electrical problem

[jlportugal]

Hi,

While fixing the electricity of my Avanti 1981, I discover that when I switch on the lights ( L/H beam) with the switch above the windscreen, the illumination of the indications in the central column ( windows, deicer, a lite) goes off. What is the problem?

Thank you for your answer

Jean Louis

[Jim78]

The indicator lights should come on with the headlights, not go off.  It almost sounds like there is a wire on the wrong lug of the switch.  There is some information about the electrical circuits to be found on Bob Johnstone's web site.

http://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/Diagrams/aec/aec.html

 

[Skip Lackie]

I would check the grounds on the indicator lamps.  Bad grounds are a common problem on fiberglass cars, and can cause weird things like lights that go off when they're turned on and/or coming on dimly when they're off and something else is turned on.

[mfg]

I'd pull the headlight master off/on switch from the overhead console and clean all four (?) connections.

Also, I think we'll probably see more and more of these headlight master switches failing, as they are really quite fragile, and were never designed to last this many years.

Pick up a spare if you can!....mfg

 

(DISCONNECT BATTERY BEFORE WORKING ON THAT MASTER SWITCH!!)

Edited January 8, 2017 by mfg