Alright, i have a problem with my brights. I have to push down on the steering wheel or tilt it all the way down for my brights switch to work. Also, sometimes the lights just shut off all together when i try to mess with the brights. It's kinda scarey when that happens while I'm cruising down the highway at night doing 75...

Thanks guys...

 

sounds like a worn contact or broken wire in the column that is making contact only when u press down or tilt it down

 

Have you ever taken apart your steering column--maybe to tighten-up the tilt "donut?" If so, is it possible you didn't get the brights reassembled correctly? I've been there, lol! And since I rarely use them, I didn't know it for quite awhile--'til one night I wanted them, and... NO BRIGHTS, lol.

It's a very simple mechanical set-up, but if you weren't paying attention to it when you took things apart, it can be very frustrating to figure out when reassembling it.

But if nothing's ever been taken apart, then sorry, I don't know. d_ is probably right.

OR, the brights are switched by a long thin metal pole that's simply pushed forward by the turn signal lever. Could you have been under the dash lately and maybe moved something like that out of your way, not realizing where it went or that it did anything special?

 

i have a similar problem in my 89

if i have the steering wheel slightly turned, the switch won't click and turn the brights on.... the wheel has to be straight...

is this normal or a sign of a soon-breaking switch? my cousin's 91 switch broke recently and she can't turn her brights off ...

 

I sure wish you all would've had this problem a couple of weeks ago, lol. I had my column apart to tighten up the tilt--AGAIN(it never stays!), and I could've taken pix of how it works. As much as I'd love to disassemble it again for you, HAHA, it's a real pain, so, ok, no.

I don't see how the brights switch can break though. It's a simple, old-fashioned set-up that's not "technological" at all. The only things I can think would happen are that either the long thin metal pole came out of its socket under the dash, or the lever that the turn signal pushes on came out of it's aligned position inside the column.

When reassembling the steering column, aligning that primitive brights set-up is the most complicated thing to do. It's a real pain because it has to be done in conjunction with sliding the column cover back on. But if you wanna pull it all apart, I'll try to remember the steps for you.

But first, drop the cover from the bottom of the dash and look to be sure that long thin metal pole is in it's place--in a little socket-like hole in a white plastic thingie. How's that for technological, lol. If that's in place, then the problem's inside the steering column.