When I learned to drive in the late 70’s, every car had the headlight dimmer switch on the floor near the “dead pedal” area.
sometime in the 80’s it got moved to the steering column, usually on the signal light bar.
WHY?
What was the logic of this?
Easier to reach without taking your eyes off the road.
I’ve wondered this too. But what I’m REALLY curious about is why the OP calls it a “dimmer” switch. I call it the high-beam switch. Do you normally drive with the brights on?
Nah. That switch was just as easy for the left foot as the gas and brake are for the right foot.
I never took my eyes off the road to hit the headlight dimmer switch. It would be hard to see my feet at night. I just moved my foot over and pushed down on the switch. Moving my hand off the steering wheel when going through a corner can be difficult.
the floor switch rusted through.
other dash knob functions got moved to the stalk.
This article claims European influence and front wheel drive.
So can hitting the dimmer switch while shifting gears. A disabled person is using hand controls to drive the car couldn’t access the floor switch either. Not to mention it’s probably cheaper to add it to a multi-function switch/lever than add it to the floor.
Something happened in October, 1973: The oil crisis hit, big time.
So suddenly Americans started buying small, gas-saving cars. And the only small cars on the market were Japanese.
So , for the first time in recent history, masses of Americans began buying foreign products. And they discovered something very,very strange: those furriners make some pretty good stuff.
All the foreign cars had controls on the stick…it’s much more convenient. And once people got used to it, the American manufacturers came to the same conclusion.
Nope.–it’s not “just as easy”. That foot-operated switch was located up in the far corner of the floor…you had to keep your left leg extended to the maximum, and your foot exactly in the same position at all times. Very uncomfortable. Your left leg isn’t necessary for driving (an automatic transmission)–why not leave it free , with the freedom to bend your knee, flex the muscles a little ?
A stalk control at your fingertips is much, much more convenient.
that doesn’t make much sense; front wheel drive (implying a transverse powertrain layout) generally gained more room in the footwell thanks to the elimination of the large transmission tunnel.
The “dimmer switch” on the stalk is also used to flash the headlights when theyvare turned off. Europeans, and perhaps Japanese, are used to flashing headlights rather than sounding the horn. Easier to do with the stalk instead of a pull switch on the dash.
I never had a floor switch rust through. And so many functions are on the stalk nowdays, you need a manual to figure out which direction to press/pull, twist or bend it, or you do the wrong thing.
I took the reply as a joke. Instead of using your foot to step on the switch, you reach down with your hand to push it. 
When I drove cars with foot switches it was easy to inadvertently push the switch.
Does anyone (besides Keeve) call it anything but dimmer switch?
On the one hand, I confess to never paying much attention to what it is called. If you had asked me yesterday, I probably would have said “the high beam switch”. For me (and I presume most people) the default setting is where it gives less light, and the main use of this switch is to temporarily use the high beams. Thus, I am surprised to hear it being named for reverse of its usual function.
(By the way, I just googled the phrase “dimmer switch”, and the first three pages are entirely about switches for making your in-home lighting variably dim or bright. It’s not until the fourth page that there’s one lone hit for the automotive variety that this thread is about.)
FWIW, here is a quote from the Washington State Driver’s Handbook:
[quote]
Here are some things you can do that will help you see better:
[ul][li]use your high beams whenever there are no oncoming vehicles. High beams let you see twice as far as low beams. It is important to use high beams on unfamiliar roads, in construction areas, or where there may be people along the side of the road.[/li][li]dim your high beams whenever you come within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle.[/ul][/li][/quote]
So according to the state, high beams should be the default in some areas.
No kidding! I went and test drove a Mercedes and couldn’t believe all the shit it had on the stalk and column.
Never happened to me. But what does happen on occasion is I’ll be using the turn signal and accidentally flash my brights. Or I’ll be using the lever to dim and may accidentally activate the signal light in lane change mode.
Anyone ever have a car where the horn was on the signal light stalk? How freaking stupid was THAT?:eek:
Ditto.
I’d say that’s well under ten percent of my driving.
Never, ever heard it called the dimmer switch in 50 years of driving.
Driving in an area where you need to switch back and forth between regular and high-beam was bad enough. Having to try to find the switch with a foot, especially when the left foot might be needed to put the clutch in at the same time, was a hazard. Of course they needed to improve that.
Also to find it every time you got into a car, especially different ones. ( back in the day, Dad sold used cars, so we older kids drove some interesting stuff once in a while )
Thanks, all, especially JohnnyLA and SCAdian