Easy fix 4 your Headlight Headaches!
08-22-08, 03:54 PM
#28
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I did the same as PercentSevenC. A friend was parting an 85 GSL and gave me the cluster. I replaced it thinking something was wrong with mine. It had the same issue. I decided to look at the one that was out and on the back of each side it has three screws. I took them out and there I found what caused the highbeams and windshield washer not to work. There was carbon buildup and corrosion. I took a dremel tool and with a brass wired brush and cleaned out all the corrossion. Applied contact cleaner to clean off all the old grease. Once dried I applied just regular lithium grease with a q-tip. Assembled it in less then 10 minutes. Placed everything back and it worked like a charm. One thing. The cluster has a screw the tightens it to the shaft but I also discovered that it has in the back towards the guages a little tab you have to raise. This tab has a knotch that keeps the cluster centered. Usually people will pull the cluster thus causing the knotch to break off. No problem. Just make sure that when you place the cluster back, tighten the screw. Now I have a spare that works fine. With just running contact cleaner and not greasing it again, it wont last as long as taking the time and cleaning it with a brush. If need be my spare still has not been cleaned I can also take pictures of how I cleaned it. Good luck!
Last edited by ireyes; 08-22-08 at 03:57 PM. Reason: Typo
01-11-09, 06:45 PM
#29
Just wanted to say thank you.
My high beams were not working, and I had narrowed it down to the switch. Took everything apart, and decided to just disassemble the whole switch since it was just a little more effort. Everything is working well now.
Remember to watch for those ball bearings. Finding them is a pain.
Also, any Canadians attempting this, you can buy the cleaner at a local Source CC store. Its called contact and head cleaner.
My high beams were not working, and I had narrowed it down to the switch. Took everything apart, and decided to just disassemble the whole switch since it was just a little more effort. Everything is working well now.
Remember to watch for those ball bearings. Finding them is a pain.
Also, any Canadians attempting this, you can buy the cleaner at a local Source CC store. Its called contact and head cleaner.
01-12-09, 08:06 AM
#31
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Pictures of the combo switch disassembly and cleaning.
http://intertron.com/ron/combo.html
http://intertron.com/ron/combo.html
Rich
01-12-09, 09:18 AM
#32
Pictures of the combo switch disassembly and cleaning.
http://intertron.com/ron/combo.html
http://intertron.com/ron/combo.html
Great, although I don't think the labeling of the wire connections matches the wiring diagram 100%. Is that an 84-85 or an 83-earlier?
01-12-09, 10:38 AM
#34
Hmmm. You're right. I did that 5 or 6 years ago. I definitely mixed up some wire color labels. The pictures are of two different 84-85 switches. I think the individual components are the same for 81-85, but the 84-85 don't have the hazard built into the top of the switch. Damn now I'll have to find the original pictures and label them correctly. Thanks for the heads up.
01-12-09, 11:10 AM
#35
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Rich
01-12-09, 12:19 PM
#36
Anytime baby!
If you do get down to the contacts a pink eraser (on the end of a pencil) is an excellent tool for cleaning the copper contacts and making them look like new.
A trick from the old slot car racing days.
Right on.
A trick from the old slot car racing days.
Right on.
02-04-09, 06:17 PM
#37
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Thanks,
Rich
02-04-09, 09:16 PM
#38
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I didn't use anything on them after cleaning. Still not having any issues. I would be hesitant to recommend dialectric grease, because the purpose of that stuff is to prevent electrical conduction rather than encourage it. 
02-05-09, 08:10 AM
#39
?????
I thought dielectric grease promoted electrical contact, that's why we put it on the back side of our igniters, to assure good ground contact with the dizzy body. Am I completely wrong about this?
I agree though that the electrical contacts shouldn't need grease or anything else to keep them from corroding, just a good periodic cleaning and reasonable efforts to protect them from corrosives.
Also, back to the original subject of the thread, a simple home made replacement for the teflon grommets that connect the linkage to the ball joints in the headlight assembly, I'm still curious if this works.
It seems to me that the stock plastic joints provide a very tight and specific fit, creating strong and flexible connections for the lifting arms. At $40 a pop the replacement arms are expensive, but in my experience the original parts hold up pretty well, I've only had one or two of the plastic joints break over the many years I've been driving 84/85 GSLs. By rotating used parts and when necessary buying a new one from Mazdatrix or the dealer once in awhile (I bought one once, about 6 years ago) I've been able to keep my headlight lifters in good shape.
I just love it when my headlights pop up silently and snap precisely into place.
I thought dielectric grease promoted electrical contact, that's why we put it on the back side of our igniters, to assure good ground contact with the dizzy body. Am I completely wrong about this?
I agree though that the electrical contacts shouldn't need grease or anything else to keep them from corroding, just a good periodic cleaning and reasonable efforts to protect them from corrosives.
Also, back to the original subject of the thread, a simple home made replacement for the teflon grommets that connect the linkage to the ball joints in the headlight assembly, I'm still curious if this works.
It seems to me that the stock plastic joints provide a very tight and specific fit, creating strong and flexible connections for the lifting arms. At $40 a pop the replacement arms are expensive, but in my experience the original parts hold up pretty well, I've only had one or two of the plastic joints break over the many years I've been driving 84/85 GSLs. By rotating used parts and when necessary buying a new one from Mazdatrix or the dealer once in awhile (I bought one once, about 6 years ago) I've been able to keep my headlight lifters in good shape.
I just love it when my headlights pop up silently and snap precisely into place.
02-05-09, 09:31 AM
#40
As for the rest of your bushing talk, you are in the wrong thread bud.
02-05-09, 10:12 AM
#41
Here's what the dictionary says about "dielectric": "a nonconductor of direct electric current".
"Dielectric heating" is "the rapid and uniform heating throughout a nonconducting material by means of a high-frequency electromagnetic field".
So thanks Ken and Sgt. Fox for the the clarification.
I wonder what they put in that dielectric grease to create a "high-frequency electromagnetic field"? Seems like such a thing, metal maybe, would also promote electrical conductivity, but I guess not.
Whoops and now I see this is Ken's post about fixing the headlight switch, not the recent one about fixing your head light lifters. Boy, I'm messing up todya!
"Dielectric heating" is "the rapid and uniform heating throughout a nonconducting material by means of a high-frequency electromagnetic field".
So thanks Ken and Sgt. Fox for the the clarification.
I wonder what they put in that dielectric grease to create a "high-frequency electromagnetic field"? Seems like such a thing, metal maybe, would also promote electrical conductivity, but I guess not.
Whoops and now I see this is Ken's post about fixing the headlight switch, not the recent one about fixing your head light lifters. Boy, I'm messing up todya!
02-05-09, 11:13 AM
#42
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The most common automotive use for dialectric grease is on spark plug boots to keep the spark from jumping to the motor rather than sparking at the tip... Or at the other end of the wires, on the cap or at the coils, to serve the same purpose.
02-05-09, 02:06 PM
#44
Dielectric grease is an insulating agent. Most types also serve as a waterproofing sealer, but it depends on the type.
Dielectric heating is a completely different thing, Ray. Dielectric heating is an effect of HF fields. Not a lot of those present inside automotive applications.
Modern vehicles have taken to filling exterior bulb connectors with dielectric grease to make for easier weatherproofing. The concept is that spring pressure in the connector will squeeze the grease out of the way of the contacts actually allowing for current flow, but the grease will seal out air and water, preventing corrosion. Since the contact is maintained after being initially made, this works out pretty well.
Putting it in a switch would require that the contacts reliably squeeze the grease out from between the contacts, every time the switch is operated, otherwise the switch would not close properly. YMMV, but I myself would not use it in that application.
Dielectric grease is not the stuff you should use on the back of ignitors - - it doesn't necessarily transport heat well, since most types are silicone based and silicone is both an electrical and thermal insulator.
Thermal paste is what you want back there, to encourage heat transfer from the ignitor to the dizzy, which acts as a heatsink. The cheap stuff works well enough; you don't have to go the Arctic Silver route!
Dielectric heating is a completely different thing, Ray. Dielectric heating is an effect of HF fields. Not a lot of those present inside automotive applications.
Modern vehicles have taken to filling exterior bulb connectors with dielectric grease to make for easier weatherproofing. The concept is that spring pressure in the connector will squeeze the grease out of the way of the contacts actually allowing for current flow, but the grease will seal out air and water, preventing corrosion. Since the contact is maintained after being initially made, this works out pretty well.
Putting it in a switch would require that the contacts reliably squeeze the grease out from between the contacts, every time the switch is operated, otherwise the switch would not close properly. YMMV, but I myself would not use it in that application.
Dielectric grease is not the stuff you should use on the back of ignitors - - it doesn't necessarily transport heat well, since most types are silicone based and silicone is both an electrical and thermal insulator.
Thermal paste is what you want back there, to encourage heat transfer from the ignitor to the dizzy, which acts as a heatsink. The cheap stuff works well enough; you don't have to go the Arctic Silver route!
02-15-09, 12:27 AM
#50
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Good thread. I am also having an issue with no brights. I'll half to look into this, but I think i may just have to replace the whole damb thing. My turnsignals don't return, and my stearing wheel colapses and pulls back. kind of annoying but the brights are my biggest issue since i'm already use to the colapse and the manual turnsignal return. so I'm going to give this a try. thanks for the info