[67 ProTouring Catalina]

my catalina's lights work fine when the switch is in the 'parking light' position, but when you pull it out for the headlights, the front parking lamps go out, and the headlights do not work, hitting the highbeam switch on the floor does nothing either ?
do you guys know if a switch from a 68' Catalina, Bonneville, Impala would be the same switch, local parts place dont show a listing for the 67' switch.

[mike nixon]

Park lights should go out when theheadlights are on. At least my Dad's did on his.
Pul the plug on the dimmer swithc and make sure it's getting or not getting power from the headlight switch. out of every 10 lamp issues I see 1 is a headlamp switch. The other 9 are dimmer issues.

[Stuart]

Yes, the dimmer switches can go bad - they sit under the carpet and get gummed up from dirt and moisture over the years. If you do suspect the dimmer, you should be able to unplug the wire harness connector from it and use a couple short jumper wires to simulate the switch operation.

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Yes, the dimmer switches can go bad - they sit under the carpet and get gummed up from dirt and moisture over the years. If you do suspect the dimmer, you should be able to unplug the wire harness connector from it and use a couple short jumper wires to simulate the switch operation.

great idea, i will try that out and see what i come up with, do you know if the headlight switch for another year will work in the 67' ??

[stevep]

63-68 Big car may work.

[importsmasher]

I ran into this issue about 10 years ago with my 67 wagon. I was not able to find the correct switch. The closest I found had one less terminal on it. I relocated a wire (I don't remember which one) and everything worked except the dash lights didn't come on when only the parking lights were on. I later switched to a GP front clip and used the correct GP headlight switch so I don't have that setup in my car anymore and can't go back and look at what I did.
Importsmasher

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

i was afarid that would be the case, well, i guess i can always bypass and run seperate switches

[Peter Serio]

Could you post a photo of your present 1967 switch? I need to see a view from the top down where the wires plug-in. And a photo of the plug showing the wire colors would be helpful as well.

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

Could you post a photo of your present 1967 switch? I need to see a view from the top down where the wires plug-in. And a photo of the plug showing the wire colors would be helpful as well.

i will pull it and snap some pics, i am finishing up a fuel pump install on the car right now, hopefully i dont break any dash parts gettin 'it out !

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

Could you post a photo of your present 1967 switch? I need to see a view from the top down where the wires plug-in. And a photo of the plug showing the wire colors would be helpful as well.

i finally got it out Peter, let me know if the pics are good enough. it does seem to have some "bluecheese" growing on it

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

and here are the others

[Peter Serio]

Just so I understand, on your car when you pull the switch out to the 1st detent the parking lamps, dashlights as well as the taillamps come on then when you pull it out all the way the front parking lamps go out and the headlamps come on?

I have been studying these switches and there are several variations of them as to the tabs and that way they are wired. The internal "slider" copper contacts seem to conduct similarly within the various types.

On your car the thicker red wire with the white tracer is the main power feed that runs directly from the battery. On the pathways which are visible you can see a heavy gauge bridge that jumpers 12 volts over from pin #1 over to plug #4.

The green and double gray wires (#2 & #3) are the flow-thru for your dash (instrument) lights. They run the current from the fuseblock via a small amp fuse thru the adjustable resistor so you can vary the brightness. The purple wire (#7) runs from the switch to power your front parking lights only. The light blue wire (#6) is your main headlamp output down to the dimmer switch. The brown wire with the white tracer (#5) is your output to your taillights. The white wire is a ground for your interior courtesy lamps. It only grounds when you rotate the twist knob all the way counter-clockwise.

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

Just so I understand, on your car when you pull the switch out to the 1st detent the parking lamps, dashlights as well as the taillamps come on then when you pull it out all the way the front parking lamps go out and the headlamps come on?

I have been studying these switches and there are several variations of them as to the tabs and that way they are wired. The internal "slider" copper contacts seem to conduct similarly within the various types.

On your car the thicker red wire with the white tracer is the main power feed that runs directly from the battery. On the pathways which are visible you can see a heavy gauge bridge that jumpers 12 volts over from pin #1 over to plug #4.

The green and double gray wires (#2 & #3) are the flow-thru for your dash (instrument) lights. They run the current from the fuseblock via a small amp fuse thru the adjustable resistor so you can vary the brightness. The purple wire (#7) runs from the switch to power your front parking lights only. The light blue wire (#6) is your main headlamp output down to the dimmer switch. The brown wire with the white tracer (#5) is your output to your taillights. The white wire is a ground for your interior courtesy lamps. It only grounds when you rotate the twist knob all the way counter-clockwise.

when i pull the switch to the first detent position, all of the parking lights & dash lights come on, front & rear, but when i pull the switch all the way out for the headlights, only the front parking lights under the bumper go out and the headlights do not come on ? the brake lights and parking lights in the rear always work, and the dome light works normally also, i have found the relay for the horn just beside the battery on the driver/side core-support area, but have not located a headlight relay yet, it must be hidden behind the headlights somewhere, in front of the core-support, this car is very sealed off in the front, it kinda hard to see in that area at all, do you know where they are mounted on this car? i'm gonna have to start pulling it apart, i ordered a new dimmer and headlight switch, we'll have those in today and see if i get lucky but wow, you must have seen a few of those wires/plugs before to know which one goes where huh ? i wish i could do that

[Peter Serio]

I don't think there is a relay wired into the headlamp circuit. The light blue wire runs down to the bright beam switch on the floor and from there 2 more wires branch off (one lime green and one tan) on your car those 2 wires may be different colors, (I am going off of my car which is a 1963 Lemans).

Have you checked your front bulbs yet? it is very uncommon but I have seen one headlamp burn out on the low beam side and then the other within a day or 2 of each other. Have you tried to turn on the headlamps and then click-over to the high beams?

I have read the many posts within the 64-5 and 66-67 Lemans-GTO section about having the headlamps and the parking lamps on together. I am doing that on my 63 lemans.

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

I don't think there is a relay wired into the headlamp circuit. The light blue wire runs down to the bright beam switch on the floor and from there 2 more wires branch off (one lime green and one tan) on your car those 2 wires may be different colors, (I am going off of my car which is a 1963 Lemans).

Have you checked your front bulbs yet? it is very uncommon but I have seen one headlamp burn out on the low beam side and then the other within a day or 2 of each other. Have you tried to turn on the headlamps and then click-over to the high beams?

I have read the many posts within the 64-5 and 66-67 Lemans-GTO section about having the headlamps and the parking lamps on together. I am doing that on my 63 lemans.

oh, ok, i'll test for power and ground at the connectors and see what i got, man, that would be just my luck, both low beams are burned out, , but the high-beams dont work either, we'll see what i find, so are you saying the front parking lamps are supposed to be off when the headlights are on ? if so, all i should have to do is just jump the purple wire with the brown w/white stripe wire yes ? then they should stay on all the time. or would you do it a different way?

[Peter Serio]

To have my headlamps and parking lamps on together but still retain the first detent operation as designed by GM I am using a 3 amp diode for my car, in-between the front lamp wire and the main headlamp wire soldered in at the switch plug-in. On some cars you can rearrange the wire in the plug-in but not yours.

If you simply conjoin wires together you can create a back-feed condition which will overtax a fuse or cause things to work differently and not as expected.


I would first concentrate on getting the headlamps to work properly before any customization.

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

To have my headlamps and parking lamps on together but still retain the first detent operation as designed by GM I am using a 3 amp diode for my car, in-between the front lamp wire and the main headlamp wire soldered in at the switch plug-in. On some cars you can rearrange the wire in the plug-in but not yours.

If you simply conjoin wires together you can create a back-feed condition which will overtax a fuse or cause things to work differently and not as expected.


I would first concentrate on getting the headlamps to work properly before any customization.

i agree, i was just curious as to what would be normal for the front parking lamps, i didnt want to be chasing something that was actually working correctly, lol but i would prefer the parking lamps to stay on when all the lights are on, once they all work

[67 ProTouring Catalina]

well Peter, the dimmer switch was the problem, once i pulled back the carpet, it was very nasty and rotted, the wires were still ok so in went the new new dimmer and everything worked fine, only after i tried the headlight switch first, which wasn't the problem but, i did install the new 68' headlight switch just to see if it would work, and only the headlights would work, nothing else, incase anyone was wondering, i did discover something ithought was very cool, when the High-Beams are on, the indicator in the dash is an old Pontiac Indian Head that lights up red !! i was happy, but thanks for all the help guys, and Peter, you were right on the money with all the wire locations, you are the man !

[Peter Serio]

Glad to be of some help, yes I think '67 or '68 was the last year where the parking lamps come on first (in the front) but when you pull the switch out all the way those go OFF when your headlamps come on.

It is a safety feature for them both to be on together on a 1960s car which we all take for granted nowadays! 1990s= (Daytime running lamps.)

There is a sticky in the 66-67 section and also a thread in the 64-65 about this but not one yet in the Full Size.

The FS cars are wired a bit differently than the A body cars so one would need to study the wiring diagram in the shop manual to come up with a solution. I am sure it can be done.