Help, please. Electrical Problem - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Lon66ChevC10 · 03-01-2002, 02:30 AM

Here's the situation. Tuesday night at I put my foot on the brake and the dash lights dimmed on my 1966 Chevrolet C-10. The second time I put my foot on the brake, the dash lights AND tail lights and brake lights all went out completely.
Wednesday morning I replaced the fuse (which was blown) and the dash lights, brake lights, and tail lightsseemed to work okay. However, that night I had the same problem. Dome light won't come on either. But if I shut the truck down, let her sit for a while, then start her back up- all the lights come back normal--- UNTIL the I put my foot on the brake again. The fuse has popped a second time so I obviously have a short somewhere.
My question- how exactly do I check for a short? I traced the wires from the tail lights all the way up to where they go through the firewall into the cab and everything seems okay on that end. I've just barely started tracing wires inside the cab.
It just seems weird that the problem "resets" itself after shutting the truck down.
If anyone can offer any advice I would sure appreciate it.
Thanks!

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1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6

jamiew · 03-04-2002, 03:24 PM

Lon66,
I had a similar problem with my 91 S10 pickup. When I stepped on the brakes, the dash lights would dim, you could barely see the tail lights, and it kept blowing fuses. I traced nearly every wire except the one that was the problem. It turned out that I had a bad ground wire. A 10 minute fix that caused me a 2 day headache. It may or may not be your problem, but it's worth a check. Hope this helps.
jamiew

Lon66ChevC10 · 03-05-2002, 12:14 AM

Jamie,
Thanks. The first thing I finally figured out was that I was replacing the wrong fuse. The fust I kept blowing was actually going to the blower motor on the heater, which is apparantly a SECOND problem that I'll deal with later. Where the fuse for the tailights should be, there was actually a small circuit breaker stuck in there. I removed it and replaced with a same-ampage fuse and have had no problems yet. As far as your suggestion on the bad ground- I'll check into that on my heater blower problem. Thanks.

Lon

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1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6

03-01-2002, 02:30 AM	#1
Lon66ChevC10 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Park City, Kansas Posts: 6	Help, please. Electrical Problem Here's the situation. Tuesday night at I put my foot on the brake and the dash lights dimmed on my 1966 Chevrolet C-10. The second time I put my foot on the brake, the dash lights AND tail lights and brake lights all went out completely. Wednesday morning I replaced the fuse (which was blown) and the dash lights, brake lights, and tail lightsseemed to work okay. However, that night I had the same problem. Dome light won't come on either. But if I shut the truck down, let her sit for a while, then start her back up- all the lights come back normal--- UNTIL the I put my foot on the brake again. The fuse has popped a second time so I obviously have a short somewhere. My question- how exactly do I check for a short? I traced the wires from the tail lights all the way up to where they go through the firewall into the cab and everything seems okay on that end. I've just barely started tracing wires inside the cab. It just seems weird that the problem "resets" itself after shutting the truck down. If anyone can offer any advice I would sure appreciate it. Thanks! ------------------ 1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6 __________________ 1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6

03-05-2002, 12:14 AM	#3
Lon66ChevC10 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Park City, Kansas Posts: 6	Jamie, Thanks. The first thing I finally figured out was that I was replacing the wrong fuse. The fust I kept blowing was actually going to the blower motor on the heater, which is apparantly a SECOND problem that I'll deal with later. Where the fuse for the tailights should be, there was actually a small circuit breaker stuck in there. I removed it and replaced with a same-ampage fuse and have had no problems yet. As far as your suggestion on the bad ground- I'll check into that on my heater blower problem. Thanks. Lon ------------------ 1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6 __________________ 1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup 4-speed manual with a 1975 250 inline 6

03-04-2002, 03:24 PM	#2
jamiew Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Smithville TN, USA Posts: 54	Lon66, I had a similar problem with my 91 S10 pickup. When I stepped on the brakes, the dash lights would dim, you could barely see the tail lights, and it kept blowing fuses. I traced nearly every wire except the one that was the problem. It turned out that I had a bad ground wire. A 10 minute fix that caused me a 2 day headache. It may or may not be your problem, but it's worth a check. Hope this helps. jamiew



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