No Brake Lights, But Turn Signals Work

[Big_John]

I feel like I had success today, I do think the source of my issues were in the connector. There was quite a bit of corrosion in there, but some electrical cleaner and a wire brush got it ‘clean enough’. But I think the real problem was the wire pins were loose inside the connector. It looked like a couple of the wires would push out the back a little when I would put the connector back together. I spent some time bending the little side tabs a bit and it seemed to tighten things up a bit. Pushed it back together and everything lights up great! Fingers crossed it is a lasting fix.

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You know, I'm starting to think that as cars get over 50 years old, it's time to pull all the electrical connectors apart and clean them up before we have problems.

Again, my choice is De-Oxit, but some sort of cleaning might be in order. I don't recommend slathering dielectric grease on them as that is actually an insulating grease (look up the word "dielectric"). You could, however, put a little on the the plastic. This is the intended use of the grease. The De-Oxit does the job of protecting the conductor.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I agree @Big_John - cleaning even the naturally occuring "tarnish" level of corrosion off the terminals will have a benefit, plus one can find and repair/replace those terminals that are damaged, have pinches and insulation tears/rub-throughs.

It's quite surprising how many of the wires are barely hanging on to theie crimped terminals due to 50 years of heat, vibration and the damage inflicted by our rummaging around, especially in the engine bay, and high current-handling connections like blower motors, headlight, highbeam and wiper switches etc.

I am amazed at how much better things work after the wiring has been gone through.

 

[Ghostultramarine]

Your third picture was how I felt.

Congrats on getting it working!

@Ross Wooldridge There is no tilt telescopic. I would like that, but I’ve seen the extra work required ...

I have grabbed a steering wheel puller.

There is what I’m guessing to be a connection for a trailer wired into the trunk (but no hitch on the car?) and whomever did it simple cut the insulation away from the wires and wrapped the connector wires around the open wire and put some electrical tape over ...

@cbarge Thank you. I’d love the help in person. But don’t underestimate the inspiration and advice you all are giving online. It’s the next best thing.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I wasn't sure if you had T&T, and for some reason it stuck in my head that you did... lol.

OK, so when you replace the turn signal switch, make sure you tie a long piece (twice as long as the column) of sturdy string or mechanic's wire to the old turn signal switch's wires at the bottom of the column. When you pull the old switch up and out, leave the wire in the column and tie it to the new switch's wires at the top, and it will aid you in pulling the new wires back down through the column, using the proper route.

Good luck.

 

[Big_John]

I wasn't sure if you had T&T, and for some reason it stuck in my head that you did... lol.

OK, so when you replace the turn signal switch, make sure you tie a long piece (twice as long as the column) of sturdy string or mechanic's wire to the old turn signal switch's wires at the bottom of the column. When you pull the old switch up and out, leave the wire in the column and tie it to the new switch's wires at the top, and it will aid you in pulling the new wires back down through the column, using the proper route.

Good luck.

Wait a minute, everything is working. Am I missing something here?

@Ghostultramarine doesn't need to replace the turn signal switch, although he does need to strip out all the added on and look for hacked up wiring.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Wait a minute, everything is working. Am I missing something here?

@Ghostultramarine doesn't need to replace the turn signal switch, although he does need to strip out all the added on and look for hacked up wiring.

Perhaps I missed that...

 

[Big_John]

Perhaps I missed that...

I think everything was cured in post #12. Or at least this portion anyway. There's going to be other electrical gremlins that previous owners left behind, I can see it, but I think he's on the right path.

 

[Ghostultramarine]

Hold on. The brakes and turn signals are working BUT I had previously, in another post, asked about the turn signal switch. I have to hold the signal arm up and it’s not a nice audible click for down cancellation.

So yes, I do need to check that out and see why.

The steering wheel is not straight across either so it needs to be pulled and centred.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

OK, so the cancelling cam is why you need to replace the TS switch. Now I remember! So - the same tip applies regarding the mechanic's wire and installing the new switch.

In terms of the non-centered steering wheel - your steering wheel and shaft may have a centering mark on the knurl - if it does, it may be a challenge or impossible to reinstall the steering wheel in another position, plus, if it's off from the centre mark, the cancel cam doesn't cancel in the right places when completing a turn. Some people find that a drag, others couldn't care less, but it's something to consider.

Regardless, make notes as you pull the wheel off to see if it was lined up to the proper marks originally. If so, then it may be a case of needing to turn the tie rods an equal amount of turns to centre the wheel - something that should have been done the last time the car was aligned.

 

[Ghostultramarine]

That’s a good point.

Perhaps I should get the alignment first? (Before trying to reposition the steering wheel.)

I still need to get in there and check out the turn signal switch, though.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

A good alignment shop can look at the tie rods and see if they're adjusted heavy to one side. If so, it's likely the steering wheel is not on the centre mark. If they look generally the same side to side, then it's likely the alignment can be adjusted to centre the wheel. Does the car feel like it's out of alignment, IE, does it track straight or do you need to keep adjusting it to stay on the road?

 

[cbarge]

The steering wheel is not straight across either so it needs to be pulled and centred

On your car, the column has a spline on it where the steering wheel goes on only one way.
Aa mentioned, an alignment can correct the off center wheel as long as the steering box and other related steering components are not worn out.

 

[Big_John]

As said above, you can't straighten the wheel because of the master spline.

A good shop will know how it get's fixed by adjusting the tie rod sleeves. If they look at you with a blank stare or say "nope, that's not how you do it", find another shop. Honestly, a few minutes with a couple wrenches, some string and maybe a tape measure and we can walk you through adjusting the sleeves if need be. It's not rocket surgery.

 

[Ghostultramarine]

The car drives straight.

I’d LOVE to learn how to do the alignment!

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Take it to the local alignment shop - they can centre your wheel in 10 minutes.

 

[Big_John]

The car drives straight.

I’d LOVE to learn how to do the alignment!

This isn't really doing an "alignment", but everything is in good shape, the car is tracking straight etc., it's pretty easy to adjust. It will take a little trial and error and a bit of patience.

On the tie rods, the adjusting sleeves need to be turned. Basically one has to be turned clockwise (CW) and the other a corresponding amount counter clockwise (CCW)

So... You jack up the car, mark where the sleeves are to the tie rods with some chalk and then loosen the nuts holding the sleeves. Turn the left sleeve CW one half turn and the right sleeve CCW one half turn. Let the car down and take it around the block.

You'll know find one of four things... First, it's perfect (doubtful), pat yourself on the back.

Second thing that could happen is it's worse and that means you went the wrong way, so jack it back up and turn the left sleeve one full turn CCW and right sleeve one full turn CW. Test drive and see where you are.

The third scenario is you need to adjust more.

The fourth scenario is you overshot the adjustment and have to back off accordingly.

So, it could take a few times jacking it up and crawling underneath the car to get it right. To not screw up the toe setting, it's very important that you move the tie rods exact amounts opposite each other. There's a lot of videos on checking toe in on YouTube and I'll let you search for one. What might be a good plan is to measure what's there now and use the same method to check it once you are all done.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

And there you have it. Very simple. If I have this right in my head, essentially, one has to lengthen the tie rod adjustment on the side the steering wheel is leaning towards, and shorten the side opposite.

EQUAL AMOUNTS!!

 

[Big_John]

And there you have it. Very simple. If I have this right in my head, essentially, one has to lengthen the tie rod adjustment on the side the steering wheel is leaning towards, and shorten the side opposite.

EQUAL AMOUNTS!!

Exactly! And emphasis on equal amounts and why I suggest marking and even if you aren't sure of yourself, measure it up before and after.

Of course, the trick is to move it the right way... The OP didn't specify, so I took a guess, but if I were doing my own car, it would be a good bet I'd go the wrong direction the first time.

 

[marty koirtyohann]

You know, I'm starting to think that as cars get over 50 years old, it's time to pull all the electrical connectors apart and clean them up before we have problems.

Again, my choice is De-Oxit, but some sort of cleaning might be in order. I don't recommend slathering dielectric grease on them as that is actually an insulating grease (look up the word "dielectric"). You could, however, put a little on the the plastic. This is the intended use of the grease. The De-Oxit does the job of protecting the conductor.

after all that u may end up replacing the turn syngle switch the brake lights go through the switch . i had the same thing on my 87 dodge truck , &D my 72 new yorker in both times we replesced the switch with a nos one problem gone the first thong to do is c if u have voltage going to the bulb if u do u may just have a bad bulb or a bad connection or a bad socket

 

[Ghostultramarine]

I cleaned the connectors on the fuse box (took a dremel to the rust as gently as I could).

You can see the first three I did. I finished them all and all of a sudden I had interior lights!

Obviously the corrosion was so bad it prevented electricity to flow.

I also lost the brake and parking lights again ...

Switching fuses I found one of the fuses to be bad (yet visually it looks just fine but it only works intermittently) in addition to poor connectivity on the brake light connectors. I squeezed them a bit closer together and that helped.

Brake and parking lights are working.

I’m going to have to keep an eye on them.

I’m going to have to get De-Oxit so they don’t just corrode again. (It poured here for a few days and after that the brake lights weren’t working).

Now they’re far cleaner and I put some silicone on them. I was going to use dielectric grease but the more I read the more I’ve found it apparently does NOT allow conducting of electricity. Yet, some sources claim it does...