Parking lights off with headlights on?

I was just reading some old threads and found one that talked about front parking lights.....that the way they were designed from the factory the parking lights went out when the headlights were on? Is this right?

When I got my Jeep the wiring was so bad that I rewired it almost from scratch, replacing the headlight switch with one from a later CJ, allowing my to incorporate "dimming" gauge lights and courtesy lights under the dash. I never know the deal on the parking lights, so they got wired to be on with the headlights.

If this is the case (and it appears to be!) then I may finnagle (technical term, do not try this at home) with the wiring a little to make it work "right". I think the later cj switch had a terminal that worked this way, I remember it confusing the heck outta me at the time.

 

Yup P lights off when H lights on :hurrican:

 

I double that there ditto.

 

Well well well, where's that "future mods" list....

Thanks all!

 

hmm... i also wondered what that last lead was for. so all the interior bulbs are wired to the conatasnt 12 when on, parking to the crazy one, and headlights to the double lead?? makes me wonder why put a two filament bulb up there in the first place... it wouldn't be too hard to run everything back through the signal-stat like they did with the breaks to interrupt to make it blink would it? or were the turn signals an option up till late?

 

All older cars were that way until th emid 60s I believe. I have a couple cars that operate the exact some way. Essentially the the "park" lights are just that for making the car visible while parked on the side of the road or something. I don't think the idea of "running" park lights came in until the mid 60s. In my 65 Fury III convertable the park lights go out when the head lights come on.

 

When I rewired my '5 I wired the park lights to be on when the headlights are on. I was 18 and didn't know any different. The whole Jeep had butt connectors and different colored wires about every 2 feet so had to rewire and couldn't tell what was stock and what wasn't. I like having them on. No rhyme or reason, just like 'em that way. Nickmil.

 

Interesting thread. When I first got the Jeep, my stock orange turn signal lenses were so sun damaged they were nearly white. When I finally came across some replacement lenses, I was so proud of them. It was one of the first "appearance" things I did (after tearing out the green shag carpet). The idea of not having them on all the time would have been unthinkable then. Now, I'm inclined to make operate as closely as I can to stock.

 

my stay on, but that was the way my harness was designed, i guess i could change that, but i think i will leave them. maybe if i revert back to a more original setup i wiould do that also, but as of right now i am s far from original its not even funny

 

The PO Yahoo that had mine had taking the original lights out and replaced them with $3.99 reverse lights from AutoZone and wired them into the headlight circuit. No turn signals just on with the headlights also modified to be only high beams, also a little like Nickmil's he used red rope wire it looked like a Twizzler convention under the hood and dash. Even the grounds were red! Well, he did have a good Grote turn signal switch with a dimmer switch built in but not hooked up to anything, the wires were cut under the dash. I punched out the single element sockets out of the reverse light base and installed an 1157 socket, use amber bulbs and now have working color coded light that stay on with the headlight, but work light a newer CJ.

 

Just a note, when I put electric wipers on my Jeep I used a marine light switch, thought that first click would be slow, and second would be high speed, wrong, the first click turned on slow, but didn't go off when I pulled it two the second click. I replaced it with a stock Jeep light switch, 64 or 66, I only had two parts Jeeps, anyway the stock switch had 5 lugs on it, power in, parking lights on, off when pulled out all the way, parking lights on and stay on when pull out all the way, and head lights on when pulled out all the way. So now I pull the switch out one click the slow speed comes on, pull the switch out all the way, slow speed goes off and the high speed comes on. I hope you can figure out what I just said, but what I am trying to say is the old switch can be wired either way, parking lights on, or off when the headlights are on. Good luck anyway.

 

Interesting thing is my dash light in the speedo gauge cluster also goes off when headlights go on. I'm assuming something is hooked up wrong.

 

The front parking light lenses on my '58 are clear. Should they be orangish color?

 

No. Clear is correct until much later. After the large lenses came in, I believe.

 

Large lenses ('69ish to '75) were clear with an amber bulb. I'm guessing on the start year but somewhere around '65 ish the bullet shaped amber lens started that were plastic and were used until the advent of the large 3 screw lenses. The bullet shaped amber lenses were held on with a chrome spring steel retaining wire kind of like a snap ring.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I've never owned anything but the early clear glass type.

Mickeykelley has the clear, and that remains correct as I understand things.

 

Thanks for input guys. So much to learn. Hope there's not a midterm test?

 

You have it right. His are or should be clear glass with amber bulbs.