Is it possible to wire the headlight to 'flash' when pulling on the hi-low/turn signal arm when the lights are not on? For example if you're coming up on a slower car you 'flash' your lights to indicate you are going to pass...much like euro drivers do. If so does anyone have a diagram on how to accomplish this. My car has a '68 column and I assume '68 headlight switch and other components...haven't delved into the wiring to far yet.
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I can't tell you how it's wired, but Vintage cars can do that, even with the key in the off position. You just click the highbeam switch located on the turn signal stalk.
G.R., Does your dimmer stalk move one way for low beams and the other for high beams, or do you click it once for highs and then click it again in the same direction for lows?
If it's the latter, you may be able to use the same dimmer relay that VS uses to get the flash-to-pass feature.
G.R., Does your dimmer stalk move one way for low beams and the other for high beams, or do you click it once for highs and then click it again in the same direction for lows?
If it's the latter, you may be able to use the same dimmer relay that VS uses to get the flash-to-pass feature.
Yes mine works like the latter. Guess I'll contact VS and see what dimmer relay they use...should be easy to find I hope..
If you can't get whatever Vintage is using, I think the simplest way would be to add a second relay (a basic 40A SPST) to the pic below. So the second relay would be wired like:
Add these new wires (12 AWG):
+12V (fusebox) -> 30 (relay)
86 (relay) -> 30 (relay)
F (Dimmer) -> 87 (relay)
S (Dimmer) -> 85 (relay)
Move this existing wire:
White wire disconnected from F (Dimmer)
White wire connected to 87 (relay)
All other connections stay the same (S Dimmer is still connected to the dimmer switch). So you should have 2 wires going to S (Dimmer) and 2 wires going to 87 (relay).
That will allow temporary high beam activation regardless of headlight switch position. If the headlight switch is off, they'll only be on while the stalk is pulled back.
Justin - thanks for that Tech Tip and schematic! I learn something new EVERY TIME I visit this site!
The vintage turn signals are old VW high/low beam switches. I had my car for a year before I found I could flash the lights. I bought a VW in 67 new with the same switch and it did mot flash so I assumed it would be the same. Having owned a number of "real" Porsche I missed my chance to flash my lights at fellow enthusiasts. I was pleasantly surprised Kirk had wired that feature in.
Justin's diagram may be what most VW's had, but apparently for a time - or maybe only on euro-spec cars - VW supplied a special relay that did the beam dipping AND headlight flashing all in one relay. That's what's in my VS.
I'm pretty sure it's this:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...Code=VWC-111-941-583
Note that the wiring diagram on the side of the relay (showing what's going on inside the relay) is more complex than the one in Justin's photo. This relay has a '30' terminal that gets wired to a 12 volt source that's always 'hot'. In the case of my VS, it's wired to a terminal on the headlight switch that, in turn, is connected to the fuse block. But you could run a wire from the 30 terminal on the relay straight to the fuse block.
This is what supplies power for flashing the headlights when the headlight switch itself is turned off.
The 'S' terminal on the relay is what completes the circuit for either dipping the lights (if the headlight switch is on) or flashing the high beams (if the headlight switch is off). The S terminal needs to be connected to ground (NOT to 12 volts) to do it's thing.
So, the switch for dipping lights or flashing the high beams must supply a GROUND to the relay when activated.
G.R., it sounds like your high beam dipping is already controlled by a relay, but maybe one that doesn't have the flashing feature. Find the wire that connects your dipping switch to the relay and confirm that that wire is grounded when the switch is activated. If it's 'hot' instead, it won't work with the relay shown above.
Attachments
I'm glad you found the part number Vintage uses, it would certainly be simpler to use. It functions the same as my diagram+description, it just conveniently has both relays and the extra wiring in the same box.