Brake lights, directional lights.

[mikey531]

My directional lights stopped working. so I swapped the flashers and they still didn't work. I bought one new flasher and they started working. Now I don't have any brake lights. I have power to both sides of the brake switch when I press the switch and both directional lights work. Does the other flasher have anything to do with the brake lights? These were working until I may have moved some wires out of the way to get to the other flasher. I am lost. Thanks

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Check for power at the yellow & green wires at the turn switch when the pedal is depressed. They should both be hot. They are the wires going to rear stop lights. Only one should be hot & flashing when the respective turn switch is turned on withe key on. If they are not hot with the brake pedal depressed you most likely have a bad turn switch.

George

[mikey531]

I have American auto wire will they be the same colors? Can I check at the base of the steering column or do I have to the steering wheel off? Thanks

[Steeveedee]

There are service and repair manuals. Do you have them for your truck? If not, click on the link and download it and the wiring diagrams. You can compare them against the AAW harness. A quick check would be to see if the wire out of the stop light switch to the turn signal switch is white, like factory (or that could have been changed in the intervening decades).

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...ghlight=hatzie

[mikey531]

I looked at the diagram and I might as well be looking at hieroglyphics. I don't understand what all the lines mean and what goes where.

Thanks for trying.

[dmjlambert]

What are you using to determine you have power to both sides of the brake switch, a test light or multimeter or something else? Just wondering what we're dealing with for tools. Can you post a picture of your column connector that shows the wire colors going into it? On the stock wiring it would have been a crescent shaped plug. Not sure what you might have for American auto wire. These are the wire colors for stock wiring, on the left is the under dash wiring harness side of the connector, the right is the turn signal switch wires that go up inside the steering column.



Colors of the under dash wiring harness side and what they are for.
black - horn button
light blue - left front turn signal light and left dash light
dark blue - right front turn signal light and right dash light
brown - power from hazard flasher
purple - power from turn signal flasher
yellow - left rear turn signal/brake light
green - right rear turn signal/brake light
white - brake light power when brake pedal pressed

[mikey531]

I used a test light. Everything is less that 4 years old it was all new wiring steering column, internals all bought new. Everything has been working, until my directional lights stopped. I swapped the two flashers and they still didn't work. These were old flashers never thought about buying new. I bought one new one and installed it and the directional lights work now. I only replaced one flasher and left the other one out. I am going to get another one today to make sure that doesn't have anything to do with it. I will try to look and see what I have under there, my 73 year old bones don't move like they used to. I am putting on my lift so I can stand and look in.
Thanks

['68OrangeSunshine]

Incandescent Tungsten filaments, or LEDs?
LEDs have a polarity, but Tungsten bulbs work either way.

[mikey531]

tungsten

[dmjlambert]

OK, if you're wires are the same colors and order shown above, then insert the test light probe in the back of the connector while the connector is plugged in. Contact the white wire's terminal. Test light should light when you press the brake pedal. Then move the test probe to the green or yellow wire's terminal. Those are the wires that go to the brake lights. If your turn signal switch is in the middle position, and the brake pedal is pressed, the green and yellow wires should be getting voltage to light the brake lights. That will test the turn signal switch to see if it is properly passing the brake signal through.

[mikey531]

I think I found the problem now how do I fix it ?

[Dashman]

You need to use a flattened wire to push on a tang on the terminal while you pull it out from the front or back. I'm not familiar with that exact type of connector, but it looks like it comes out the front. If it comes out the front, the tang will be accessed from the back. I would see if you can open the crimps to reuse the terminal. If not, you'll have to shop for that particular type of terminal. I'm not sure why the wires are placed in the connector at an angle, but that last white wire bore all the stress because it was the shortest. I would cut it back an inch or so, solder another piece of white wire, place a heat shrink tube over it, and then connect it to the terminal at a length equal to the next wire. Remember to place the heat shrink tube before you make the solder connection. I like to use a strand of 18 or 16 gauge wire to wrap the two ends of wire together. It helps hold the two ends together while soldering.

[mikey531]

I am getting a new 2 prong plug and wiring those two back together. One of the pins I took out wasn't even connected to the wire !

[Steeveedee]

That connector will fix it. The other flasher element is for the emergency flashers.

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by Dashman

You need to use a flattened wire to push on a tang on the terminal while you pull it out from the front or back. I'm not familiar with that exact type of connector, but it looks like it comes out the front. If it comes out the front, the tang will be accessed from the back. I would see if you can open the crimps to reuse the terminal. If not, you'll have to shop for that particular type of terminal. I'm not sure why the wires are placed in the connector at an angle, but that last white wire bore all the stress because it was the shortest. I would cut it back an inch or so, solder another piece of white wire, place a heat shrink tube over it, and then connect it to the terminal at a length equal to the next wire. Remember to place the heat shrink tube before you make the solder connection. I like to use a strand of 18 or 16 gauge wire to wrap the two ends of wire together. It helps hold the two ends together while soldering.

That is the plug on the column harness.. The wires are arranged like that for a reason.. When installing the turn signal switch, the plug along with the wires have to be fed down the column from the top.. The wires are arranged so that the wires can be pulled back along the length of the plug and can be used to push the plug through the passageway in the column.. If the wires were all the same length, or an irregular length, they would tend to snag on something on the way down.

@Mikey531, No need to add length to that broken wire. Using a wire stripper tool, remove only a small portion of the insulation, less than 1/4".. Solder the wire to the connector in the area of the outer tangs. These tangs normally are crimped only slightly around the insulation. Re-crimp them around the wire and solder that area.

To clarify the removal of the terminals from the plug.. The removal tool is inserted from the terminal side of the plug. the terminal comes out from the wire end. Before reinstalling, use a tiny screwdriver to slightly lift the retention tab that you just depressed to remove the terminal. Push it in until you hear (and feel) a slight click.

[mikey531]

All fixed I have brake lights now!

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by mikey531

All fixed I have brake lights now!

Doncha just love it when a plan comes all together.....

[mikey531]

Absolutely !!! Especially with all the help from this site !!!! Thank You !!!