Removing and Installing Light Switch on a 1981 F150 Ford Truck

Removing and Installing Light Switch on a 1981 F150 Ford Truck.
1967-1972
A new, smoother body style debuted for 1967 that also provided a roomier cab with more glass area. Three trim levels; base, custom and Ranger were now offered. The Ranger had carpeting, plusher seats and chrome exterior trim (such as the grille) standard.
In 1968 functional improvements came about: a new, 360-c.i. V8 replaced the 352, and a 390 V8 was now available. F-100 models featured a new, "Mono-Beam" front suspension with coil springs instead of the leaf springs, which the F-250s still had.
A Crew Cab (four-door pickup truck) was offered for 1969.
1970 offered F-Series buyers a choice of four trim levels: Custom, Sport, Ranger and the top dog Ranger XLT. A 302-c.i. V8 with 220 horsepower was now optional in addition to the former engine choices.
Grille designs changed slightly to update the 1971 and 1972 models.
1973-1979
Ford's popular pickup was updated and improved in many ways for 1973. A beefier frame, a roomier cab, an optional 460-c.i. V8, an optional automatic transmission and revised.front suspension were the more notable functional changes. A new body topped these changes and featured a concave groove that ran the length of the body and a cleaner grille with integrated turn signals.
The big news for 1974 was the introduction (late in the model year) of the extended cab version of the F-Series, called the SuperCab. A SuperCab was available only with the Styleside body and could be fitted with either a bench seat or a pair of jump seats in the rear compartment.
The F-150 debuted for 1975. A half-ton pickup, the F-150 filled the gap between the F-100 and F-250 as it was a bit more "heavy duty" than an F-100 though considerably less so than the F-250. In that year, more than one-third of F-Series sales were comprised of the new F-150.
Aside from minor facelifts in the grille area, the F-Series continued through 1976 with little change.
Engine choices were revised for 1977 with 351- (163 horsepower) and 400-c.i. (169 horses) V8s replacing the 360 V8 option.
For 1978, the 300-c.i. inline six (114 horsepower) became the standard base engine and square headlights debuted (on all models except Custom). The luxurious Ranger Lariat was introduced that year as well as a new, more massive grille.
1979 brought square headlights for all F-Series trucks.
1980-1986
Entering the eighties, Ford's 1980 trucks sported an evolutionary, more aerodynamic redesign. The face of the hood was slanted rearward, the grille had a cleaner look and the body sides were more chiseled with a flatter accent groove. The SuperCab's quarter windows were split for a twin window effect. A bonus of the revamped interior was 10 percent more legroom. Flareside (regular cab only) and Styleside (regular or SuperCab) styles were again offered and the big 460 V8 was dropped from the option list. The four-wheel-drive versions adopted an independent, coil-sprung front suspension design called "Twin-traction beam."
1982 saw the "FORD" letters on the hood replaced by the blue Ford oval in the grille center and the fitment of new, "lubed for life" ball joints. The Ranger name was dropped from trim lines, as it would be the moniker for a new compact pickup that Ford introduced later that year. F-Series models now consisted of base, XL, XLT and XLT Lariat.
1983 saw engine offerings increased to again include the 460 V8 (or 7.5-liter, as now engine sizes were referred to in liters) with 245 horsepower and a 6.9-liter diesel V8. The diesel had less horsepower (170 horses) than a gas engine of equal size but a lot more torque for heavy hauling and towing duty. And this was the last year for the F-100, as the F-150 became the new base truck for 1984.
No changes occurred for 1985 and 1986.

[@noelmercado84]

Thank you soo much . Fixed my 1980 with your help 100percent

[@tylerhutchinson3646]

Thanks guys. Very helpful! Iv got an 84 bronço that needs little fixings like this.

[@assinouti6664]

I can't thank you enough for making this great video. Did this repair on my '86 with your guidance. My issue was, after about 20 minutes of running the headlights, they would flicker off. I could jiggle the switch and find a sweet spot, but it was getting worse. This seems to have fixed it.

[@assinouti6664]

Also, for anyone doing this: The headlight switch I removed from my 1986 F150 (base model 4x2) had 7 prongs. The new switch I bought from Advance has 8 prongs. I'm glad I tried it anyway, because it works perfect. I'm guessing that 8th prong is for an option my truck is not equipped with.

[@pagrainfarmer]

I know this video was done 8 years ago, but I wanted you to know that it REALLY helped me. I needed to replace the headlight switch on my 1986 F600 and all I could find was a video showing this process for a 1988. The 88 has a different dash than mine, so it was not helpful. However, I came across your video by accident, and your '81 F150 has a dash very similar to my 86 F600. So, I was able to follow your directions and get the job done rather easily and without problems. I am putting a video of the replacement in my truck on my channel, (probably sometime tomorrow) if you're interested. Thanks for your help.

[@RushKid211]

Thank you! I’m working on restoring a 1984 F-150 and I couldn’t figure out how to remove that switch for the life of me. Thanks so much!

[@cuz6657]

Thanks guys for a great video. It helped a lot.

[@vccoinsnevada]

There is a button on the bottom of the headlight switch you can push to remove the the headlight rod! Much easier!

[@Haydencody-f2s]

You saved me

[@jdowning39]

Really appreciate the video guys, it definitely helped me get that job done

[@troublegrim]

The easiest way to remove knob from light switch it reach under dash hold in that white button and pull knob and stem right off no tool necessary. That's the way I do it anyway

[@drakek5007]

Allen wrench works good too.

[@TBO207]

careful plugginf that back in i did this on my mercury cougar and the hot wire for the headlights came out and shorted out the wires up front, thank god i had the hood open with loose battery terminals cause of that

[@lesterclaypool1]

i have a 1980 ford f100 that i just love its a great old truck but my four way flasher switch broke off and i cant even find where it went , could you fellas do a video on repairing this ? i looked at your videos and didnt see one i dont really want to change out the steering column but where i live its a safety issue , thanks your pal jer , ps im subscribing to your channel

[@beznerindustries3057]

do you have a video on how to remove the interior trim i want to fix my headliner and i cant remove the a pillar column to tuck the headliner in

[@Fixinthatupvideos]

+MEGATRONBEZ117 No We Don't - Sorry

[@beznerindustries3057]

its alright i found out how

[@davianparish770]

The lever you put back in won’t stay in it slides out

[@christopherworkman5470]

I have a 1986 F250 Could you please tell me a constant power source & accessory wire I could connect a clock to? I got an OEM clock at my local junkyard, but since my truck didn't have the optional clock , it doesn't have the wiring for it. I spliced it to the radio's power sources , BUT it resets when the truck is shout off & will only work if the radio is on.

[@noahgaray7923]

Christopher Workman there is an oem clock plug in the dash. Look harder for it.

[@stephankapusta9836]

thanks for the video....i just bought an 82, the light switch is the same but I dont know how to switch between high and low beams...is it in that switch? some times it comes on high and others low. i dont see any rym or reason.

[@Fixinthatupvideos]

stephan kapusta high beam is in the floor stephan - top right next to the door .... Stan

[@stephankapusta9836]

I can't believe I didn't know this. But I found it later that day.

[@chrissloan3396]

so when my lights are on after a little while the flicker off and on i can hit the dimmer switch and it changes between high and low but continues to go in and out what could be the problem

[@Fixinthatupvideos]

+Chris Sloan sounds like the light switch

[@mikiebolton4495]

Man, you are a life saver. Thanks for the video. This was my first time changing one. Although I didn't have the nifty tool you have, I was able to just pull everything apart by hand.

[@MLGVizzy]

+Chris Sloan I'm having the same issue, was this the fix??

[@peterlanglois2889]

The removing the knob step isn’t specific enough. Really guesswork

[@mrgoodtimes05]

You can remove the 90° vent tube and have access to the switch from the top

[@TrueCustomServices]

Im going to try that