will a bad wiper switch mess with the highbeam switch and headlights? strange issue..

[yellow400ex05]

Alright i just recently bought a 1984 Chevy C10 and on the way from driving it 700 miles home the wiper washer fluid was stuck on spray, and i tried to turn it off and i guess the wiper switch went bad as well, and it will no longer turn the wipers off and you have to mess with the washer fluid stalk to get it to stop spraying. I had the wiper fuse pulled to stop my wipers till a new switch comes in.

now my high and low beams worked as usual prior to this occuring,

NOW when i turn on my headlights after the switch went bad, on low beams the bottom passenger light comes on

high beams


LOW beams


could the first issue cause the headlight problem from within the wiring in the stalk? anybody ever experience this, im almost sure my odds of 3 headlights being bad on one beam is slim. and on low beam arent the top lights supposed to come out? HELP!

[1981Stepside]

The problem COULD be in the stalk, but I doubt it. I had the same problem with the headlights in my 81. (I've swapped the column with an 85 to get the wiper controls on the stalk.) It turned out to corrosion on the terminals of the headlight harness. Also, the previous owner had converted the headlights to h1/h4 lights from the sealed beams and it was the adapter harness that was corroded.
As far as the wipers, I had an issue with the delay function and had no park function or spray which also turned out to be corrosion on the terminals. If this is what's creating your problem and you're careful, you can remove the brass terminals from the plastic housing, clean them with contact cleaner and give the surfaces a light scuff with sandpaper to ensure a solid connection.

[yellow400ex05]

Originally Posted by 1981Stepside

The problem COULD be in the stalk, but I doubt it. I had the same problem with the headlights in my 81. (I've swapped the column with an 85 to get the wiper controls on the stalk.) It turned out to corrosion on the terminals of the headlight harness. Also, the previous owner had converted the headlights to h1/h4 lights from the sealed beams and it was the adapter harness that was corroded.
As far as the wipers, I had an issue with the delay function and had no park function or spray which also turned out to be corrosion on the terminals. If this is what's creating your problem and you're careful, you can remove the brass terminals from the plastic housing, clean them with contact cleaner and give the surfaces a light scuff with sandpaper to ensure a solid connection.

the wiper switch wont even click it just spins, until the wires connected to it twist, i turned it too far i believe.. are you talking about where the plug goes into the headlight to give it power? if one had corrosion it would effect more than 1 headlight? it just doesn't make sense to me that one would work on low beam but on the bottom, i thought on low beam the top lights were the ones that came on.

[Greenlee]

Sounds like your switch is bad since it just spins, but wipers not turning off can be the wiper motor. I replaced my switch twice trying to get the wipers to reliably turn off and park at the bottom of the windshield. Finally, I replaced the motor and that fixed everything.

[yellow400ex05]

well i was panicking trying to turn off the spray before the fluid ran out while i was driving. I'm almost positive its the switch.

also would having no alt/fan belt affect the way the headlights at all? even if the battery has good charge?

[1981Stepside]

Originally Posted by yellow400ex05

also would having no alt/fan belt affect the way the headlights at all? even if the battery has good charge?

I wouldn't think so - The only issue with having no belt to your alternator would be that the alternator wouldn't be charging your battery and the truck would run very long off the battery. The lights may dim but it wouldn't affect which bulbs illuminate. Another thing to check - place your hand on the plug on the back of the headlight and the wiring close to the plug when the lights are on. Is the plug/wiring hot or warm? If so, that's a good indication that there is a high resistance value (corrosion) in your circuit which is requiring more amperage to get the volts flowing.

[1981Stepside]

The switch should have a slight click to it as it passes each function on the stalk. Mine only sweeps (or twists) over the delay section. It might be broken. As far as the headlights - yes I was referring to where the plug connects to the headlight. I know it doesn't make sense, but when I was having my issue, the two passenger beams and the top diver side beam would illuminate on the low beam setting. On the high beam setting top passenger and bottom drivers side would illuminate. Both adapters were corroded, and once I replaced them all was well.