Hey guys, simple question? When you're driving during the day (headlights are off) and want to signal someone with the high beams, if you hit the dimmer switch, are they supposed to come on? Mine don't and all other car's I've ever driven they work......I was asking so I know if I gotta problem or this is how the car was designed from the get go.....

Another reason why I'm asking is because I upgraded to LED H4 bulbs and my low beam bulbs (outer lights) staying on high. So I tested the leads and the green wire is getting 6 volt feedback from somewhere, somehow ??? Like huh? That's why I'm thinking my dimmer switch might be bad maybe? But that's a very simple switch, why would it have any crossover voltage? Why 6V and not 12V if it's bad? Unless again, that's how it was designed from the factory......


and yes, I did de-pinned the green and yellow or pink, whatever you want to call it and swapped them......


If you ever messed with the headlights and frontal wiring, please chime in.....any info, big or small would be helpful and appreciated

 

Of course. For whatever reason you hit the dimmer switch, including that one.

Because the headlights aren't grounded. Instead, the low beams are "grounded" via the high-beam filaments. You end up with 2 bulbs in series, each dropping about half the available voltage across them.

That would be a hard NO.

Visit the headlight bulb sockets. Observe that there are some colored wires and a black at each one. Follow the black to wherever it goes. Verify that it's solidly connected, and that the connection is clean and free of corrosion, paint, or any other foreign matter. Wouldn't hurt to put a star washer between the terminal on the end of the black wire and the ground surface.

 

A ha!! So I do have an issue.....great to know! Thank you again for this info and of course, passed resolved issues now.....

I'm gonna get under the hood and start cleaning all the grounds.....perfect place to start

 

To answer your first question, with the headlight switch off, no, no amount of flicking the high/low beam lever is gonna make your high beams flash, because that functionality simply isn't wired into the system, such as it is on modern cars.

Please take a close look at your 1987 headlight wiring in this diagram for the answer. When the headlight switch is off, there is no power being fed to the headlight dimmer switch, and there is no other electrical provision to provide the headlight dimmmer switch with power to light the high beams when the headlight switch is off. I realize you have a Camaro VS the Firebird wiring shown, but minus the headlight door wiring of the Firebird, and the 2 VS 4 headlights of the Firebird VS Camaro, both car's headlight wiring is the same.

Bottom line = no other source of constant power power available to the headlight dimmer switch while the headlight switch in the off position (and no other set of switch contacts for the high beams to make use of that presently not available constant power source) means no flashing of the high beams when the stalk is pulled. There are no "features from the future" wired into our cars...

 

Got it....oh wow, OK, so now I gotta find the constant High beam on in the outer bulbs in low beam switch configuration.....the diagram will definitely be useful

Thank you

 

Not quite sure what your getting at here........

My above answer was only regarding your question regarding whether you should be able to flash the high beams with the headlight switch off. I haven't yet addressed any of the rest of your opening post's question(s). Perhaps when my mind is fresh I'll examine the rest of your post to try to decipher what your lookin for there.

In closing, I'll present the 1992 Camaro headlight wiring. As you know, 1992 was the last year of our beloved third gen F bodies, and even the 1992 cars had no provision for flashing the high beams with the headlight switch off.....

 

No, I was referring to my second issue with the lights. (My LED bulbs in Lo beam setting, have hi beams on....tested the hi beam green wire and shows 6 volts somehow)
I'm gonna trace wiring and clean the grounds, wherever they might be.....just for $hits n giggles, I'm gonna change the dimmer switch with a NOS OEM one and see if that changes anything.....I'll update when I get it checked out hopefully this week ......

You've answered the flashing high beams with light switch off....and that's a NO go for flashing

 

To answer the OP question, no, stock third gens didn't have a flash-to-pass dimmer switch. However, there was a DIY article to retrofit one into an early 90s B-body, which I have done to a G-body,, which very likely will work in an -F-body. The LED issues are separate.

 

Really? I'd love to do that.....does it just require wiring or actual kit? I'd be 100% interested.....

 

The pigtail is different, an additional 12v hot wire is added, and the switch from a ~95 Fleetwood is used. This is not for an F-body, but has info that may apply.
http://www.goldsswagon.com/Impala%20...ior_flash_pass

 

Well; Unless the F-Body is a Berlinetta with the "Flash-to-Pass" feature !!

Some aftermarket headlights have the terminals that are configured so the lights can be plugged directly into the factory Headlight harness plugs. However,... the terminal configuration is NOT the same as a factory bulb. I've seen this happen on 2 cars and what ends up happening is the HIGH beam switch on the column ends up overheating and melting. I would recommend looking over the documentation provided with your aftermarket headlights to see what they suggest as far as installation. My assumption is that you might have to re-pin the terminals on the factory headlight plug so they are a match for the aftermarket bulbs.

 

Thank you...will look over....

 

I tried to find the dimmer switch for 1982-84 Berlinetta with that feature and no luck.... The fleetwood switch has 4 spade connectors, our stock one has 3, which makes sense.....hmmmmmmmmmm

 

I may be wrong, but I believe that green wire for the high beams is also the ground for the fog lights. I've seen other threads referencing grounding the green at the fog light relay so turning them on doesn't turn off your high beams. May be worth looking through that circuit as well to make sure something's not fishy there. Since the LEDs don't need as much power, it could be feeding enough through there to keep them on.

 

Uhhhhh.....there's a great idea worth exploring.....thanx