75 headlight switch to Painless harness

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Bearzerker

Bearzerker

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Aug 16, 2017
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Colorado
hi All- I would like to connect a stock headlight switch to my painless harness. Is this doable with simple wire connection? I have all my wires labeled except a few brown painless wires, but don't want to fry my gritty old switch by connecting something I shouldn't. The wires don't match up exactly: stock switch has 6 wires with 2 coming from the pilot meter plug, the painless has 6 wires with 2 small brown ones lacking any labeling i can see. I am fine with blowing thru a few fuses on this hunt, just not my switch (which may not even work). Cheers and thanks
 
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Do you have a FSM, so you can id the wires in the switch?
 
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pb4ugo said:
Do you have a FSM, so you can id the wires in the switch?
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I do. But it doesn't tell me why there are 2 wires coming from the "Meter" plug hole or what they are for. And the Painless wires only say TO headlight switch, not where they are from. Right now, I have headlights and dash lights. Still trying to figure out parking lights. The "Dimmer" wire from the switch... goes to the dash (rheostat)? Or is that for dimming headlights? I seem to have high and low beam working
 
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Bearzerker said:
I do. But it doesn't tell me why there are 2 wires coming from the "Meter" plug hole or what they are for. And the Painless wires only say TO headlight switch, not where they are from. Right now, I have headlights and dash lights. Still trying to figure out parking lights. The "Dimmer" wire from the switch... goes to the dash (rheostat)? Or is that for dimming headlights? I seem to have high and low beam working
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I see now that Dimmer is actually the headlight dim switch, not rheostat
 
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Bearzerker said:
(which may not even work)
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It's probably a really simple switch if it's anything like my '74, that I was just fiddling with recently, take it apart and see how it works, clean the contacts while you're in there. the power for the headlights goes through the dimmer switch on the steering column then to the headlights. First click of the switch goes to running lights, second click goes to the dimmer switch. See which of your spades are hot when.

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Pighead said:
It's probably a really simple switch if it's anything like my '74, that I was just fiddling with recently take it apart and see how it works, clean the contacts while you're in there. the power for the headlights goes through the dimmer switch on the steering column then to the headlights. First click of the switch goes to running lights, second click goes to the dimmer switch. See which of your spades are hot when.

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thankyou. no problems with the switch, I am trying to figure out how to mate the switch to the painless wiring. Your dimmer info is super handy!
 
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On my 72 the dimmer rheostat is for the instrument panel lights, the head light dimer switch is floor mounted.

For switch rebuilding. A cardboard box 12"w 18"l 6"d with a saran wrap band across the middle will allow your hands in from the open ends (helps keep flying parts in the box), and with good lighting is very handy. Try and bend open the tabs as little as possible. If they brake off - wrap the body with sewing thread and then dab with hot glue to put the switch back together. Better switches have a conductive coating on contact surfaces, try not to "sand" threw that layer cleaning. Dielectric grease on a q-tip is the easy way to apply a good thin layer.
 
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Success! Someone chopped up my dash for who knows why and left me with a mess. I like to keep things original cuz i like old trucks, so the hotrod switch had to go. So for anyone else facing this, you may have 6 Painless (PL) wires coming to your PL/GM or aftermarket switch. I took PL orange #759, Red PL combined to OEM switch wires Red and Green/red (tail power) combined. PL Brown headlight wires combined to OEM Green Tail wire. This gives me running lights at half pull on the OEM switch. PL Blue/yellow Dimmer wire to OEM Red/white Dimmer (no brainer there). Lastly, PL Brown Instrument wire to Combined OEM Red/black Meter wires. I wondered why I had 2 meter wires.... one of them goes to the OEM switch light, the other to the dash lights. My switch was missing the plug, so my switch won't light up til i find or make one of those tiny plugs. Hope this helps someone down the road and thanks to all of You

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