Automatic High Beams Don't switch

rickbtbird

Registered User
I've got the automatic high beam option on my bird and although the high beams do work manually, when switched to automatic mode they always stay in low. The amber light illuminates when in automatic by the dash light switch. I've tried covering the sensor and I was told unplugging the cable from it should turn the high beans on but that didn’t happen. Looking for some advise where else to start troubleshooting.
 
Check the Auto-lamp Dimmer Relay which switches between high and low beams. It's behind the lower dash near the driver's knees and has five wires. The wires for the relay's coil are yellow and gray-yellow. The red-yellow wire gets power when the headlights are turned on. The red-black wire supplies power to the low beams and the light green-black wire to the high beams.
 
Automatic high beams? When was that available, I always liked those things. If they weren't available in 91 could they be retro fitted?
 
They were available in the 89-91 models. I noticed that when you go around a curve, the lights would switch back and forth between high and low beams for each of the reflectors along the guard rail because the sensor would think that the reflected beam was an oncoming car's headlights. That may be one of the reasons that it was discontinued.
If you want to retrofit it, you will have to replace the wiring, the rearview mirror, the multifunction switch, the auto headlights switch, and add a relay.
 
Re: Switchin in curves

J.D. said:
I noticed that when you go around a curve, the lights would switch back and forth between high and low beams for each of the reflectors along the guard rail because the sensor would think that the reflected beam was an oncoming car's headlights.
Then you didn't have them adjusted correctly!!!!!!

68COUGAR
 
68COUGAR said:
Then you didn't have them adjusted correctly!!!!!!

68COUGAR

If you adjust them to be less sensitive, then they will switch to low beam later and blind oncoming traffic longer.
 
This for That

J.D. said:
If you adjust them to be less sensitive, then they will switch to low beam later and blind oncoming traffic longer.
Yeah, they ARE a pain to get adjusted to the best trade off! It could have been better engineered.

68COUGAR
 
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