Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

You forgot to mention one of the most important reasons for the factories to change to paper filters, cost. They are a lot cheaper to install on a new car but a lot more expensive for the owner over the life of the car.

Kevin
I forgot you had installed a new wiring loom, I am still running with original wiring which is why I need to install a relay so my running lights are also on with headlights to make it 100% legal here.
BTW what size is the paper air filter you installed. I fancy installing one like that I currently have a smaller paper air filter installed which sits closer to the centre on the internal hump and I dont think contacts the top cover properly and would also be more restrictive.

Not sure exactly how you planned the relay -- parking lights only or headlights as well but a separate protected source via relays for headlights is a nice thing -- just gets a bit more involved with a relay for high and low beam but taking the high current out of a 60 year old loom and switch might be worth it.

If you planned a single relay only for parking lights and your auto stores carry Douglas or "bullet" connectors in the .156 sizehttp://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d100.html maybe a simpler way would be to make a dual pigtail in a "Y" configuration using a male and two female connectors. I would use 14ga wire but Packards loom seems to be a bit smaller--maybe 16ga.

Remove the gray wire from the headlight terminal on switch. Plug the male pigtail end into there and the headlight wire in one of the female receptacles. Remove the pink wire from parking light terminal and plug into the other receptacle and parking lights will come on at same time.

One caveat is the wiring diagram shows a dark green wire also on the park terminal. I don't remember if it is separate but it goes to the ign switch illumination. If it is part of same bullet as pink wire you can either leave it and have the ign key light on all the time with headlights or separate it and use another bullet to connect back to the park terminal to restore the ign light only in first notch option.

HH56
This is how I'd worked it out, think the 20A breaker in the light switch should be able to handle the running lighta as well as all the others..
Hope the sketch attachment comes through
Dave.

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That works nicely and does give the option of keeping the parking lights only position. Here more places are wanting headlights on even in daytime and it is illegal in so many others to drive with the parking lights that it was not a consideration to keep the separate function. I still like the idea of relays for headlights though. Randy Berger did it on his 56 and I thought it was a good idea.

I agree, I'm not a fan of the headlight power running through a dash mounted switch and hadn't seen this before until I got into older US vehicles, even my old 80 Firebird is configured this way when older 70's European Fords etc I had owned used headlight relays. I may change this somewhere down the line but getting some brakes is now my main priority...