Auto Headlight Question

Chris89cougar

Registered User
Hey Guys, my car has been sitting for a couple months now because of the weather. It has been in the 50's this week, so I figured I wood take the car out for a drive. It was dark and my headlights didn't come on like they should have. I can turn them on manually though. What could be the problem?

Thanks,
Chris
 
Last edited:
Chris89cougar said:
Hey Guys, my car has been sitting for a couple months now because of the weather. It has been in the 50's this week, so I figured I wood take the car out for a drive. It was dark and my headlights didn't come on like they should have. I can turn them on manually though. What could be the problem?

Thanks,
Chris

come on guys help a brother out
 
Have you accidentally turned off the thumbwheel switch or covered the sensor near the windshield ?
 
Assuming everything else works in your car which would mean that all fuses are intact, if the front parking lamps come on automatically, then the autolamp dual coil relay needs to be replaced.
If neither the front parking lamps or the headlamps come on automatically, then your problem could be with the light sensor/amplifier (which is attached to the underside of the long plastic trim strip behind the instrument cluster hood) or the dual coil relay (a black rectangular relay under the dash near the steering column).
If you know how to check for voltage then you can avoid swapping components unnecessarily. The dual coil relay is a good place to start as it is the easiest to access. The connectors for the light sensor/amplifier and the autolamp switch are also quite easy to get to.
 
J.D. said:
Have you accidentally turned off the thumbwheel switch or covered the sensor near the windshield ?
If you cover the sensor the lights will come on even if it is daylight, not keep them from coming on.
 
JD, did you get your info from the Ford service manual? Just curious, the auto headlights in my Cougar have never worked and I'd love to fix it, but I never knew what to check. I'm still a little sketchy on your description.
 
I used the circuit diagram in the 1992 EVTM and experience with fixing my auto headlights. The headlights were always on because the opening in the fabric dash cover was not large enough. It wasn't the easiest to figure out as I only had the Haynes and Chiltons manuals ar the time.
Checking for 12 volts at the white/purple wire to the dual coil relay will show you whether the light sensor/amplifier is trying to turn on the lights.
 
Maybe they changed something in 92 because I am pretty sure my light sensor is on the windshield. Or am I not understanding something?
 
The sensor /amplifier is below the little grille in the trim panel in the attached picture. The trim panel is on top of the dashboard, behind the instrument cluster, near the base of the windshield.
 

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Hey thanks JD, it turned out to be the dual coil relay. I checked the white/purple wire and the voltage was 10.6v so I put a spare one in and the headlights came on again.
 
I Put electrical tape over the sensor cover so I have daytime running lights. Its nice never to have to worry about your headlights. I have enough to worry about than have to worry about if I left my headlights on.
 
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