High Beams Don't Work... where should I start?

[derek murray]

I have a '71 S converted to H4 headlights and I can't get the high beams to work. The conversion was done by the previous owner so I have no idea whether they ever worked or not.

The blue high beam instrument light on the tach does not come on either, except for a brief flicker when I engage the turn signal. (the high beams do not flicker though when I do this).

Any advice on how to figure this out would be appreciated.

Thanks

Derek

[Joeaksa]

Derek,

Try by looking at the fuses first, then the relay. All of this is of course after you have tested the light bulbs to make sure they work and then confirming that you have power at the fusebox.

A good wiring diagram will help. If you do not have one in hand, pls look here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/911_Parts/911_electrical_diagrams.htm

Joe

[Superman]

The stalk switches are notorious for quitting. Do a search...some folks have been able to repair these. Also, your stalk switch will keep burning up if your H4 system does not use relays. Again, a search will uncover much information.

[steve911]

Derek--
I was taken to task (rightly so, I might add a while back) about the relay thing. Even with 55/60W bulbs, relays should be installed.
go here

also check out this thread


the relay installation was VERY easy and brings lots of peace of mind.....

[derek murray]

Thanks guys... so far the bulbs and fuses are good... next I'll check for power at the fuses, but I need to buy a tester first.

I'll think I'll order the relay in the meantime... thanks for the link, Steve.

[RJ Gilliam]

What I did was switch the high beams and the low beam wires to narrow the problem down. Turned out to be my switch.

[Early_S_Man]

Derek,

The relay that is in your car's headlamp circuit can be substituted with the horn relay for testing purposes.

Also, the relays that others are talking about adding are necessary because the lamp circuitry was never updated from the initial loads of 45 Watt high beams and 40 Watt low beams in the original Type 'A' bulbs of 1963!

Generally, general purpose DIN 'icecube' relays are the best value, in the $4 - $10 range from many sources.

[Loual]

In my '75, one high beam didn't work, and upon checking the fuses, I noticed one of the wires attached to the fuse was badly corroded. I simply undid the screw holding in that wire, snipped off the tip of the corroded wire, stripped back a bit of insulation to expose fresh wire, and reattached. Done. The most interesting finding was that there are separate fuses for each high beam. Good luck.

[DJB]

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the upgrade please?