VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt One Headlight Lights

I am puzzled. I have one headlight that lights on my 28 sedan and the other doesn't. The one that lights is the right front. Have six volt bulbs all good. Have new rebuilt switch and all other lights work. My test light shows the socket of the non working light is hot when the switch is turned on. Have replaced the wiring and all is new. I am wondering: the back of the switch has a dim with a jump wire from the headlight post to the dim. Could this be the culprit? My email is s.k.hebert@worldnet.att.net
Any help would be appreciated....

Hi Charles Hebert,

Generally, when you have a problem of this nature it is because the headlight is not grounded. With the heavy coat of paint on the fender where the headlight bar attaches, and the base of the headlight where it contacts the headlight bar, if it is not the paint it is the rust.

Take a jumper wire and ground the headlight reflector to a solid ground on the engine and see it that makes the light work.

The "dimmer" wire on the back of the headlight switch dims "both" headlights equally. The "Bright" position provides a full voltage of "6-Volts" to both headlight bulbs.

Charles,
I think you will find that the problem is with the ground. It is a very common problem. Everything gets painted and when put together the paint insulates enough to cause problems. The hot lines (6v+) feed to the light bulbs through the center contacts. The bulb filiments ground through the outside of the base, to the socket. The socket must be electrically connected to the headlight bucket, the base of which must be connected to the headlight bar, connected to the fender braces and to the frame. The negative battery strap is connected to the frame. So if everything is electrically connected as it should then the lights, starter, engine, etc will work.

I have found a few strands of copper wire (from a stranded 12 or 14 or 16 gage wire) mashed between the headlight bar and headlight base help a lot. Sometimes it is necessary to solder a ground wire from the socket base to the bucket. You can test the circuit with a jumper wire from the headlight reflector to the frame.

Thanks. Will try it in the morning.....

Charles I had the same problem on my 28 this summer, the wire going into the socket was bad and also the end of the wire is inserted into a small contact that must make good contact with the terminal on the headlamp bulb. The socket has one or two small pimples on the side of the socket, that "J" latch into the headlamp bucket, and the previous owner had wrapped black tape around the socket preventing it from going far enough into the headlight bucket to maintain good contact. I pulled up enough slack in the wire (unwrapped enough of the wire armor) to attach the small brass contact to good wire and cleaned the socket to where it would go into the bucket far enough to make contact and also "J" latch into the bucket. I split some #33 Scotch black tape and taped it tight enough so that the wire would pass thru the socket freely with out shorting out,latched it in to the bucket and it works fine.

You hit the nail on the head MrMack. The dimples on the plug MUST be at the same height. When you solder the ends sometimes one dimple will be higher then the others. A flat file will fix this so that the dimples are level or at the same height.