Headlights issue

[BFMF]

My headlights work fine, but when I push the little 'stick' on the steering wheel to make the high beams come on, they don't. The lights actually go off except for the parking lights. I can pull the light 'stick' towards me and the high beams will come on, but it's not designed to stay in that position.

What do you all think?

[ozzy72]

Sounds to me like a problem with the switch at the base of the fork, either a loose connection or its worn out.

Mark

[BFMF]

Would it be easy & cheap to fix?

[ozzy72]

Yeah. All you have to do is take the housing off the column, then remove the switch (probably a couple of screws, or maybe a clip), then plop in a new switch (available from car-parts shops), and re-assemble it.
Probably if you are not experienced it'll take an hour, if you're familiar with car electrics and changing bits 20 mins. In the UK we have a thing called Haynes Manuals which show you how to do this stuff on different cars, I don't know if you have an equivilant in the US, but it might be worth checking. It also covers lots of other stuff that you might find handy.

Mark

[BFMF]

Probably if you are not experienced it'll take an hour, if you're familiar with car electrics and changing bits 20 mins.

And if I'm completely ignorant about cars, all day ending up without any steering

[ozzy72]

No you don't have to remove the steering column! Just change the switch
Trust me I've done a lot of fixes over the years.

Ozzy

[BFMF]

I've done a lot of fixes over the years.

And I havn't. I once attempted to do an oil change on an old gmc truck, but somehow drained a whole lot of the wrong fluids. I also once did an oil change on a car, but we had to take it to the mechanic to get it fixed

[Craig.]

apart from brakes and a few other minor things i am useless with fixing the things myself. which is funny as i used to spend every weekend helping my dad fix the things.

isnt there a mechanics course you could look into taking or not??

[Woodlouse2002]

Take it to a mechanic and it will probably cost you 50 million quid.

The Haynes manuals are great. Each one is written along side a complete strip down and rebuild so you get photos and everything.

I have the manual for the Series IIA/III landrover and its great.

[RichieB16]

What I would do ius just take it an autoparts store (ya know-to buy the part) and try and get some info from one of the people behind the counter.  Thats what a lot of people do (believe me, I work at a parts store).  Usually with something simple like this, it can be easily explained.

[Rifleman]

If I was there, I would take a shot at fixing it for ya, heck I can even boil water without burning it....thats gotta count for some qualification ?........

[visitor]

The main question here should have been "what
kind of car are we working on?"

A dimmer switch for my Toyota PU costs
about $185.00 and is a bear to change!!
a lot of the cars  '90 and up the switch
is a combo switch and works the lights
wipers. turn signals, cruise and other
stuff too!!!
What kind of car are we working on??

X

[BFMF]

It's a 1991 Ford Escort GT

[BFMF]

Take it to a mechanic and it will probably cost you 50 million quid.

That's what i'm afraid of :-/

[ozzy72]

Okay Andrew, well I have a European '92 Escort CL, if you remove the plastic housing from around the steering column you should be able to see a black plasic box with the stalk protruding from it, there will be some wires coming out too.
Its held in place by 2 screws on my car, so I hope its the same on yours. All you have to do is get a new switch unit (any decent auto-parts shop should do one), and then remove the old one, and fit the new one as an exact reversal of the procedure (make a diagram of what goes where, especially wires and their colours) before starting so you have something to refer to if you feel uncertain.
Whack the covers back on, and Bobs your mothers brother

Ozzy

PS. Put the screws somewhere safe!!! I'm a champ at loosing bits......