
Headlight doors.
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Headlight doors.
Can anyone supply me with a diagram showing the routing of the vacuum pipework (in detail) of the headlight doors on my '68 Charger? The geezer who owned it before has done some strange things, and I can't make them work when I turn the lights on. They work when I connect a vacuum pipe, but then don't shut again (unless I swap the pipes over). 

if the vacuum lines are pretty clean , they have a coloured stripe on them,
try cleaning a bit with thinners , carefully
the 2 of the 3 rubber pipes that are the same diameter , are colour coded ,
green striped -one goes to the vacuum canister under the battery tray , which is the shorter of the three ...
yellow/amber striped one goes to the top of each headlight door actuators , with a t piece for both sides
plain , no stripe goes to the bottom of both of the actuator. , t piece for both sides .
the single larger diameter pipe goes to the vacuum canister & the vacuum take off tree on behing the carb .
hope this helps
cant find a diagram at the moment , one of the other guys will have one no doubt

the 2 of the 3 rubber pipes that are the same diameter , are colour coded ,
green striped -one goes to the vacuum canister under the battery tray , which is the shorter of the three ...
yellow/amber striped one goes to the top of each headlight door actuators , with a t piece for both sides
plain , no stripe goes to the bottom of both of the actuator. , t piece for both sides .
the single larger diameter pipe goes to the vacuum canister & the vacuum take off tree on behing the carb .
hope this helps
cant find a diagram at the moment , one of the other guys will have one no doubt

Great info Steve , good to know about the colour/stripes.
Seems you might be short of some vac hoses , or the headlight switch is playing up.
When you switch the headlight switch on you will hear a hiss niose for about a second , then it will stop , if you constantly hear it hissing you have a bad switch , normally they 'balloon out' @ the centre.
The engine has to run when activating the doors , as theres only enough vac in the cannister for 1 open/shut.
Sometimes the lines to the little tees split , you have to cut them back & find a real small jubilee clip , otherwise you'll be cuttin back until you got no more left to cut.

Seems you might be short of some vac hoses , or the headlight switch is playing up.
When you switch the headlight switch on you will hear a hiss niose for about a second , then it will stop , if you constantly hear it hissing you have a bad switch , normally they 'balloon out' @ the centre.
The engine has to run when activating the doors , as theres only enough vac in the cannister for 1 open/shut.
Sometimes the lines to the little tees split , you have to cut them back & find a real small jubilee clip , otherwise you'll be cuttin back until you got no more left to cut.


- mopar_mark
- Posts: 6738
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 06 8:01 pm
- Location: Windlesham, Surrey
Yea , good idea , did'nt think of that.mopar_mark wrote:Wouldnt a cable tie be OK, as opposed to a real small jubilee clip ?Adam68 wrote:Sometimes the lines to the little tees split , you have to cut them back & find a real small jubilee clip , otherwise you'll be cuttin back until you got no more left to cut.![]()


It's also possible that one or more of the pipes have come off the rear of the headlight switch, they're only a push on fitAdam68 wrote: When you switch the headlight switch on you will hear a hiss niose for about a second , then it will stop , if you constantly hear it hissing you have a bad switch , normally they 'balloon out' @ the centre.
'68 Dodge Charger
‘75 Ford Ranchero
'93 Toyota Hilux Surf
YouTube - Double Zero Garage
‘75 Ford Ranchero
'93 Toyota Hilux Surf
YouTube - Double Zero Garage
Thanks for your help guys. The bloke who had the car before me relocated the cannister to be in front of the radiator, and never plumbed it right after. Will check all the pipes, and run a check on the switch. If the switch is faulty, is it easy to locate another one? I don't think it makes any difference, but the feed on mine comes from the servo not the engine.
steveo wrote:if the vacuum lines are pretty clean , they have a coloured stripe on them,try cleaning a bit with thinners , carefully
the 2 of the 3 rubber pipes that are the same diameter , are colour coded ,
green striped -one goes to the vacuum canister under the battery tray , which is the shorter of the three ...
yellow/amber striped one goes to the top of each headlight door actuators , with a t piece for both sides
plain , no stripe goes to the bottom of both of the actuator. , t piece for both sides .
the single larger diameter pipe goes to the vacuum canister & the vacuum take off tree on behing the carb .
hope this helps
cant find a diagram at the moment , one of the other guys will have one no doubt
hi ( Mopar Mark ) hope this helps
at the back of the switch order of the vacuum lines are starting from the top as follows
top - yellow/amber stripe , & that goes to the top of the actuator
second from top ( middle ), green stripe goes to the vacuum canister
& finally the plain one / no stripe - the third one down bottom , on the back of the switch , goes to the bottom vacuum connection on the actuator
