Re: 1954 Pacific / headlight out again / dash lights out /headlight circuit breaker / dimmer switch
Posted by HH56 On 2020/10/19 8:47:49
If it looks like a factory split cable perhaps the car has or had fog lights. They would have needed to add another terminal to the headlight switch tail terminal. Removing the existing tail light wire and adding a split wire with the tail light wire plugged back into a short pigtail sharing the dash light power wire would have probably been the way it was done. They used the same approach on other switches where an accessory was added and needed a terminal.
The factory fog light switch was separate from the headlight switch but was normally powered from the same breaker or power source. When it was turned on the switch sent voltage in two directions. It powers the fog lights as well as another wire going back to the tail light terminal on the headlight switch to power the tail and dash lights if the headlights are off.
If that is the case and someone removed the fog light switch perhaps that bare piece had a wire yanked out during the process and the connector was left in the terminal. If fog lights and switch are still present perhaps there is a wire hanging somewhere close by the dash metal that will be powered and can short if the fog lights are on.
If no fog lights or at least not the official accessory fog lights then you have something a previous owner did and you will need to trace out all the odd looking wiring. I have no clue where or what you might look for other than check for bare wires and cracked insulation anywhere the wiring runs thru holes or gets close to metal.
I don't have a factory drawing of the 51-4 fog light circuit but maybe someone has an accessory install sheet they could share. If not, here is an older drawing showing the basic wiring as it was typically done. Switch styles are different in this illustration but the wiring should be essentially the same. In this drawing, power starts at the BAT input of the headlight circuit breaker, out from the breaker to the fog light switch input B. When the fog light switch is on, F and T both get power to go to the fog lights and tail lights respectivly. If you did not have a factory setup then it could have been wired in other ways which I can not begin to guess.
Attach file:
(28.89 KB)
The factory fog light switch was separate from the headlight switch but was normally powered from the same breaker or power source. When it was turned on the switch sent voltage in two directions. It powers the fog lights as well as another wire going back to the tail light terminal on the headlight switch to power the tail and dash lights if the headlights are off.
If that is the case and someone removed the fog light switch perhaps that bare piece had a wire yanked out during the process and the connector was left in the terminal. If fog lights and switch are still present perhaps there is a wire hanging somewhere close by the dash metal that will be powered and can short if the fog lights are on.
If no fog lights or at least not the official accessory fog lights then you have something a previous owner did and you will need to trace out all the odd looking wiring. I have no clue where or what you might look for other than check for bare wires and cracked insulation anywhere the wiring runs thru holes or gets close to metal.
I don't have a factory drawing of the 51-4 fog light circuit but maybe someone has an accessory install sheet they could share. If not, here is an older drawing showing the basic wiring as it was typically done. Switch styles are different in this illustration but the wiring should be essentially the same. In this drawing, power starts at the BAT input of the headlight circuit breaker, out from the breaker to the fog light switch input B. When the fog light switch is on, F and T both get power to go to the fog lights and tail lights respectivly. If you did not have a factory setup then it could have been wired in other ways which I can not begin to guess.
Attach file:
(28.89 KB)
This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=227344