Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I recently purchased a 1937 Touring Sedan (six). Went to eat last night and verified the lights were working before dark. When leaving, the headlights did not come on. Taillights worked. No brake lights (probably brake light switch?). I see the manual says there is a circuit breaker on the light switch. How does one go about re-setting that breaker? The bulbs in the headlights appear to be halogen.

There is no "breaker" per se. It is a simple fuse which is part the headlight switch itself. Look up underneath the dash and you should see it. Easy to remove with a pair of standard plastic fuse pliers to inspect.

This car has been converted to a 12 volt negative ground system. Replaced fuse, blew again. Replaced again, turned nothing on, removed fuse, still OK. Reinstalled fuse, turned ign key on but not the light switch, fuse blown. I guess there is a short somewhere. Panel lights still work as do the tail lights, no brake lights. ANy suggestions? To remove the center section of the dash do I just remove the bottom screws or is there something behind the dash as well?

Your going to have to get a multimeter or test light and trace the headlight wire from the fuse folder all the way up to the actual bulb. If you have a short you want to find it before it creates a fire somewhere and possible destroys your car, or your car and house.

If you find the wire chewed (like by rodents), then I would recommend you inspect the rest of the harness for other places were rodents may have chewed. Also until you get this all figured out, I would disconnect the battery, or install a battery cut-off when not in use.

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G'day Bill,
to PackardInfo. I'll let others, more knowledgeable than me, assist with your query but will make a request of you. Could you please include your '37 Sedan in the Owner Registry here, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

Also see you have a '57 Austin A55 Cambrian, threw me a bit because although I've heard of an A55 Cambridge hadn't heard of the Cambrian so did a little research - "Cambrian was chosen because it was thought that Cambridge would have infringed a Canadian copyright; just before the launch, the lawyers gave the go-ahead to use the original name." quote from -http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?akafarinaf.htm
And just for good luck, I've thrown in the pic!

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Mal, the Cambridge was "Pre-Cambrian".

Welcome Bill,
The 57 Austin A55 Cambrian looks much like the Moskvich 430(based on Moskvich 407):


Eric, what do you mean under the term Pre-Cambrian?

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As a fully fledged "dinosaur" I'll answer this one on Eric's behalf, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian

Yup, Mal's right as usual!

To remove the center section of the dash do I just remove the bottom screws or is there something behind the dash as well?

Each section, the gauge cluster and the section with the ignition, start, and light switch, have small bolts behind the dash holder each item (requiring a socket end with ext to bypass other stuff in the way. the nuts are not torque tight so a nut driver will probalby handle it). The light switch with its several fuses serves the function of a fuse box for several items. I realize the switch was probably a new innovation in the 30s over early ones, but it really is convoluted. Since everything on my dash is completely removed for repaint and re-wire, I'm going to put an in-line 6 volt fuse box and separate a new harness accordingly to each item, rather than use the current light switch OEM. This will make tracing problems much easier in the future. Packard used a more simplified switch and separate fuse box later.

Really like the 2-tone on your recent purchase. I'm going similar with grey and black.