so I am working on trying to get the wagon to have some lights again. We had no way to test the front as it was disassembled when we got the car. Taillights were a joke. Nothing worked other than 1 half of a brake light. No dashlights. So we started to get dash lights going and nothing. Put a new standard/blue streak switch in and nothing - fought for a while returned the switch and put a wells switch in it. Started blowing fuses. Discovered there was a bulb missing and the pin was pushed in and grounding out. Put a bulb in and they work. We put all the headlights in the front together and they worked as they should same as the front market lamps - we added relays to allow for brighter headlamps.
So off to the rear. I seem to have signal and brakes at the rear and no taillights. Chasing wires and harness all looks good. so I pulled the headlight switch out to test the pins right at the switch and found two wires getting a little hotter than my comfort level will allow me to assume units normal. Not blowing any fusses. So to complicate things the car is not wired with the same colours that the Manila depicts and its for sure the correct harness and not played with.
2 questions...
1. Why would the wire colours be different. Not 1 or two but most.
2. Has anyone ever expierenced what I am describing? Before I rip things really apart am I overlooking something silly?
Do you have a reproduction headlight switch- they are hit and miss on quality.
Check your grounds at the tail lights. Your signal lights and brake lights will work with a weaker ground than your tail lights. Use a wire to test the ground with one end on a solid ground and the other connected to the light bulb.
If you are blowing fuses when looking for a bad wire connection, use this method for finding it.
Get a 12v bulb and socket - Wire some pigtails to it and clip it across the BLOWING FUSE (cover any exposed metal on the socket with tape). One lead to one side of the blown fuse, the other lead to the opposite side. If the fuse is blown due to a short - the lamp will light. The resistance in the lamp filament will prevent any damage to the circuit. ie SMOKE. The bulb will light AS LONG AS the short is there.
Unplug the various suspect wiring connections - if the test lamp is still lit - the problem hasn't been found yet. Keep going until you disconnect something and the light bulb goes out, you found your short. Use a long wire on the pigtails so you can put the bulb and socket up high enough so you can see it from the tail light area etc.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
The ground thing could be interesting. I was thinking the lights could be a little brighter so perhaps there could be a ground issue still in that harness. I will have to check. I am currently no longer blowing fuses. I have done the fuse jump thing with the battery off using a continuity tester.
Ill see if I can get some photos of the harness on wires heating up
So today I chased the harness and did tests and unplugged thing and plugged them back in and cant say I really fixed anything exactly but all seems to be working and nothing seems to be getting hot now
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
thisnis my best guess right now. Also the plugging and unplugging of cdirty connectors has brought things to life. I just dont like broken things fixing themselves and not locating a problem... I will continue to monitor. Didnt like the hot wires at all. One is the wire for the ignition light and ashtray lights of all things. They work fine
I was having tail light issues on and old Firebird a few years back......and the problem was that somebody had put single filament bulbs in a double filament socket.....I didn't check for that initially....because bulb was lighting...
I have come across that before. Very frustrating. Not the case this time. all is working as it should back there less the sending unit for the gas tank. Was working but now not. That will be my next adventure I guess. I am going to finish up the wiring at the back as I am close to being able to install the rear bumper. All I have to do is find the safe spot I put the trailer hitch so I can mount it at the same time
I have come across that before. Very frustrating. Not the case this time. all is working as it should back there less the sending unit for the gas tank. Was working but now not. That will be my next adventure I guess. I am going to finish up the wiring at the back as I am close to being able to install the rear bumper. All I have to do is find the safe spot I put the trailer hitch so I can mount it at the same time
If you haven't already......check your external ground (body connection) for the tank sender.....
