Erratic high-beams - very easy repair
 

My high-beams erratically came on. Issue got progressively worse over time and it became a real nuisance. I was ready to shell out 150$ for a new stalk switch when I came across this post. Credit goes to Won:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/248149-turn-signal-switch-quick-fix-pictures.html.

Off came the steering wheel and the plastic covers from the steering column. No need to take the switch out as this can be done with the switch staying in place. Nice. The first shot shows the culprit: With the switch in its normal low-beam position the power is touching both the low-beam contact (correct) and the high-beam ON contact (not good). Fortunately, I installed relays for low-beams and high-beams so no burned contacts. So rather than buying a new stalk invest your money in a relay kit. It'll save the contacts and make the stalk switch live much longer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1460313377.jpg


I used pointed flat pliers to bent the high-beam ON contact. Grab the contact at the base and then slightly rotate the pliers clockwise. With the ignition and lights off the contact will touch the metal lever below and flex a little. I have seen warnings of dorking this up but it's really that simple.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1460313677.jpg


Once you let go there is now a nice gap between the high-beam ON and the power contact while the switch is in its normal low-beam position. See here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1460313787.jpg

DONE

My guess is without relay kit once the high-beam ON contact starts to gravitate towards the power pin things get ugly. There is almost no force between the two and thus it will arc and burn the contact. Then you get contact resistance and with all the current going through the switch it'll melt the plastic actuator piece you can see on the metal lever. Some have crafted LEGO pieces or other plastic pieces on there to fix that.

So if you have erratic high-beams and no headlight relays (earlier models like mine) get it addressed to prevent further damage. And then invest the money you saved into a headlight relay kit.

Ingo

Good job!

Yup. For the lazier people rubbing some sand paper in the contacts works pretty well too. Sand both sides (flip it around after rubbing it in there).

-Wayne

On mine, that does not have the relay kit, the metal contact arm looked to have gotten hot and lost it tension, I got it back in shape so it snaps back but need the relay kit to take some amps off the little stalk I guess

This posting was a help to me, thanks to the posters. In my case the white cad vertical "push bar" was actually bent such that it did not push the contacts far enough away from the driver, i.e. no high beam. With 2 needle nose pliers I was able to straighten the push bar and voila we have a functional switch with high and low beam. I burnished the contacts also.
Now on to how this got started and installing the jwest headlight relay kit.

Old thread - similar problem.

I have low beam and flash function with momentary hi-beam, but no sustained hi beam when the lever is pushed forward. I have cleaned and checked the contacts and they seem to be OK and in the correct positions for lo and hi-beam. Is it possible that the problem is my dash light switch itself? However, why does the hi-beam 'flash' function work and not the hi-beam switch on the lever switch?

Thanks Merv

No takers? Is it possible the problem is in fact the light switch and not the indicator dimmer switch?

Merv,
The light switch has only one terminal output for the headlights and parkers. It's the hi/lo switch that divvies up which filament the headlight power goes to.

This post may alleviate your headlight switch anxieties:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/6591824-post3.html

Thanks Peter. That is helpful. I guess it just has to be the contact array then. I will have another go at it tomorrow on the bench with a separate 12v source to see what is happening.

Merv

No I don't believe it is the contact array in the indicator/dimmer switch/lever. Tested on the bench with a 12 source and seems fine. It could of course be breaking down under load.

I suspect that the lights switch on the dash is not all correct as there are a few wires added over the years by POs and some of the colours don't match up.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1564989689.jpg

Thanks Ingo: driving my 82 SC last week with the headlights on (make sure I wasn't invisible) I noticed the brights coming on by themselves. I hoped exercising the switch would work (hope springs eternal), but not so. I used Pelican's search function and now, having used your suggestion, all seems well. Much appreciated.

John

Glad it worked for you. Mine are still fine after all this time.

Ingo

I had to do the same thing with my brand new stalk after about a month of it being installed.
High beams would come on hitting a bump or making a turn using the signals.
Headlight relays were installed after the original one let the smoke out.
Has worked great since 2012 or so.

Repairing high beams
 

i know this post is from long ago but i've had the same issue on my 80 targa, installed the headlight relay and was going to replace the stalk when someone suggested checking out the forum for repairing it. took off the steering wheel and was fixed in less than 10 minutes. shut my garage and tested and low/high both work as they should (haven't in a while). SO satisfied. Thank you!

Glad I came across this thread. I had similar problems with low and high beams in my '88 Targa. Followed the instructions and fixed the problem in about 20 minutes. Saved me the expense of buying a new stalk switch. Thanks for this great forum.

Dear Ischmitz,

My 911 82 had the same issue, it was an easy fix.
Also followed the Wayne’s advice to slide a piece of sand paper between connectors.
They now work perfectly.
Thanks for this post.

Leonardo.
SmileWavySmileWavy
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595554942.jpg

Glad I found this. I spent two hours removing the AC venting under the dash of my 1973 911 E to replace the head light switch with one from a wrecked '71 I bought in about 1980. I got the job done and still had the same problem. After some quiet reflection I remembered doing this same job in about 1990, what I had done was take out the '71 switch and put the original '73 switch back in. With these cars don't throw anything away but do tag it if it has a problem.

High beam stalk switch
 

Glad I found this. I spent two hours removing the AC venting under the dash of my 1973 911 E to replace the head light switch with one from a wrecked '71 I bought in about 1980. I got the job done and still had the same problem. After some quiet reflection I remembered doing this same job in about 1990, what I had done was take out the '71 switch and put the original '73 switch back in. With these cars don't throw anything away but do tag it if it has a problem.

Hi, can someone explain the sandpaper method? I saw Wayne’s post above about rubbing both sides of the contacts but “flip it around after rubbing it in there”…flip what around? About to take this little project on this weekend. Thanks

Flip the sandpaper around to lightly abrade the other contact.