IML: New Member, Jerry Olson

["Eric" <gearhead@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jerry,
The symptoms you describe sound similar to the way the Safeguard Sentinal 
Lighting system is supposed to work. See this link for a full description of 
how this device turns your headlamps on and off automatically,
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1971/Showroom/Page25.htm

Notice the headlamp switch has the word "Sentinel" above the pull lever. The 
ring that rotates on the above side of the switch is what controls how long 
those lights will stay on for. Another clue to your having this option is 
the light sensor on top of the dashboard infront of the driver. It is a 
black round conical shaped piece of plastic with the words 'Late Early' 
printed on the top of it. This dials in the light sensor's sensitivity. I 
had this on a '71 300 I owned years ago and it worked perfectly, the lights 
would come on at dusk or when I went through a tunnel and then off at 
sunrise or exiting from a dark place like a parking garage or said tunnel.

There was another type of headlamp delay that New Yorker Brougham's had 
where if the headlamp switch was pushed in after the engine was shut off, it 
would leave the lights on for a period of time to light your way to the 
door. I don't believe Imperials had this simple delay device, rather opting 
for the full control of Safeguard Sentinel.

If you go to our website's Year by Year page, you can find owner's manuals 
for other year's that will have this feature written up in detail. The 
headlamp switch design is the same for 1971-1973 so I'll direct you to he 
1973 owner manual section which shows other depictions of this option,
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1973/Owners/page32.jpg
and
http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1973/Owners/page33.jpg

It sounds like the small ring around your headlamp switch is turned to the 
right so that this feature is up and running. If you leave the headlamp 
switch alone, do you notice the lights come on by themselves? To turn off 
the system, rotate the ring to the left. They used this option from 
1967-1975, though I've seen an early 60's Buick with this feature so it's 
nothing particulary new..It works reliably well and soon you'll lose the 
habit of minding the lights as they take care of themselves.

I hope this adds another aspect of enjoyment to your fine Imperial.

Eric
Lebanon, Oregon
_______________________________________________________________
New Subscriber(s): Jerry Olson
 Member Location: Visalia, Ca.
Car(s) owned: 1971 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron 4-door hard top, green
interior and green vinyl top all in excellent condition.
Self-Introduction: I bought this from my cousin in Minn. and he drove it
out here to Calif.
I do have a repair owners manuel but not a options manuel on all the dash
features so I am looking for some help on a few working dials and switches.
My 71 has the flip up headlight covers and they do work but I must have it
some switch and I can not close them when I push in the button to turn off
the lights.  As a matter of fact, the lights do not go off when I push in
the button.  They go off automatically in about 45 seconds to one minute.
Can anyone help.?

| 


-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm