while tearing along in the dark across arizona last nite. .
the dash lights went out in my '68 dart.
thankfully the headlights are still on !!
so the dash went dark along with my 3 guage pod mounted below.
should I just change out the headlight switch on the dash to start?
the knob itself just spins around on the shaft and doesnt do anything.
where would I buy a headlight switch? thx-

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68 dart -4 doors with house paint, dents, satellite radio, and no rust
67 coronet -4 doors, quarter million miles, currently retired and growing older in the yard
73 charger -2 doors big block car, prowls phx in winter, sits inside during summer

Just the dash lights? Or are there other lights/gauges affected?
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

Yup, sounds like probably a dead rheostat in your headlamp switch. You can get a new replacement at NAPA (Echlin) or any Standard/BlueStreak stockist. They're made in Taiwan these days (sigh, what isn't...oh yeah, the stuff that's made in China isn't), but quality seems okeh so far.

BUT before you replace the switch, check if your brake lights and tail lights are working. The dash lights and the brake lights are on the same fuse to give you a heads-up when the safety lights at the back of the car are not working.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

the lights went out on the speedometer and the 3 guage pod mounted below. headlights and inside lite still working.

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68 dart -4 doors with house paint, dents, satellite radio, and no rust
67 coronet -4 doors, quarter million miles, currently retired and growing older in the yard
73 charger -2 doors big block car, prowls phx in winter, sits inside during summer

so what if the brake lites no longer work?
do I still change out the headlight switch in the dash?

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68 dart -4 doors with house paint, dents, satellite radio, and no rust
67 coronet -4 doors, quarter million miles, currently retired and growing older in the yard
73 charger -2 doors big block car, prowls phx in winter, sits inside during summer

Did they change that in the later A's? In all of the early A's I've had the dash lights had a dedicated fuse. The brake lights shared a fuse with the dome light and that's all.

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My Chilton's manual shows the '68 Darts having a 2 amp fuse for just the instrument panel lights, and the tail/stop/hazard lights having a 20 amp fuse. :shrug:

OK after snooping around thru the lighting system- changing out the switch was all that was needed. The switch currently costs $26 at Napa. The old one was a filthy mess. You must push this little button on the switch to take out the knob / shaft. On the knob, we drilled a little hole, then stuck in a little screw to stop it from twirling around. works fine now.

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68 dart -4 doors with house paint, dents, satellite radio, and no rust
67 coronet -4 doors, quarter million miles, currently retired and growing older in the yard
73 charger -2 doors big block car, prowls phx in winter, sits inside during summer

Better to reincarnate a thread and at least look like I did the research than just blurt it out, so here goes...

Same problem, except 63 Valiant. Just looking for confirmation that this is likely the same issue. Headlights and taillights work, no problem.

All dash lights out. Fuse is fine. In fact, I also have a vacuum gauge light wired to that fuse, and it doesn't even get going with the headlights on (which it did before last night).

Do I need this switch Rheostat? Is there part number? Will the Napa guys look at me like I've been smoking crack?

The replacement/Standard headlight switches are located here:

http://www.drivewire.com/basket.php?add_item_id=420026

But I notice that it says from 64 on. Will this not work for my 63? Seems odd, but maybe possible?[/url]

I'm no expert on electrical, but I can tell you that I did a swap of my '66 Barracuda's headlight switch and put it into my '63. All is fine.
I got mine off Epay USA because Downunder here they think that ours are gold plated (or at least they are priced that way).

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Gary from Downunder
2 weeks ago I couldn't even spell mukanic - now I are one!

Thanks Aussieplymouths. I figured that would be the case. The switches are actually freely available at parts stores, actually, so I think they're very compatible.

When you're shopping for a 63 Valiant, I find a lot of stuff is like: Compatible with 64-76 or OE Replacement for 64-69.

It's almost as if 63 didn't exist!

I recently bought a headlight switch for $8 at rockauto.com. $13 after shipping. it's "Standard"

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'73 Scamp (the girlfriend): 225ci super/6 2BBL conversion (Almost done!)
'90 Subaru, wagon (the wife): H4-cyl 2.2L

1977 Mercedes-Benz 300D, 5cyl diesel(For sale!)