I put an ez wiring harness in my 64 biscayne. I had to jiggle the headlight switch a little to get the taillights to come on. I noticed yesterday that one side would go out when I apply the brakes. So I mess with it for a while, clean connections check grounds etc. I finally get the taillights and brake lights to work right. I shut off the lights put my tools away and come back to check the lights one more time, First I try the turn signals-nothing, then the brakes-nothing, only one of the park lights is working! I mess with the headlight switch and nothing changes. The fuses are fine. Could my headlight switch be fried? thanks-Brian
Yep, the switch sounds bad, went through just about the same thing with my 57 Buick, bummer is that there isn't a good replacement for mine, yours is cake...
yep...check the switch first. If not the switch it has to be a ground, or usually is. I had an issue with the taillight bulb sockets not grounding correctly in the housing. Sand the metal tabs and bend them out a hair to make sure they are touching the housing well. Cured mine.
I'm amazed at how often people ask if an electrical item is bad because it only works when jiggled. Especially ancient electrical items. Seriously, did you need to ask? I'm about to give you a golden rule of troubleshooting. Find a fold in your grey matter where it can permanently reside....... When troubleshooting a system, any system, from taillights to carburetors to suspension......If there is a known-bad component in the system.....even if the symptom is somewhere else......fix the known bad component. Bad components cause ripple effects and can fool even the sharpest of troubleshooters, or worse yet cause long term harm with subtle ripple effects that don't cripple the system immediately Many people feel this is like throwing money at a problem but nothing could be further from the truth. Never underestimate the basics. No matter where you fall on the experience spectrum. In this case even if the switch is not the final cause of the taillight problem, it needed to be replaced anyway. People get tunnel vision "I'm fixing a tail light" and forget they're actually "fixing the car". Does that make any sense?? good luck with the chivvy
couldn't have put it any better myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while you are at the parts store ya might as well pick up new taillight bulb housings........Had a 62 impala did the same thing, one goes out with brake applied, even after replacing the headlight switch..Good luck
Double check your grounds, too, that's a common issue that will cause strange and intermittent failures. Usually where the socket or the bulb itself grounds back to the car. My beater has one now I have to check, I changed the plate light out and somehow now it's pulling from one headlight so the light is dim. Just has been too cold up here to mess with that stuff.
I have that same kit in my 62 C10. It's a good kit, but the flasher units that it comes with are weak. While you're at the parts store, go ahead and grab new, quality ones. Mine went out within a few weeks. Good luck trouble shooting. Sounds like the switch alright.
okay, I changed the headlight switch, both rear light sockets,both rear bulbs, and the turn signal flasher. I now have turn signals, running lights, and the left brake light, there is no power to the right brake light, I checked the wire in various places all the way to the front of the car-nothing. I also checked the third brake light wire, which I am not using, it has no power either. Since this kit comes with no diagram, does anyone no where I should check next? As you can see wiring is not my specialty. This car became my daily driver on sunday and I need it working asap. Thanks
Another thing to consider.... The plug that connects to the column. On mine, one of the snap in plugs that goes into the plastic block was loose. It was doing basically the same thing. Check for wobbly connections there. I pulled mine out, spread the tangs a little and pushed it back in. Worth a shot.
At this point you're saying there's no high on the right taillight. Either stop or turn??? It's kinda different if the turn works but the stop doesn't. Golden rule 2 of troubleshooting, look at whatever's been fucked with. In this case the third brake light wire. It's gotta come from somewhere. Follow it back til you find where it tees in, and don't be suprised if it tees into the right side brake wire. Hopefully it's just a cheeseball connection that's preventing voltage from reaching the back of the car. The kind of person that makes a 3rd brakelight flash with the right side blinker is the kind of person that leaves halfass & corroded crimp connectors in their wake good luck
Brian... First of all, check the connection at the fuse block to make sure it's tight, and has power there. If all is well at that end, recheck the grounds to make sure they are good.
Hi Glenn. I'm misunderstanding something fundamental here and since you guys are wiring experts you should be able to set it straight. Please don't take this as a poke at your idea, lernin' is why I'm here. To me it seems if the other side is working it's not the fusebox connection. At that point isn't the wiring unified between sides in case of brake and front/back in the case of the blinker? Since they split at the signal switch or brake switch wouldn't that be the place to look? The grounds on those cars are super sketchy for sure, but if he doesn't read voltage on the incoming wire, is the ground really the place to look? Thanks for all the help you've put forth on this forum Rebel-wire
Yep, I'm actually being a little too simplistic here. Going back to the fuse block is a starting point. From there the circuit will run through the turn signal switch. That would be the next place to check. From there I would check the "Y" connection where the brake lights split. I just spoke to Bob about the kit not having instructions and he said he may have an ezwire instruction book in the shop we could refer to. I think I would still check grounds and make sure that that particular socket is grounded properly.
Had the same issues with my 64 belAir. Used a Haywire set up and all new components. Should not have had any product issues but maybe installer errors perhaps. So here is what I found. My new sockets were not grounding correctly. Fixed that. Still couldn't get the RR directional to work. Traced it back with a 12 volt test light to the column wiring. In my case the lead in the harness to the column connector was working, it died after that. Turned out to be the new directional switch wiring harness. Had one wire transposed. Changed it in the connector and all was well. Can be agravating at times but just keep chasing that lead and you will be able to find it.
a side note on the early switches. if You take one apart (gently, in a well lit area, with a turkey tray underneath where you are working, 'cause something is gonna fall out.) You will find they aren't typically destroyed. I have taken to using one of those clever "fiberglass pens" typically used for cleaning rust out of chips in Your paint. They're cheap, and make cleaning brass terminals a breeze. more often than not, the switch can be saved. (which is a bonus when You are working on oddball stuff and don't care for aftermarket switches and such.) the springs that push the terminals together can usually be streched back out after cleaning to insure good contact. the rest is VERY simple stuff. brass lugs that slide from position a to b or c...etc,etc. they don't care if it is 6 volt or 12 volt. they are built for abuse. The biggest key to my success is to "tighten up" the housing when I am done. years of vibration will make any switch "loose" in the long run. even badly broken stuff can usually be fixed if You are gentle. point being, before You trash the next one, give repairing it a try. worst case scenario, You were gonna replace it anyway, right?
Thanks- I was trying to sell this to buy a commuter car, I fixed the lights and about 15 minutes later someone bought the car! win win for me
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