1986 911 No Headlights

[Greg Greer]

My Headlights do not work on low or high beam. I have parking lights and can pull the turn signal stalk to get high beams and the fuses look good from a visual check (= Headlight Switch?).. It does have the H4 lights. Any advice greatly appreciated. It is time for state inspection this May.

[porwolf]

It could very well be the turn signal switch on the steering wheel. There are quite a few threads on it here, on the technical forum. Let us know if you need links.

[pete3799]

May want to clean the fuse contacts. A lot of times the fuse is fine but is not making a good connection.
A wire wheel on a Dremmel works great for shining up the surfaces. Good idea to disconnect the battery first.

[Rot 911]

The headlight wiring goes through the turn signal stalk. Which means all of the power for the headlights is in that wiring. Time for a new turn signal stalk switch and relays for the headlights. I don't know if the Sucro relays are still available, but here is what a set up would look like:

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

The headlight wiring goes through the turn signal stalk. Which means all of the power for the headlights is in that wiring. Time for a new turn signal stalk switch and relays for the headlights. I don't know if the Sucro relays are still available, but here is what a set up would look like:

Headlight relays for certain.

That pic is of our '86.

Here's another:

[Horrido]

Had a similar situation with my SC. It was the contacts in the Turn Signal/ Hi Beam-Low Beam selector. Took about an hour to sort out.

Dan

[Greg Greer]

Thanks for all of the good ideas. Mrs. Greg did some inspecting herself today, armed with the wiring diagram from the Bentley. When the ignition is off, all four parking lights come on when you push the turn signal lever up or down, instead of up/right, down/left like it is supposed to. I can't flash my headlights, either. So, something must definitely be going on with that lever. There are no tail lights, which, if she reads the wiring diagram correctly, are not connected to the lever, so something is probably wrong with the switch as well. With fuse failure alone, I would not anticipate high beams. Does this logic sound correct?

[ghiaholic]

Had something similar - turns out that one of my big feet hooked the connector that goes through the firewall and loosened it enough that I lost partial lighting as you have.

[kidrock]

Greg, your issue is probably caused by the stalk itself and not the switch. The stalk going bad is a common issue with these cars. You can easily repair it yourself, or you can spend $100 on a new stalk. Lots of threads on this.

[JQ911]

Same thing happened to me last year. I lost my lo/hi beam but all the rest works. Apparently, the contact bars of my signal switch was broken/toasted. I changed my signal switch (stalk). Got it cheap here $35.00 at the used section and problem solved.

[A horse with no name]

Originally Posted by Greg Greer

Thanks for all of the good ideas. Mrs. Greg did some inspecting herself today, armed with the wiring diagram from the Bentley. When the ignition is off, all four parking lights come on when you push the turn signal lever up or down, instead of up/right, down/left like it is supposed to. I can't flash my headlights, either. So, something must definitely be going on with that lever. There are no tail lights, which, if she reads the wiring diagram correctly, are not connected to the lever, so something is probably wrong with the switch as well. With fuse failure alone, I would not anticipate high beams. Does this logic sound correct?

Hi ..> Also check what Ghiaholic suggested...There are two connectors that connect the loom under the dash... They are male - black plugs - about the size of a quarter mounted on what we would normally call a fire wall ...Basically in line with the steering column or ignition switch. - One of these loom connectors power 'some of' your lights. 'IF' it is some how not tight in the socket - or is out - this possibly may part of your issue.

[kidrock]

Originally Posted by A horse with no name

Hi ..> ...There are two connectors that connect the loom under the dash... They are male - black plugs - about the size of a quarter mounted on what we would normally call a fire wall ...Basically in line with the steering column or ignition switch.

Good point, these come loose occasionally. They are called "bulkhead connectors".

[86911tlcab]

Did you test for voltage at the correct pins on the fuse panel (on an SC it is pin 6 and 7 for the hi/low beams)? at a minimum that can help isolate the problem. i had a problem with high/low beams not working and followed the advice on here and fixed it with a small piece of hard plastic and a file...minimal effort and no cost... here is link to a thread which helps...

turn signal switch quick fix pictures

[Greg Greer]

As always, for everyone who has helped out, we thank you. It is because of advice over the years that have we have been able to keep our stable on a shoestring, and we appreciate it.

Now the update...

(1) Tail lights fully operational. Mrs. Greg issues a mea culpa, it is difficult to be behind the car and in the driver's seat at the same time in order to count bulbs accurately. Thus, we have ruled out the switch.

(2) Using the photos with description posted by Rot 911 combined with the Bentley, it looks like we are dealing with a botched relay job on our hands. We have contacted the previous owner for illumination as to what have might been going on here.

(3) Because of the wiring we are going to proceed as above advised, and replace the stalk. If it's not bad now, it probably will be at some point, so might as well. We've checked connections and fuses-- all good.

Worst case scenario, Mrs. Greg is a legal resident of Illinois, where they don't care about such things, as long as your checks are submitted in a timely fashion to The Powers That Be. If such a scenario is available to you, we highly recommend it, as it has saved our bacon on a number of occasions.

"Famous last words: 'Installation is the reverse of removal.'"

[jaywsgz]

Good idea to disconnect the battery first.

[Greg Greer]

We got her all back together last night, and now everything is working perfectly. Passing state inspection is now no longer an issue, and we can even drive at night if we want to. Of course, there would have to be one lingering issue: when we were under the dash, we found a disconnected wire. We looked and looked, but couldn't find out where it attaches. It comes out of the firewall, and attached to the black/green/white wire coming off of the turn signal switch's pigtail. Hazards, perhaps? Anyone got a clue as to where to look for the other end?
Here's the loose end: