66-67 Dodge Charger Source Guide


Headlights

Rotating headlights are a major source of fun for 66-67 Charger owners.

If you want to fix your own have at 'er.  There is a lot of info on this and linked pages. Look to the right and see work by Don and Allen or scroll down on this page

If you want to get yours fixed by an expert let Topher do them:

Don Dodson

Allen Stephenson

Wiring Diagram

How to Test the Motors

Posted by Daniel Daigneault on 06/08/03

You have 3 connectors on the motors, 2 are parallel (side by side) and a 3rd @ 90 degrees. The 90 degrees is the ground so connect the ground from the battery to it.
Next, put the positive fro the battery on one of the other terminals and the motor should turn.
When you will put the positive from the battery to the other one, the motor will turn the opposite way

Posted by Don Dodson on 03/16/04

I have found that the weakest part of the motors is the connection on the circuit board of the heat thermal. Over time the connections will get hot along with the thermal and the connections will become corroded and offer resistance to the current flow through the loose connector. I drilled out the terminal and installed a screw and nut, along with lock washers that make the terminals have a better connection. Also I have found that the motors operate better when the car is running and using the 14.7 volts put out by the alternator instead of the 12 volts of the battery.

How the Motor Works

Posted by "Charger66" on 03/08/05

The motors work on a harmonic drive principal. The 3 round metal discs press against the plastic "toothed" piece and engage the "toothed" metal housing at the point of contact. It takes one revolution of the 3 discs to move the "toothed" plastic piece one tooth on the housing. A harmonic drive have several good thiings going for them for these motors. One is a big gear reduction (ie electric armature spins very fast yet output is a much slower rotation) , second there is no gear backlash and once power is removed from the motor the output shaft will not move by external force.

66-67charger.com Tech Archives "Rotating" article: Rotating Headlight Engine

How to Disassemble the Motors

Posted by John Mac on 03/06/05

First take apart the motor carefully!!!!  Where the two halves of the motor are joined is some sealant  -clean it out
- you will see a " c " type of clip 
- use a small flat screwdriver to get it out
- open the motor
- the side with the shaft is what you want to get cleaned and lubed up!!!!.

Sometimes the shaft will get dry or the rubber washer will expand and cause the shaft to bind when it turns.

If you clean and lube the shaft/rubber washer and put it back together and it still binds ( bench run the motor with a battery ) then open it up again and take out the washer from within the housing and carefully use some 120 sandpaper and remove a bit of the inside rubber that is running on the shaft. (This was my problem with 3 motors I rebuilt  - gotta be a problem up here with the heat/cold temps!!!

Posted by Topher on 03/16/04

There's a snap ring that is buried in some sealer in the groove you see-I dug the stuff out with a small screw driver and removed the snap ring. When you get all that out-the 2 halves will come apart, the "shaft end" can be disassembled easily and you'll find a disc that covers the brush plated, a 3 weight disc that is the drive for the geared cup, a spring loaded disc that keeps tension on the shaft, a big cup that has way small teeth on the outside of it and a recessed place for the shaft to sit.

When you get all this stuff out of this end you'll see that the shaft goes through an o-ring in the hole. I cleaned all of this up and put some emery cloth to the shaft to clean it up, oiled it up and it worked freely with my fingers. That's the mechanical end.

The motor side is a different story. You have to un-solder the brush plate to remove it, after you remove the 2 screws. Draw yourself a diagram or take a good picture before taking it apart, because there's several wires to remove. After you get the brush plate out of the way you can remove the stator, then work on removing the windings. The power wires come up each side of the windings in sheaths, so it may be a little difficult to remove the windings, but they will come out past the wires. Now that you have the windings in front of you, you should take note that there is 2 different size wire used between the 2 sides. I think this is where the speed difference comes from. Because one side is stronger than the other, and since there is only 1 motor to install on both sides you're using opposite windings going in the same direction, or you're using a weak side and a strong at the same time in both directions which explains the speed variance.

Headlamp Relays and Switches

(with additional information submitted by John Kane)

Headlight motor relay switches

Working on relays requires a little knowledge and experience. Daniel in Florida reports that the NAPA relays listed here "fried" his wires. Others reported no problems. Best advice at this time seems to be: be careful, know what you are doing and ask for good advice from the group.  My personal experience was that the NAPA relays did not match the configuration of the original relays and require some additional undersatnding on how to hook them up.  The AR100 control relay that I got from NAPA looked a lot like the AR103 on the outside.  The AR103 was hung upside down for our use although it functioned properly; the wires had to come in from above rather than below.  The AR103 seems to match our  opening and closing relays.

Ron B. posted on 03/18/06 this source for relay switches:
Keisler Engineering Inc., Knoxville, Tenn. (865) 609-8187
P/N KE66HLRELAY.    $ 50.00 set of three.

Roger Bohl says: The opening & closing relays are NO [ normally OPEN ] relays. The controlling relay is a NC [normally closed ] relay. That is case grounded. That is why it only has 3 terminals. When you turn the H/L on it will close the opening relay and open the controlling relay. Which will open the H/ls. When you shut off the H/L switch the opening relay opens and closes the controlling relay. Which in turn closes the closing relay to shut the H/Ls.  When the H/L get home the limit switch breaks the ground path to the relays. The NAPA controlling relay is a NO/NC relay so you have to be careful which terminals you use.

 Marc Milosevich says:  The plastic bearing  must be clean and free of binding.  The motors have a ring designed with a machined edge, with the mounting strap, to keep the motor from turning after it reaches the limit switch.  That machined edge wears down and the motors are still trying to turn after it's cycle either on or off.  This put strain not only on the motors but the entire system.   I mounted two set screws on the mounting strap.  But even if you add these set screws it is critical to mount the motors properly.    It is critical to mount those buckets firmly against the closed limit switch.  When the motor cycles it will stop, again, firmly against the opposite switch. 
If everyone did these three procedures, plastic bearing clean clear and straight, set screws on mounting strap and buckets securely mounted against the closed limit switch, most headlight problems would be reduced significantly.

Jon says: Napa Part AR204 is a replacement control relay for our cars with no wiring modifications necessary. Pins 30/87a are N.C. and will connect up to our 'T' shaped connector. It may be a slightly tight fit. Pins 85/86 are the coil terminals, so plug the single control relay wire into one of the pins (85 or 86) and run the other pin to ground and you're good to go.

Don Dodson says, the problems we experience are not usually the relays.  Our troubles are usually connectivity/corrosion problems, so look there first.

66-67charger.com Tech Archives "Relay Replacement" article: Relay Replacement


For general info: Many members have enabled their motors to work again with a simple cleaning and lubrication. Others have taken their motors to local automotive electrical shops and had services done for reasonable prices.
Reputable national repair service facilities change as time passes. Hemmings and the 66/67 Charger group web site members will always be sources for the current information.
Recommendation : seek the counsel of the group members with regards to shops/individuals that they know to be professional and trustworthy. This really applies to any outsourcing that you need to accomplish.

Headlight on/off and dimmer switches available at NAPA and some other parts stores.

The headlight switch is the same for 66 and 67, it is available at NAPA (PN: HL6571 - listed as a Coronet part)
There are two interchangeable versions, one with a ground tab and one without.

Headlight limit switches are available from 66/67 Charger group member Chris McGinnis (Topher) who has begun making a limit switch updgrade. Check with him for availability at [email protected]

A variety of pertinent headlamp information is also available in the Charger group message archive.(Editor's Note: be prepared to dig)