previous owner was trying to address this issue, as there is an extra ground
in the harness to each head light housing.

 

[EX JUNK]

The first thing that I would do would be to check the headlight socket wiring. Check the diagram below. the ground may be in the wrong place. (Please excuse the rough drawing.)

Jim

 

[ellis8500]

In your headlight are two filaments; one for low beam, one for high beam. Only one should be on at any time. When the high beam is ON, low beam should be OFF. Your switch is probably OK and not the problem. Your headlight plugs are probably wired wrong; i.e., the ground and hi-beam wires are reversed so that when you are on low-beam both filaments are in series which would account for the dim effect and measuring about 6 volts across one filament.

 

[blownt]

you could delete the dimmer switch if you wanted to. Just wire to low beams to the "INST/PARK" terminal of your switch and the high beams to the "HEAD" terminal of your switch. Then when you pull the switch out one notch you have low beams and when you pull it all out you have high beams.

 

[RPM]

you could delete the dimmer switch if you wanted to. Just wire to low beams to the "INST/PARK" terminal of your switch and the high beams to the "HEAD" terminal of your switch. Then when you pull the switch out one notch you have low beams and when you pull it all out you have high beams.

That is how we wire them here. No dimmer switch needed.

 

[railroad]

I knew you guys would figure it out. I have not done anything this morning, but the mis wiring of the plug makes sense.
I would like to delete the dimmer switch, but the wiring is a project for another day. You have to stand on your head to get under the dash and I doubt I could get my hands in the narrow space. Thanks for the help.

 

[railroad]

We have a winner. Thanks Ex Junk. The ground and one of the hots were swapped. Was the plug layout different sometime in the past? The housings have old cloth covered wires and the ground wire was riveted to the housing. I just cut and made a splice inside the housing. The lights both hi and low beam are now like lasers.

The first thing that I would do would be to check the headlight socket wiring. Check the diagram below. the ground may be in the wrong place. (Please excuse the rough drawing.)

Jim

 

[EX JUNK]

I'm happy to have been some help to you.

Jim

 

[tfeverfred]

Electricity is still the DEVIL! LOL

 

[AndyMenon]

The first thing that I would do would be to check the headlight socket wiring. Check the diagram below. the ground may be in the wrong place. (Please excuse the rough drawing.)

Jim

I guess this is the same issue that is plaguing me as well. I yanked out one of the bulbs from my king bee headlights and connected one of the red wires to the battery +, and the black wire to the battery negative, nothing happened. Thought my bulb is conked. But when I took the 2 red wires, and ran one to the positive and another to the negative, both filaments came on! The stupid black wire in the harness is absolutely useless. Looks like the harness is jacked. How do we rewire the blasted plastic plug? It's just like the sketch above.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[AndyMenon]

I guess this is the same issue that is plaguing me as well. I yanked out one of the bulbs from my king bee headlights and connected one of the red wires to the battery +, and the black wire to the battery negative, nothing happened. Thought my bulb is conked. But when I took the 2 red wires, and ran one to the positive and another to the negative, both filaments came on! The stupid black wire in the harness is absolutely useless. Looks like the harness is jacked. How do we rewire the blasted plastic plug? It's just like the sketch above.

Cheers,
Andy

Ok, looks like I was blaming the headlight plug. But the plug seems to be ok. I removed the bulb completely, and ran 2 wires from the battery. One terminal on the bulb is completely useless. Either I have both filaments come on, or nothing. The third terminal is just not responding. Am I missing something here?

 

[EX JUNK]

I would "assume" that the black wire goes to ground (-) but to be sure I would disconnect the battery and connect one lead of an ohm meter to the black wire and the other lead to a solid ground. The meter should register "continuity" which indicates a good ground. If you do not see continuity, I would check the other two wire and see if one of them indicates a ground.

Jim

P.S. When making this test make sure that the light on the opposite side is disconnected.

 

[Wild Mango]

Electricity is still the DEVIL! LOL

Naw, she's OK really. Follows a mathematical rule set so there's no secrets. Just hard to see, is all

 

[Dirt-T]

Here's a diagram from Speedway as looking at the back of the bulb.

 

[EX JUNK]

Here's a diagram from Speedway as looking at the back of the bulb.

If you'll notice, it is the same as the diagram that I posted a while ago. the only difference is that I depicted the receptacle end (harness) and not the plug end (bulb).

Jim

 

[Wild Mango]

There are two filaments in the lamp. High and low beam respectively. They share a common ground, this also means when you energise across the high and low beam terminals, both filaments (if they are undamaged) light up yellow because they are in series, connected inside the lamp at the common ground terminal. Connecting one terminal, L or H and the ground terminal will give you 12V across the filament in question and full light output from it.

 

[AndyMenon]

Ok, looks like I was blaming the headlight plug. But the plug seems to be ok. I removed the bulb completely, and ran 2 wires from the battery. One terminal on the bulb is completely useless. Either I have both filaments come on, or nothing. The third terminal is just not responding. Am I missing something here?

Solved! It was the stupid bulbs. Went to the autoparts store and got new ones, and everything fell into place. What a pair of freaky bulbs! .