headlight repair

[psanti]

The headlights in the 84 tercel, went out. When turned on, the brights indicator on the dash light up. Pulling the stick towards me, gets me brights, and when I put a test light on the headlight pigtail,, all three terminals show power???

[marlinh]

One of those wires should be a ground. One should have power on dim and the other on bright.

Maybe you have a problem in the switch or wiring to it. The headlights are fused separately.

[psanti]

I replaced the headlight relay b4 I put the test light on,, I went into the switch quite a bit,, what a can of worms.. found nothin so far,, Im thinkin next would be to go into the switch further by takeing off the steering wheel...

[psanti]

and the funny thing is it hasnt blow fuses

[Petros]

sounds like the multi switch. It could also be the wire bundle for the head lights got damaged and they are short cirted, but I would check the switch first. The switch is actually designed so it can be taken apart and contacts inspected and repaired if necessary. not that complicated to remove the steering wheel, the multi switch (you have to remove the trim on the steering column), and than take the switch apart. Of course you can verify the switch before you take it apart by just removing the steering column trip and unplug it and check the continuity at the contacts.

[ARCHINSTL]

This happened to me recently, but in the reverse - when I flicked on the brights, both headlamps went out; flicking the switch forward restored the low beams.
When I removed the switch, I noticed that the little ballbearing which makes contact between the connectors was stuck in its "holder."
I think a little WD-40 or similar should resolve the ball's stickiness. Be careful, though, to not allow the ball to enter the "holder" further; it can get stuck. Ask me how I know...
Since I had an extra switch set, I just swapped out the set - my Intermittent feature on misting was out anyway, so this worked well. I saved the set, of course, so will resolve both problems at some point.

While OT - put anti-seize or even just grease on the steering shaft splines - it will make future removal much easier. I had to borrow a puller for my wheel, as it had been on for 28 years and was quite tight.
Incidentally, the torque value for the fixing nut is 25 ft-lbs.
Tom M.

[Petros]

I have managed to remove the steering wheel on quite a few of the Tercels (and other cars) without a puller. I remove the nut, give the steering wheel a few good whacks with my hands and than wiggle it back and forth while pulling on it. IT has always worked, though more than a few times I get the steering wheel in my face (ouch!). You have to sit right in front of it and pull it straight back while wiggling back and forth fairly forcefully. Once that taper breaks loose it just slips right off.

[psanti]

I got behind the wheel, & resoldered a broken connection, still no good,, the weird symptom is that the bright indicator on the dash comes on, but the headlights dont

[Petros]

Important rule for repairing cars: always diagnose the problem before you try and fix it.

[psanti]

And this one is a real challenge