Got delayed-exit headlights? I do!

[timothyr1014]

You can find it going all the way back to the 70's in the linc's...I just tend to be a little nervous of any ford headllight switch that is used (from the factory the relay is only used durning autolamp functions...if you manually turn the switch on all the power still flows through the switch)....also makes it much cheaper to add the option; all the relay is an automated switch.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Well, like I said, having a relay headlights harness makes it all that much easier to control everything - for instance, I could have used the autolamp sensor as an auto-dimmer too, completely without the factory dimmer switches and stuff.

In any case, here are the pictures - this is where the sensor is right now in my truck:

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And this is where it came from in the Crown Vic, that hole in the sheetmetal above the gauge cluster (you need to remove the dashpad to get to it tho, lots of #2 philips screws).

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I do not have the exact Ford part number for the sensor, and I'm sure it changed a few times through the years anyways, but many (not all tho) Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln TownCar vehicles from the late-'80s will have that system, it's easiest identifiable by the extra collar around the headlights switch know - basically if you see this you got the right car:

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To make install easier it's best that you take the sensor and some of the wiring, then splice and extend as needed. To make this work as a delayed-exit system only he wiring is as follows, colors are the actual ones on the pigtail:
- purple wire with orange tracer - ground it
- red wire with yellow tracer - give it 12V key-on
- orange wire with white tracer - give it 12V constant (battery)
- white (sometimes looks like salmon) wire with purple tracer - this is your headlights relay trigger
- bluish wire with orange tracer - attach your resistor to that, then ground it.

Also it must be noted the sensor was not designed to live in an environment where it can get wet, so a silicone sealer treatment may be a good idea, I sealed every single gap and crack in my sensor except the access opening for the adjustment wheel inside it, but that's on the bottom of the sensor as I have it installed.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

spark...alot of the newer ones are ECM controlled....but look for a mid 80's to early 90's lincoln (or most any ford product)....its all in the switch and standalone module.

all of them have autolamp, all mark vii's and 82-87 conti's will have autodim (those it was standard, on the others it was optional)

Not quite, the autolamp was optional on the fullsize passenger cars, my '88 Lincoln Towncar for instance does not have it, and neither does my housemate's new '89 Crown Vic (her old '89 is the stripped one in the pics, that's my autolamp donor). I believe you are correct on the Mk7 thing tho, we have several LSC and a Bill Blass cars here right now (customer and parts vehicles) and they all have both the auto-lamp and the auto-dim features. The Contis, those I'm not sure about, never worked on on, but they do seem to be much like the Mk7, so it's possible they share the same lights options as well.

The new cars have this thing called body-control module (BCM for short), it's a computer that operates exclusively all the lights and doors and windows of the cars along with the associated switches and indicators, Ford started installing these in '96 IIRC.

 

[timothyr1014]

sorry for the confusion....you are correct....all mark vii's, all 84-87 conti's, optional on pretty much everything else in the ford/lincoln/mercury line.

Looks like you mounted the light sensor under the hood...this will work fine with a DRL setup as you always have the lights on anyway, but for those seeking standard autolamp you need exposure to ambient light.....awsome write-up BTW....these are the things that rattle around in my brain and I never take the time to share with others

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Looks like you mounted the light sensor under the hood...this will work fine with a DRL setup as you always have the lights on anyway, but for those seeking standard autolamp you need exposure to ambient light.....

Right, I thought I made a note on that in the initial post? I have actually never taken the dash apart on one of these trucks, so I'm not sure how feasible it would be to try to install the sensor under there like it is on the fullsize cars, so maybe for in-cab installs it would be better if a sensor from a Mark VII is used as it sits on the rearview mirror and thus "sees" better than the one under the dash pad...

And I hear ya on the cool ideas thing, actually it's only ya'll here on OBN who get the full list of mods in my truck and who I post these write-ups for, I'm regular at TDS and FTE too but I got tired of people asking me about the same stuff over and over again even after it's been beaten to death in the forums, so I finally edited my sig there and let them sort it all out on their own

 

[timothyr1014]

thought I had seen you over oon FTE...was gonna ask you about the PSG steering stabilizer but figured I would research first (like to get intimate with the search button)

Its been a while since I have torn one apart, but I believe the sensor for autolamp on the marks is still in the dash, the mirror is only the autodim

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Oh, they got two sensors? Darn, talk about redundancy...

The PSD stabilizer is really just that, a PSD damper element in '92 cab-chassis brackets, but if you have a 2wd truck don't do that, buy the proper '92 cab-chassis damper instead - the PSD one is about an inch longer, which apparently is enough to push the frame bracket outboard enough to where it can't be bolted on the frame but has to be welded on instead.

 

[Agnem]

Definitely a good tech article. Thanks Ivan.