1971 Dodge Charger 500|Floor Button??

[That_1_71_Dodge]

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

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Huh, I didn't even know those were options with these cars that's neat. But no it doesn't have hideaways or that little washer system there. I think I have that manual too I'll have to dig around and find it but it's in that garage somewhere.

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

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?

That's what I'm thinking because the longer I wait the longer it'll stay on so yea I bet that's what it is, I'm gonna be checking all these answers everyone's been giving this weekend to see what I got going on here. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Huh, I didn't even know those were options with these cars that's neat. But no it doesn't have hideaways or that little washer system there. I think I have that manual too I'll have to dig around and find it but it's in that garage somewhere.

Just for 71, and not every hideaways car. Really rare option in fact. “Easier” to see on C bodies.

 

[RussT Plymouths]

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.

Have you recently upgraded from old, dim, low wattage headlights to new, brighter, higher wattage headlights? The old circuit breaker in your old headlight switch may not be able to handle the increased load when switching to high beams. An easy test is to unplug one of the high beam bulbs and try it.

 

[That_1_71_Dodge]

Have you recently upgraded from old, dim, low wattage headlights to new, brighter, higher wattage headlights? The old circuit breaker in your old headlight switch may not be able to handle the increased load when switching to high beams. An easy test is to unplug one of the high beam bulbs and try it.

No they are the same headlights from when I bought it, I did have a lot of voltage problems with this car from when I first got it. I never got it figured out, took it to a shop they had got it fixed to where the battery didn't drain any more. They did say these cars have a huge problem with voltage and anything electrical, which I kinda figured.

 

[Kennith]

4-Headlight Relay Wiring Harness H4 Headlamp Light Bulb Ceramic Socket Plugs Set Octane Lighting

 

[A4GTX]

No they are the same headlights from when I bought it, I did have a lot of voltage problems with this car from when I first got it. I never got it figured out, took it to a shop they had got it fixed to where the battery didn't drain any more. They did say these cars have a huge problem with voltage and anything electrical, which I kinda figured.

Replace the headlight switch on the dash. As previously noted, it has a built in circuit breaker. The flashing lights is a classic symptom of a bad circuit breaker in the switch.

 

[racingjim]

The headlights do not have a fuse-as someone pointed out, there is a circuit breaker built in the headlight switch. Years ago, I was coming back from a drag race about 2 in the morning, when I encountered your symptom. It is not the high beam switch. It could be one of the high beam bulb wiring is shorting to ground cause excessive amp draw triggering the flash (circuit breaker resets by itself like a 4 way flasher so that way you still have some lights), or as was the case in my situation, one of the high beams was drawing too much amperage triggering the flash. Too test, use an inductive amp meter around the center wire of the high beam switch. Measure with lights on low, then turn on highs. You should see and increase of about 30%. You can unplug both high beam bulbs to see if a high amperage goes away, or wiggle wires looking for arcing. If all the above seems about normal, replace the headlight switch as the built in breaker is tripping when it shouldn't. I just bought a 72 New Yorker, and the maiden voyage resulting in my headlights flashing, both on low and high beam. The switch resolved the problem, but created a secondary problem. In order to get to the switch, I had to remove the A/C vent. The bezel had to come off, and any motion on the bezel, caused crack after crack. Headlights now work correctly, but now I have to track down a bezel that won't shatter when touched.