electrical issues... NEED HELP!

[unique760]

ok so this is my first time posting a thread. my dad has a 66 stepside that I recently painted on the inside of the cab and after I put back dash components seat and original wiring harness the next day I turn the ignition forward, im not much of a mechanic so I don't know many terms, before it starts the engine and the left turn signal light is blinking regardless of what position the turn lever is in but the dash indicator only flashes when its turned left (even when the lever is moved to signal turning right the right dash light indicates, and rear light flashes but it doesn't stop the left light from blinking when it's turned right.
any advice is appreciated!

[Vernski]

Hi here is a link to the GMC guys info on all things electrical, I know you have a Chevy but the wiring is allot the same just some specific things are for GMC's but the bulk of it is good for your chevy also. Give this a good read through it will help you solve your problem's electrical...Vernski

http://6066gmcclub.com/gmcguy/wire-tips.html

[PGSigns]

Sounds like the turn signal switch is bad. Can you feel the detents in the switch or does feel like a smooth movement? Next I would look at the connector where the column plugs into the wiring harness. Make sure it is in good and clean.
Jimmy

[tincan1966]

Did everything work as it was supposed to before you did the painting?
This info is helpful in tracking down possible faults. You can save time then by only looking at components you disassembled, not guessing.

[unique760]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

Sounds like the turn signal switch is bad. Can you feel the detents in the switch or does feel like a smooth movement? Next I would look at the connector where the column plugs into the wiring harness. Make sure it is in good and clean.
Jimmy

yes I still feel the detents of the lever and ok I will check the connector today.

Vernski - thanks! that link's gonna help with a lot of my other questions too

tincan1966- yeah it worked before disassembly and when it was disassembled the whole fuse box was taken out aswell

[unique760]

ok so I took out the steering column sleeves and shifter, checked the connections to the lights and nothing looks different now then when I first disassembled it. the wire that's missing was missing before this problem occured. or could that be part of the problem?? also is that piece of ctton or whatever material inside the turn sig. mechanism vital?? because I don't have either of them anymore.. I checked the grounds on the lights didn't see a problem. I'm thinking it's the flasher.. but not sure how to check????

[unique760]

ALSO THE BRAKE LIGHTS DONT WORK At all! could this be part of the problem or a separate problem altogether??!!

[ray_mcavoy]

Based on the symptoms you've described with the turn signals and the brake lights not working, I would suspect the problem is most likely in the turn signal switch.

Take a close look at the contacts ... the ones you can see at the lower left in this pic:



They look okay from what I can see in the pic but there might be just enough dirt/debris in there to prevent them from functioning properly. Try cleaning them with some electrical contact cleaner.

You can test the switch with an ohmmeter or continuity tester. With the switch unplugged, check the wires on the switch as follows:

In the center position, there should not be any continuity between the purple wire (flasher) and any of the other wires. But there should be continuity between the white wire (brake light switch) and both the yellow and dark green (left & right rear light) wires.

With the switch flipped to the left turn position, there should be continuity between the purple wire (flasher) to both the light blue (left front light) and yellow (left rear light) wires. Similarly, with the switch flipped to the right turn position, there should be continuity between the purple wire and the dark blue (right front light) and dark green (right rear light) wires.

Originally Posted by unique760

I'm thinking it's the flasher.. but not sure how to check????

The flasher relay is simply a bi-metallic strip of metal connected to a set of contact points. Current flowing through the bi-metallic strip causes it to heat up and open the contact points. That stops the current, allowing the strip to cool and close the points. That process repeats, causing the lights to flash, so long as the turn signal switch is providing a connection to the lights.

Since you said your lights are blinking, the flasher is most likely okay. If it were to fail with the contacts stuck open the turn signal lights wouldn't light up at all. And if it were to fail with the contacts stuck closed the turn signal lights would be lit steady (not blinking).

Originally Posted by unique760

the wire that's missing was missing before this problem occured. or could that be part of the problem??

By missing wire, I assume you mean that empty cavity in the connector seen here:



If so, that's only used on trucks with automatic transmissions to light up the shift indicator on the steering column.

Originally Posted by unique760

also is that piece of ctton or whatever material inside the turn sig. mechanism vital?? because I don't have either of them anymore.

I think those little round pieces of felt are just to stiffen up the "springy" plastic fingers on the cancelling mechanism. I don't think they're vital ... worst case would be the mechanism simply won't cancel on it's own and you'll have to flip the lever back to center after making a turn.

[unique760]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Based on the symptoms you've described with the turn signals and the brake lights not working, I would suspect the problem is most likely in the turn signal switch.

Take a close look at the contacts ... the ones you can see at the lower left in this pic:



They look okay from what I can see in the pic but there might be just enough dirt/debris in there to prevent them from functioning properly. Try cleaning them with some electrical contact cleaner.

You can test the switch with an ohmmeter or continuity tester. With the switch unplugged, check the wires on the switch as follows:

In the center position, there should not be any continuity between the purple wire (flasher) and any of the other wires. But there should be continuity between the white wire (brake light switch) and both the yellow and dark green (left & right rear light) wires.

With the switch flipped to the left turn position, there should be continuity between the purple wire (flasher) to both the light blue (left front light) and yellow (left rear light) wires. Similarly, with the switch flipped to the right turn position, there should be continuity between the purple wire and the dark blue (right front light) and dark green (right rear light) wires.

THANKS!! this was the solution to my turn signal problem the one contact on the left was touching the bottom contact in which I took out and slightly adjusted to give enough room and now it works without the constant blinking.
But the brakes lights are still not turning on?? I don't have an ohmmeter but I will hopefully have enough time this week to go to the local oreillys and pick one up. Thanks again for all the info.

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by unique760

THANKS!! this was the solution to my turn signal problem the one contact on the left was touching the bottom contact in which I took out and slightly adjusted to give enough room and now it works without the constant blinking.
But the brakes lights are still not turning on?? I don't have an ohmmeter but I will hopefully have enough time this week to go to the local oreillys and pick one up. Thanks again for all the info.

You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that the slight adjustment of the contacts took care of the constantly blinking turn signal problem.

I see in one of your earlier posts that you took out the entire dash harness & fuse box. With that in mind, it might be worth double checking to make sure you didn't forget to plug the connector back onto the brake light switch

If you don't get a chance to pick up a multimeter, you can still troubleshoot the brake light circuit with a simple test light. The brake light switch connector should have an orange wire that's live all the time (it's fed from the "tail / stop" fuse). When the brake pedal is pushed, the contacts in the switch should close, sending power to the white wire that runs to the turn signal switch.

If that checks out okay, you can use the test light to make sure power from the brake light switch is reaching the turn signal switch okay (white wire). And check the dark green & yellow wires (with the turn signal switch centered) to see if power is passing through the turn signal switch okay.

[unique760]

ok so I got the test light and checked the wires and no power was on the white wire (in my case they are both white but one is spliced to an orange wire thtat runs to the light switch, that's how it was hooked up before I took it apart)and neither of them had power. I checked the wires on the turn signal switch in the middle position and the white wire was not live, the only one besides the horn that was live in the center position was the purple wire and the test light was flashing when I put it to the purple wire. so is it a problem with the fuse or something else??

[fleetsidelarry]

orange wire from headlight switch needs to be hot, so I'd look at that part of the circuit, it does get power from the fuse block.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=324713