Auto dim failing

Topic: Auto dim failing (Read 2756 times) previous topic - next topic

Auto dim failing

Reply #15 – March 01, 2013, 01:19:07 AM

I use all the features

I love them

Auto dim failing

Reply #16 – March 01, 2013, 06:57:44 PM

Quote from: jcassity;410277

I use all the features

I love them

I do as well. Except Autodim. I make sure everything on my Thunderbird works. Things that don't irritate the hell out of me.

Auto dim failing

Reply #17 – August 21, 2013, 10:19:23 PM

restarting a dead post, but...I just switched my original auto dim sensor for another one, and now the auto dim does not work at all. If i put my brights on and flip the dial on, the brights do not dim at all for any light. the switch wheel feels looser than the wheel for the auto lamp, leading me to believe maybe the thing the wheel is supposed to be adjusting has come undone?

I also don't understand what the people were saying earlier in this thread about 'bypassing' the sensor. My headlights are not affected at all by the auto dim. If I turn it on, it just dims the brights, it doesn't shut off my headlights completely. Rather than bypasing, it, couldn't you just turn the switch off???

Auto dim failing

Reply #18 – August 22, 2013, 08:52:54 PM

Situation report today...i tried the auto dim and it dimmed the brights, i suppose because it was still daylight out. I covered the sensor with my hand, but the brghts did not come on. 3 hours later, when it was dark, i tried it again, and it still had the brights dimmed, but this time they came back on when i put my hand over the sensor. This is leading me to believe it works when it wants to, perhaps a bad connection.

Auto dim failing

Reply #19 – August 31, 2013, 11:45:28 AM

pay attention to your surroundings when you test again at night.
a near by dusk to dawn light may keep the hi's off.

you are putting your hand over the mirror sensor, correct?

if it switched when you used your hand, then its saying "now its ok to power hi beams".

it tells me there is a light near by keeping dim enabled.

the thumbwheel needs to be operational otherwise is resistance it builds will not trigger the sensor correctly so yes if the wheel feels odd, swap to another.

This system is hard to work on with any light around and getting it to work in the daytime is a pain no matter how well you cover things up.
first the main headlamp switch needs to be off
next the auto lamp and auto dim thumbwheels need to be on only to the point where they both click to the on position.
then the sensor in the dash needs zero darkness for a period of time before it trips the relays to power on the headlamps.
next the mirror sensor needs no on coming light bulbshiznitting it in order to trigger the high beam relay.

ive learned not to troubleshoot this until its dark outside, then i put the car in the garage... i turn out the garage lights and that simulates perfect darkeness.
I even had trouble getting the high beams to come on once because i had a tool on the wall that was chrome and it reflected back to the mirror sensor, that in turn simulated a set of lights coming back to the mirror sensor. I had to throw a tarp over the wall to get rid of reflections.

tricky i know but wait till dark.
i have several schematics of this circuit posted in electrical tech and modified ones as well.

Auto dim failing

Reply #20 – August 31, 2013, 08:13:32 PM

i can now safely say, it works when it wants to. The other night, it was dark out, i was driving in town, the auto dim was working, dimming the brights for every steetlamp i hit, and whatnot. then i parked the car, and came back 2 hours later to drive home. Didn't work at all. If that sounds like symptoms of a bad connection in a switch, then yes, time to ask 50 people on here if they have one for sale.

Its a bit tricky when it DOES work, but i think that's just the way it was designed. For example, sometimes it will dim them when an oncoming car is 200 feet away, and sometimes it will dim them when its 50 feet away. Sometimes it dims for streetlamps, sometimes it doesn't. sometimes when i have the wheel set to a certain position, it wont work, and another position, it will. It's gotten that everytime i use it, i have to have my hand ready on the switch ready to turn them off manually for oncoming, incase the auto doesn't work.

You mentioned modified system, how do you modify it?

Auto dim failing

Reply #21 – August 31, 2013, 08:30:53 PM

I've got a spare set of autolamp/autodim wheels. Expensive to ship to Canada, though, probably at least as much as the part is worth. A USPS small flat rate box is 19.95 with nothing in it.

Auto dim failing

Reply #22 – September 01, 2013, 09:25:29 AM

gotta ask vefore i have you do a test...
are you familiar with a meter and how to use it?
if not either way we can coach you step by step.

i want to test a couple points on the small connector going into the mirror sensor