no lowbeams ....76 chief

[mark]

my lowbeams stopped working completely.at first they would come on then go out after a min or so.the relay is fine and clicks when I put the lows on.ive even swapped them.highs work fine and ive been using them for now.i have power all the time on one of the blues going into the low relay and with the lows on I probe the other blue and it seems to be getting power out too.ive wiggled the harness and didn't even get a flicker.any ideas where to start looking?
I'm using one of those harnesses bought from sreehill a few yrs back.

[wiley-moeracing]

bad ground wire /broken wire or your foot operated hi/low beam switch is bad or a combo of.

[tgreese]

my lowbeams stopped working completely.at first they would come on then go out after a min or so.the relay is fine and clicks when I put the lows on.ive even swapped them.highs work fine and ive been using them for now.i have power all the time on one of the blues going into the low relay and with the lows on I probe the other blue and it seems to be getting power out too.ive wiggled the harness and didn't even get a flicker.any ideas where to start looking?
I'm using one of those harnesses bought from sreehill a few yrs back.

There's no headlight relay in the factory harness. You are pretty much on your own with something that's not original, and will have to trace out the circuit to determine what's wrong. Use your multimeter or test light and see where power comes on and off as you switch between high and low beams. Get a piece of paper and colored pencils and draw out the circuit as you test it. You really need to measure and be systematic to fix electrical problems. The circuit diagram is shown here - http://oljeep.com/gw/76_tsm/Section22.pdf - the diagram will be correct from the light switch to the high beam switch to the relays. Things will change once you reach the relays. follow the circuit through with your multimeter or test light.

[tgreese]

bad ground wire /broken wire or your foot operated hi/low beam switch is bad or a combo of.

No ground at the high beam switch, and the high and low beams share the ground at the headlights. Don't Guess, Measure! Definitely test the foot operated high beam switch. You can test it at the relay - if there is power to the relay coil when low beams are on, then the switch is working.

[mark]

I replaced the high low switch on the floor.ive had problems with it getting wet before but it seems to be working fine now.the low relay has power going in and power going out(both blue)when the low beams are on.if you say the low and high share the same ground I guess I can rule that out and just keep testing the blue power wire out to where it splices into the original socket?

[babywag]

Why would an aftermarket harness reuse a 40+yr old headlight socket(s)?
Cut them out and wire straight to relay trigger wires!

Sounds like a ground problem if you?re seeing power output.
If you can measure voltage you can just as easily measure/check the ground(s).

[wiley-moeracing]

or your low beams are burnt out, highs are working

[Tripwire]

AGREE with Wiley i know some dummy who changed out the column switch when it was a coincidence both low beams went out ........dont ask me who.....

[mattparliament]

lost my high beams awhile back.... still haven't gotten around to checking them.... time...

[mark]

I found the problem.right at the lowbeam relay the power wire going out to the lights had a bad connection.actually the crimp was very good but the wire disintegrated.it happened before in another area too.

[babywag]

I found the problem.right at the lowbeam relay the power wire going out to the lights had a bad connection.actually the crimp was very good but the wire disintegrated.it happened before in another area too.

I have never seen automotive wire “disintegrate”?
Good automotive grade wire lasts decades.
Cheap ebay or mcparts store primary wire is crap though.
That stuff is worthless.
For automotive gotta use good stuff like this...

[Gladiator4x4]

Best thing you can do is start eliminating pieces of the circuit figure what is working and look for where you are losing power. I would pull a headlight and connect straight to the battery with gator clips and make sure that works then start chasing back. You can chase wa wiring issue for days to no avail if your bulbs are burned out. I lost high beams on mine and it ended up being the connector at the foot switch rusted out. It was still connected and still read power on my multimeter but could not get enough amps through that bad connection to turn the lights on.

[mark]

I wish I had taken a pic of it.it completely crumbled away right after the crimp under the tape.it was still bare wire after the crimp for about a 1/4 inch before the shielding.