headlamp switch questions...

[Angmar]

1918 T.

Headlamp switch is on the steering column. I seen the pull switch on some T's. Would that switch have been an option on the 18 as well? I asks because my headlight switch on the column is the original and is failing/failed. I have a reproduction pull switch that I can use instead but I wondered if that would have been correct option for the 18 or not.

Thoughts?

thanks in advance.

[Angmar]

I have had some PM's and it seems like I would be able to use the push pull-switch.

1. It appears as if the push-pull is an on or off only, not low or high which would make sense for a Mag only car. Is this correct?

2. If I have a mag horn would the button on the steering column have been different to run that?


Thanks.

[Hap_Tucker]

Mark,

It has around 1967 or so that I took the combination horn/light switch off the steering column of our 1918 so I could hook up the lights. From memory (that was a while ago) it was not that complex a switch. Have you taken it off to see if it is repairable? I'll try to find some additional information on it.

That combination horn and light switch was introduced during the 1917 model year (ref MTFCI Judging Guidelines 7th Edition & see also: https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1917.htm and https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1918.htm the part under "Steering Column Assembly."

Yes, a push pull switch would function fine -- but for a 1918 USA produced T it would not have originally come from the factory that way. [Note Canadian production continued the push pull light switch as well as the USA style horn button on top of the steering column later than the USA production.] If you go that route, just be sure the switch can take the amperage so you don't over heat it.

Again if you haven't taken the combo switch off - I would recommend take a look at it. There are somethings I did back in the 1960s that I remember were difficult (wrestling the iron hogs head off the transmission -- it weighed more than I would have guessed). But again from memory -- I don't recall anything really hard about that switch. And if the bakelite or whatever the insides were made out of is crumbling -- you should be able to take it apart and use JB weld or something similar to make the parts solid again.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

[Hap_Tucker]

Mark,

See the posting at: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/25 ... 1328139051. It discusses some of that. Note it also discusses lights (dim) and lights (bright) which became available when Ford added a "dimmer coil" to help keep the mag lights from burning out at higher engine speeds. I don't remember when that coil was introduced. "Donor" (bummer of a name for a car in your garage) a Dec 1917 engine serial number had one of those on the dash if I remember correctly. The 1918 I rewired the switch on did not have that dimmer coil but it may have been removed way back when or maybe someone added it to the other Dec 1917 car?

See: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1394074982 for an exploded view of that combo switch as well as that "dimmer coil".

Also: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1500009260

Note -- the combination switch was for magneto lights and magneto horn. It did both. Push it and the horn honks, twist it and the lights work. As mentioned in one of the links posted in this thread -- you can use the switch for battery horn and battery lights (not originally done that way - but it saves headlight bulbs) or magneto lights and magneto horn (originally done that way). But you cannot use it for a mixture of battery & magneto. If you have mag horn and battery lights or the other way around you need two separate circuits/switches. (At least that is what I got out of the postings).

Respectfully submitted,

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[Hap_Tucker]

You commented:

It appears as if the push-pull is an on or off only, not low or high which would make sense for a Mag only car. Is this correct?

For the 1915-early 1917 cars they only had the on/off for the magneto lights. If you rev'd the engine high enough one of the light bulbs often went out. And if wired in series as originally done -- that meant both headlamps went dark (but only one bulb usually needed to be replaced). That is why the combo switch introduced the "dimmer coil".

How did that help? See the dimmer coil info at:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/25 ... 1338350179

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/17 ... 1322449173

Respectfully added,

Hap l9l5 cut off

[Erik Johnson]

The combination horn button/light switch was introduced early in the 1918 model year.

I believe that John Regan has researched it and, if I recall correctly, his conclusion was the above occurred around October 1918.

Also, my fathers July 1917 touring (last month of the 1917 model year) which he purchased in unrestored condition from the original family in 1949 has the push-pull switch. (My unrestored May 1917 roadster as well as the June 1917 Rip van Winkle touring also have the push-pull switch.)

I am aware of a September 1917 (1918 model year) Ford roadster with a known history from new that is equipped with a push-pull.

Also, years ago, there was a nice example of a September or October 1917 touring (1918 model year) on a forum thread that also had the push-pull.

So, at least in my observations and based on what John Regan posted in the past, the push-pull was carried over a two or three months into the 1918 model year before being superseded by the combination horn button/light switch and the corresponding dimmer coil on the firewall.

[Angmar]

Thank you for the information. This will help me decide what to do next. I had disassembled the switch and it is in poor shape. May do something temporary because we have a Christmas parade tonight to attend.

[Steve Jelf]

Given my experience with magneto lights, which are barely adequate under the best of circumstances, I cannot imagine them being any good at all with a dimmer. If I had one of the cars which came with a dimmer I would probably leave it in place for the "correct" appearance but bypass it. I would rather replace a bulb every few hundred miles than drive essentially blind. Of course, I could be wrong. It happened once before. Maybe somebody who has actually driven by magneto light with a dimmer can testify on how good or bad it is.

Not terribly bright, even without a dimmer.

[Susanne]

If i have to run at night I leave the Ruckstell in low and try to keep the engine revved. It's a challenge just to keep enough light on the road to see the deer as it stares you down.

I have given a fleeting thought to (--gasp!!--) retrofitting 12V lamps and a battery, just so I have a chance to see something more than 15 1/3 feet in front of the car, but what would be the fun of that???

Seriously, I can understand why people back when the "improved electric lights" were new in 1915 would want to retrofit older gas lights to their car.