1971 Dodge Charger 500|Floor Button??

[That_1_71_Dodge]

Hello, I've been having a problem with my headlights where I turn them on and they work no problem. Now if I turn brights on they work for around 4-5 minutes then they start flashing. If I put them back on dim and then to bright it flashes again almost instantly, if I let it sit in dim then back to bright it's fine for a few minutes then it does it again. I figured it was the dimmer switch so I got it replaced and it still does it, the plug to the new switch didn't look burnt or nothing like that. I also saw that the more throttle I give the brighter the headlights get, not sure if that's a feature or just what the car does. Now one more thing I'm a little confused on is I found this switch on the floor when I pulled the carpet up to replace the dimmer switch, its a button with a spring around it and 2 wires running to it. I'm gonna trace the wires and see where they lead but just curious if anyone knows what this thing is? Thank you

 

[eldubb440]

I replaced my hi beam switch in the late 80s........ my lights would cut out, it was the problem

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

I replaced my hi beam switch in the late 80s........ my lights would cut out, it was the problem

Yea that's what I thought it was but it still does it, not sure what could be causing it

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

Hello, I've been having a problem with my headlights where I turn them on and they work no problem. Now if I turn brights on they work for around 4-5 minutes then they start flashing. If I put them back on dim and then to bright it flashes again almost instantly, if I let it sit in dim then back to bright it's fine for a few minutes then it does it again. I figured it was the dimmer switch so I got it replaced and it still does it, the plug to the new switch didn't look burnt or nothing like that. I also saw that the more throttle I give the brighter the headlights get, not sure if that's a feature or just what the car does. Now one more thing I'm a little confused on is I found this switch on the floor when I pulled the carpet up to replace the dimmer switch, its a button with a spring around it and 2 wires running to it. I'm gonna trace the wires and see where they lead but just curious if anyone knows what this thing is? Thank you

View attachment 1759861

Weird spring thing

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

Weird spring thing

Yep that's about the best way to describe it

 

[70chall440]

The spring thing is not a Mopar option I do not believe, I have never seen one before in over 50 yrs of messing with these cars (but I never say never).

The lights getting brighter is a normal thing for this era of car, it can be (read should be) corrected by installing relays in the wiring harness to take the load off the switch.

The flashing thing and all I am going to speculate is probably a combination of sketchy grounds, sketchy connections, old wiring, and wore switches (talking about the headlight switch itself). When you go to your high beams you are putting an increased load on an already marginal electrical system. Factor in 40+ years of life/use and things get corroded and brittle.

First thing I would recommend is take a very close look at all of your electrical connections to include the bulkhead fitting and your switches.

Next is to clean/add grounds (battery to engine, engine to frame, engine to firewall, dash frame to firewall, etc. you cannot have too many grounds).

Next is to add relays to your lights, one for your low beams and one for your high beams. There is a member here ( @crackleback I think ) that makes a plug and play harness and I am sure there are others as well or you can just google/YouTube it and make one yourself.

The relays will do a lot of good for your system but you really need to go through your electrical system and give it a good inspection and/or repair. Most find this pretty daunting but it really isn't all that hard.

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

The spring thing is not a Mopar option I do not believe, I have never seen one before in over 50 yrs of messing with these cars (but I never say never).

The lights getting brighter is a normal thing for this era of car, it can be (read should be) corrected by installing relays in the wiring harness to take the load off the switch.

The flashing thing and all I am going to speculate is probably a combination of sketchy grounds, sketchy connections, old wiring, and wore switches (talking about the headlight switch itself). When you go to your high beams you are putting an increased load on an already marginal electrical system. Factor in 40+ years of life/use and things get corroded and brittle.

First thing I would recommend is take a very close look at all of your electrical connections to include the bulkhead fitting and your switches.

Next is to clean/add grounds (battery to engine, engine to frame, engine to firewall, dash frame to firewall, etc. you cannot have too many grounds).

Next is to add relays to your lights, one for your low beams and one for your high beams. There is a member here ( @crackleback I think ) that makes a plug and play harness and I am sure there are others as well or you can just google/YouTube it and make one yourself.

The relays will do a lot of good for your system but you really need to go through your electrical system and give it a good inspection and/or repair. Most find this pretty daunting but it really isn't all that hard.

I guess I'll mess around some more and see, thank you for the suggestions. I'll have a look into those and yea your more than likely right, I have no doubt it's something like that. I'm gonna follow that wire and see where it goes I'm pretty interested. Thanks

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

I guess I'll mess around some more and see, thank you for the suggestions. I'll have a look into those and yea you’re more than likely right, I have no doubt it's something like that. I'm gonna follow that wire and see where it goes I'm pretty interested. Thanks

Please report your findings on spring thing

 

[493 Mike]

Head lamp switches have circuit breakers inside. Could be bad or excessive current draw causing the intermittent lights.
Mike

 

[NoCar2023]

A "hidden start switch under the carpet" refers to a discreet car security feature where a small switch is installed beneath the car's floor mat or carpet, allowing the vehicle to only start when the switch is activated in a specific way, effectively preventing unauthorized ignition by potential thieves.

 

[kiwigtx]

Hello, I've been having a problem with my headlights where I turn them on and they work no problem. Now if I turn brights on they work for around 4-5 minutes then they start flashing. If I put them back on dim and then to bright it flashes again almost instantly, if I let it sit in dim then back to bright it's fine for a few minutes then it does it again. I figured it was the dimmer switch so I got it replaced and it still does it, the plug to the new switch didn't look burnt or nothing like that. I also saw that the more throttle I give the brighter the headlights get, not sure if that's a feature or just what the car does. Now one more thing I'm a little confused on is I found this switch on the floor when I pulled the carpet up to replace the dimmer switch, its a button with a spring around it and 2 wires running to it. I'm gonna trace the wires and see where they lead but just curious if anyone knows what this thing is? Thank you

View attachment 1759861

I wonder if a previous owner rigged that up to the brake lights to give "Brake check" warnings to tailgaters?

Of it could be a secret "hold down to get ignition" switch for security reasons. A very monkey way of doing it....but that's how some people think.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

It could be a temporally high beams button for warning signals while driving. That’s a feature most older cars don’t have but news which you can give even with lights off. Although old European cars got.

I have thought on add that feature somehow later (when reassembling my Charger).

 

[DeltaV]

Hello, I've been having a problem with my headlights where I turn them on and they work no problem. Now if I turn brights on they work for around 4-5 minutes then they start flashing. If I put them back on dim and then to bright it flashes again almost instantly, if I let it sit in dim then back to bright it's fine for a few minutes then it does it again. I figured it was the dimmer switch so I got it replaced and it still does it, the plug to the new switch didn't look burnt or nothing like that. I also saw that the more throttle I give the brighter the headlights get, not sure if that's a feature or just what the car does. Now one more thing I'm a little confused on is I found this switch on the floor when I pulled the carpet up to replace the dimmer switch, its a button with a spring around it and 2 wires running to it. I'm gonna trace the wires and see where they lead but just curious if anyone knows what this thing is? Thank you

View attachment 1759861

Do your taillights flash when your headlights flash as you described?

What happens to the LO and HI beam headlights when you actuate the mystery switch off or on? Do they flash and alternate like a police car's headlights?

Try it with LO beams on
Try it with HI beams on

Your first test could be to actuate the mystery switch to see if the flashing stops.

______________________________________
Then, trace the two wires and see if they run to a 5 or 6 terminal relay.

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

Please report your findings on spring thing

I will, I want to know what it is

 

[moparsaver]

Is this a hideaway headlight car that came equipped with headlight washer system? Do you have a Factory service manual?

 

[RR Fan Dan]

I wonder if a previous owner rigged that up to the brake lights to give "Brake check" warnings to tailgaters

I did that with the washer fluid button in my 68

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Is this a hideaway headlight car that came equipped with headlight washer system? Do you have a Factory service manual?

View attachment 1760433

View attachment 1760431

View attachment 1760434

The washers switch for headlights is activated by a switch underneath the dash frame, where the ACCs switch are instaled

 

[moparsaver]

The washers switch for headlights should be activated by a switch underneath the dash frame, where the ACCs switch are instaled

Agreed, Anything is possible after 50 plus years though. We All seen some over the years.

 

[T2R9]

My former Super Bee with headlamp washers.

 

[451Mopar]

Check the wiring connectors. I had a corroded / overheated headlight connector at the bulkhead. Headlights would come on for a few minutes, then the connector terminal would heat up loose pressure on the wire crimp and then lights out. Once terminal cooled down the crimp would tighten around the corroded wire and make a connection again.
Because both the terminal and wire were pretty bad, I soldered the wire to the terminal until I could replace the harness.
Some of these original wiring harnesses, the wires are corroded the entire length of the wires, not just the exposed ends. Likely depends what the weather is like where the car is and how it was stored.
Not sure about the spring thing. Might by cut into the neutral safety switch circuit as an anti-theft measure?