Fun fact about my Thunderbird...

Kinja'd!!! "Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
01/24/2020 at 14:16 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 7

So a while ago, someone in a parking lot pointed out that only one of my four headlights was working. So I bought a few bulbs and got to work trying to replace them. Once they were out, I discovered that two of the bulbs were never plugged in; still not entirely sure why. So I plugged them in, and the one on the side with the already-functional headlight worked perfectly. So the headlights on the right side of the car worked, but not the ones on the left. Then I hit the dimmer switch, and suddenly all four headlights worked! A bit of research later, I discovered why. Turns out, the 1966 Thunderbird has two headlight control modules. One controls the high beams, the other controls the low beams. However, it seems that one of the previous owners of the car thought that one of the modules controlled the left headlights and the other controlled the right headlights. So both my low beams are on the right, and both my high beams are on the left. For the moment, I think I’m just going to leave it that way, since my headlights are dim enough that even with the high beams on, they’re not particularly bright. And now I can turn my left headlights on and off with the press of a button!

TL;DR: My car can wink.


DISCUSSION (7)


Kinja'd!!! Chariotoflove > Jim Spanfeller
01/24/2020 at 14:33

Kinja'd!!!3

That’s fun.  However, maybe you should straighten that out.  Driving around with only one side might draw a citation some day.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Chariotoflove
01/24/2020 at 14:43

Kinja'd!!!2

L uckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view), t he headlights in my car were never very bright to begin with, so even with the high beams on, it’s still not particularly bright. Th is means I basically have to drive with the high beams on all the time anyway, in which case all four headlights work, so I’m not feeling particularly motivated to fix it at the moment. I’ll probably fix it when the time comes to dive deeper into the restoration, though.


Kinja'd!!! Aremmes > Jim Spanfeller
01/24/2020 at 14:54

Kinja'd!!!5

Kinja'd!!!


Kinja'd!!! Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Chariotoflove
01/24/2020 at 16:42

Kinja'd!!!2

Yeah... and nobody wants a Chevy Citation.

Being given one is just cruel...


Kinja'd!!! Chariotoflove > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/24/2020 at 17:42

Kinja'd!!!0

Perspective, my friend.  I had to drive a Chevette.  A Citation would have been an upgrade.


Kinja'd!!! Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Chariotoflove
01/24/2020 at 17:59

Kinja'd!!!0

Not if it’s an early Citation with the huge list of safety, engineering and reliability deficiencies... with the Iron Duke and 3 speed slushbox.

And I drove a Chevettes in the past too!

I even wrote a review about the 4 Chevettes (3 automatics, 1 with a 4 speed manual. From the model years 1978, 1980, 1984 , 1987) that my siblings owned that I drove occasionally:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/chevrolet/chevette/1987/page-2/


Kinja'd!!! Chariotoflove > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/24/2020 at 18:16

Kinja'd!!!0

Bigger, and therefore (nominally) more room for cramming in your high school friends.  That’s all me at the time would have cared about.