I have a 1985 Accord hatchback. Two times within a 3-hour period, during a long trip, my headlights went out on their own. No high beams; no low beams; no 'flashing' of high beams. (Don't recall if the taillights remained on, but the parking lights continued to work.)

After pulling off the Interstate I fiddled with the switch, turning it off and on several times, while clicking the high beam switch repeatedly. Still, nothing happened. Then, for no particular reason the lights came back on by themselves. And they stayed on for maybe an hour before going off, temporarily, again.

Six months ago I took apart the lighting switch (not an easy task!) to repair a problem with my parking lights. (They didn't come on with the headlights.) This involved sanding a burned contact strip within the multi-function switch. That fixed the problem. I suspect this new problem is not a 'burned contact issue' because the lights come back after awhile (the parking lights never did).

Can anyone offer possible remedies (besides spending $200 on a new switch or just getting rid of the car)? I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

 

maybe a loose connection......maybe a fuse that is just about burned out. its probably the switch though

 

when lites go off, play with the switch,, up down, side ways gently , if lites come back on you got a bad switch..that's what it sounds like ..

 

Thank you, lightshow and deserthonda for your thoughts. Now, a friend (who's owned several Hondas) suggests that the problem may lie in the headlight relay, and we'll take a look there tomorrow. My wiring diagram indicates only one relay (for high beam), the temporary failure of which would not explain why both high and low beams fail simultaneously. But we'll see...

 

you are correct there is 1 relay, for the high beams, located in the fuse box..
frankly i would be surprised to find out that it is the cause of your problem

 

...and you are correct, it doesn't seem to be the cause of my problems. Nor does the multi-switch on the steering column. The problem in fact seems to reside in the plastic connector for the wiring harness that comes down from the multi-function switch. This snaps into the fuse block. When I wiggle it, sometimes the headlights come on, sometimes not. So this is where I am currently concentrating my efforts. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

i want you to try something........get some small needle nose pliers and twist all the male pins on the related connectors. do not twist too hard or they might snap off.. \
if it is caused by a loose connections this will make connections better//

 

Thanks for that suggestion and, in fact, that is what I did this afternoon. With a continuity probe I located the high beam wire and the low beam wire in the connector, then removed it from the fuse block and twisted the two appropriate male pins. (These are the only connections that are giving me trouble). I only twisted them about 8 degrees so they'd still fit in the connector, yet would (I hope) make a better contact with the female receptacles. I wish I knew a way to get in and sand the female portions of the connectors but for now, we'll see if this works.

Again, thanks for your suggestions.