Hey all-

I picked up an '85 pickup this fall and have slowly been working through issues with it, which are numerous.

One nagging problem I'm having is that the high beams aren't working at all. I've searched the forum a bit, and similar threads are for instances where the the high beams don't work when the stalk is pushed forward, but they do work when it's pulled (flasher mode).

In my case, the high beams don't work at all. It doesn't matter whether I push the stalk forward or pull it toward me. Either kills the low beams and I have no lights whatsoever. The high beam light on the dash does illuminate.

They weren't working when I first picked up the truck, so the first thing I did was check the fuses and wiring the best I could. I then purchased two brand new headlights and installed them, to no effect.

Other threads have suggested that the frequent culprit in similar situations is the actual switch in the steering column. In all the cases I've seen that offered as a solution, however, the high beams have worked when the stalk is pulled. Mine do not.

I'm wondering if there's something else in-line in the wiring or anything that could cause this. I'll take the column apart to have a look at the switch, but I'd like to get ahead of this a bit in case that's not the answer and see if anyone has any more suggestions.

EDIT: Another thing which I'm not sure is significant or not is that I can hear the relay click when the lights are off entirely or when the parking lights are on. There's definitely some sort of relay clicking in the passenger front of the car. That relay doesn't click at all when the headlights are on, however

 

You'll need to take it apart and clean it.

 

UPDATE:

I took the steering column apart and the wheel off to access the switch. Long story short, after tinkering with the switch, I got the high beams to work....at the cost of the low beams.

At the moment, when the stalk is rotated to put on the headlights, it doesn't matter whether it's neutral, pushed, or pulled: the high beam light on the dash is on. If I push the stalk forward or pull it toward me, the high beams illuminate. But when it's in the middle/neutral (where the low beams should be), I get nothing and the high beam light on the dash is still on.

It's clear to me that for some reason, the truck still thinks the high beams are on even if they actually aren't and the metal contacts aren't actually being made to do so. As a result, the relay or something isn't allowing the low beams to come on.

Does anyone have a clue how exactly the truck determines the illumination of the high beam light on the dash? I'm thinking there must be one connection here that is missing and causing the whole problem, but I can't find it.

 

You mentioned the relay, have you verified relay functionality? You could be running into issues with a borderline bad relay. When you say tinkering, what do you mean? Did you clean the contacts? Did anything get plugged in incorrectly or moved? Go back through and check your work.

 

It could be a faulty relay, I suppose. I'm not really sure how to verify functionality on it.

By tinkering, I mean I took the column apart the best I could to access the contacts and I've been working on cleaning up the contact points. I didn't take the switch off the column or disconnect anywires that I can tell. I can definitely get the high beams to come on.

The big problem at the moment is that the truck thinks the high beams are on at all times. The high beam light on the dash will not go off under any circumstance when the stalk is rotated into the "on" position. It seems to me that there are probably two parts to the system. Part 1 is some switch or contact that illuminates the dashboard light and alerts the relay to turn off the low beams. Part 2 is the actual connections behind the switch that when contacted correctly alert the relay to turn on the high beams. Part 2 is working; part 1 is not, or seemingly isn't.

The strange thing is that if you rotate the stalk simply to the parking lights, the high beams work exactly as intended. The high beam light on the dash isn't illuminated, until you pull the stalk. Then the high beams come on and the dash light illuminates.

I can't help but think there's one wire or contact off here that is telling the truck the high beams are always on. It's possible the relay is the culprit, but what would be really helpful is knowing where the light in the cluster gets its signal to illuminate. Does that come from the switch itself or from the relay?

 

What to expect on a normally-functioning headlight system. If you do not see same, there's the problem.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post52379293