Ok, time to tap you guys for a 'what the heck is this' gadget on my 72 TC. This little doo-dad sits on the driver side dash top... is it some sort of sentinal for the lights or something?? It turns and has positions for late and early. Any thoughts on how it works?
i'm ass u ming..that its for the headlights! but in my case...it would slow the clock....i'm always early
Kind of a wierd place to put a knob... But I think you're on the right track. My guess is a adjustment knob for the twilight sentinel - "Early" the lights come on earlier , relative to full darkness; "Late", the ligts come on late relative to full darkness. You should also have some kind of light sensor somewhere, probably on the dash top.
Yup. That is for the headlamp Automatic-ON/OFF feature. I believe you'll find it listed in your owners manual as the "Safeguard Sentinel lighting system". It was a $37 option in 1972. The little knob adjusted how sensative the photocell was to ambient light. There should also be an ON/OFF switch and control ring around the headlamp switch. The ring adjusted the turn off delay after shutting down the car if the lamps were on automatically. At least that is how it worked on the 74-75s. I've never seen it on a pre-74 Chrysler let alone a Town and Country. It is a very rare option. More common on the 71-73s was a simple version that just did an "auto-off" feature. The only part you saw was a decal next to the headlamp knob that said: "FOR DELAY TURN LIGHTS OFF LAST". Basically if you wanted the exterior lamps to stay on for a pre-set exit delay, you turned off the ignition key first, then pushed the headlamp knob off. The lights would stay on for an extra minute or two so you could see your way down the driveway. If you didn't want the delay you just shut off the lights first, then the ignition. Easy as that. But Cadillac had a more sophisticated "Twilight Sentinel" option with an adjustable time delay. So sometime in the early seventies Chrysler did add the "Safeguard Sentinel" to their options list. The Chrysler version had two extra features however. The EARLY/LATE knob (which Cadillac had in the sixties but dropped) and the Chryslers also wired the reverse lamps into the system. So during the exit delay, the reverse lamps also came on to illuminate behind the car for a rearward exit. Cadillac never did that! That is actually an easy feature to add if you have a headlamp off delay feature. You just add a simple relay. Connect the reverse lamp wiring to the parking lamp circuit. Then add the relay inline and wire it so the relay is open with the ignition ON. Thus when the lights are on and the ignition is on the reverse lamps stay off. Shut the car off the relay closes and the reverse lamps come on if the lights are still on. So if you have a Sentinel exit delay the reverse lamps will stay on along with the other exterior lamps for the delay period. Be sure to add Diodes to prevent back feeding when you shift into reverse that the exterior lamps don't come on. LOL. I made this modification to my 89 Crown victoria. It worked great. Other than a few people would shout "Hey your car is still in reverse!" if they saw the reverse lamps on as I walked away at night. LOL. I'm nervous about doing it to my 2004 Crown victoria as all the exterior lamp functions are controlled by a Lamp control module. I'm sorry, but I think todays cars with their multiplexed wiring systems are not a step forward in design. PS: Can you post a picture of the headlamp switch if it has those extra controls?
These are really neat gadgets! I had the sentinel system on my 88 Caprice as well. It functioned as an automatic on/off switch and had the delay function. Worked really good, as I never touched my headlight switch again. I also had the "torpedo" thingy option in my '65 Imperial. On countryroads, you could switch on the big lights, the torpedo on the dash had a sensor in it, so when oncoming traffic was approaching, it would sense the headlights of that traffic and switch to dimlight. And then to think that that is a feature that they dont even have right now in normal new cars with all their electronics! The automatic on/off sensor was just coming into cars a few years ago as standard.....
Wow, that's pretty cool. I knew someone would confirm my suspicions. Kind of neat for 1972... and rare I guess. As requested, here is a picture of the light switch as well and what it looks like to activate the sentinal.
I had no idea that Chrysler had this... First off, I love the EARLY/LATE knob. My Park Ave has the Twilight Sentinel feature and I would love to be able to adjust the amount of light that it requires before activation. The original dashboard ambient light sensor was too sensitive. If the sun wasn't at high noon, the lights would come on...which normally wouldn't be a problem, but I also have the Heads Up Display, which is dimmed by the lights being on...and I can't see it if it is dimmed, but not getting dark outside. I changed out the sensor with one from the junkyard and it is not sensitive enough...it waits to turn on the lights when it is a little too dark for my tastes...good for the HUD, bad for safety. I guess I could get off my bum and turn on the lights manually...but then, what's the point of having options if we don't use them? I plan on making another trip to the junkyard to get some more sensors to try until I find the one that works for me...a EARLY/LATE knob would be just the ticket. Second, when I got my Park Ave, it surprised me to turn on my reverse lights when I unlocked the door from my remote (when it's dark enough to activate the Twilight Sentinel) along with my parking lamps and DRL's (high beams at reduced voltage). The reverse lights don't come on during the exit delay...only when I unlock the car with the remote in the dark. It's a big help when approaching the car at night. I have found that all the neat little gadgets and options that are being raved about these days (Twilight Sentinel, Auto-Headlamp Dimmers, Auto-Dimming mirrors, etc.) actually have their beginnings long ago, when car makers were offering to pamper you (for the right price). Amazing how many options that didn't quite catch on years ago have become so popular or expected these days. Car manufacturers were ahead of their time...
[/quote} I also had the "torpedo" thingy option in my '65 Imperial. On countryroads, you could switch on the big lights, the torpedo on the dash had a sensor in it, so when oncoming traffic was approaching, it would sense the headlights of that traffic and switch to dimlight. And then to think that that is a feature that they dont even have right now in normal new cars with all their electronics! The automatic on/off sensor was just coming into cars a few years ago as standard.....[/quote] I don't know what mopar called this, but GM called it the 'autronic eye' The option is really neat, and to try to buy just an autronic eye will run you high up on the budget!
Yes it was a nice option. It took me about half a year searching and asking around before I finally found out what it actually was, as it didn't function anymore. No idea what it was called in the Imperial though.
Im going to jack my own thread here for a second... I discoved another neat option on this car yesterday. How about a telescoping steering wheel! HAHA! I wouldnt have even noticed it had I not been fussing under the dash and looked up... I saw a lever under the wheel that slides left/right and releases the wheel to telescope about 4inches. Combine it with tilt and you pretty much have endless adjustments. Pretty NEAT!
You should check under the seats to see if the factory order documents are in there. You might have more goodies that you find out without opening something up. Posi-trac, special suspension, etc. I like the telescope feature too, especially for a short-a$$ like me.
I had no idea that Chrysler had this... I'm surprised if Mopar had this back then why my father didn't order it on any of his cars? He's always been one for getting just about any toy you could on his Mopars. Like the '81 K-car had the CB in with the sterio. (not that is worked well since it got replaced like 5 times)
