Electrical Gremlin, need help.

[Vette66AirCoupe]

My '60 has a gremlin running around in the back of the car. My right brake light works intermittently. By intermittent, I don't mean that it's blinking, it works for about 5 stops and then takes two off, works again normally, takes a few off, etc. Here's what I know:
1. The tail light works fine, it does not go out unless I turn the switch off.
2. The brake light is intermittent whether the tail light is on or not.
3. The bulb has been changed out with no better results.
4. The contacts inside the socket have been cleaned.
5. The left side works normally.

Of course anytime I get back home the sucker works! I never seem to get a shot at it malfunctioning as the gremlin runs and hides when the car hits the driveway. ad

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I should pursue this nuisance? Thanks.

 

[61 Silver]

Hi!

Welcome to the wonderful world of C-1 Ownership! I have the same problem. It could be a bad ground or most likely in the steering wheel hub. The rear lights connections all pass through the steering wheel hub. I installed a new signal switch, cleaned and lubricated the canceling mechanism. All the rear lights worked until the car was inspected and the problem started again. I haven't had a chance to trouble shoot the problem again, but it is on my to do list.



Ray

 

[BarryK]

Terry, since you describe the problem as intermittent and only when the car is in use and not at home sitting still, I'd guess either bad ground that movement of the car is causing, or bad wiring that is old and cracked that is losing connection from movement of the car while driving.

I'd try a continuity test on the wiring while you jiggle the wires while you are testing them and see if you can find the problem wire(s) or connection(s).

If you need help with an extra hand doing this one day just give me a call.

 

[vette-dude]

My '60 has a gremlin running around in the back of the car. My right brake light works intermittently. By intermittent, I don't mean that it's blinking, it works for about 5 stops and then takes two off, works again normally, takes a few off, etc. Here's what I know:
1. The tail light works fine, it does not go out unless I turn the switch off.
2. The brake light is intermittent whether the tail light is on or not.
3. The bulb has been changed out with no better results.
4. The contacts inside the socket have been cleaned.
5. The left side works normally.

Of course anytime I get back home the sucker works! I never seem to get a shot at it malfunctioning as the gremlin runs and hides when the car hits the driveway. ad

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I should pursue this nuisance? Thanks.

My 61 had the same problem and it was the phenolic base where the lightbulb contacts the wire ends in the socket of the tail lamp unit. Easy fix as you can get a new pigtail at NAPA cheap. I didn't know what the problem was and one day while holding the brake on a hill the rear wiring harness under the dash shorted out and caught fire. Expensive fix. That's when we found the problem was the pigtail. See if that is it and fix it quick.

Randy

 

[magoo]

When the turn signal is activated, it cancels brake light operation to the blinking side.On many of these old cars, my 62 included, the turn signal switch doesn't snap off completely after a turn. The turn signal stops blinking but the connection is not made to reactivate the brake light. Sometime when your light fails, jiggle the turn signal lever, this will probably make the brake light come on and you'll know where the problem is. Hpoe this helps.

Mike

 

[Vette66AirCoupe]

Ok, now that I have run out to the garage to make sure the battery is disconnected I'm back. :W
Here's another question. Given that the running lights and turn signals both work even when the brake light is not, does that rule out a grounding problem?
So far I'm thinking Magoo may have hit the nail on the head as I don't recall having this problem before I disturbed all of the turn signal mechanism and wiring while removing and replacing my instrument cluster. Plus, the cancellation mechanism just doesn't feel right. I've noticed that while it does cancel on it's own, it feels like there are two centers when I use the left signal to make a lane change. To manually cancel the right signal, it's one notch down to center. To cancel the left signal, it's the second notch up. It only feels like it's one click down but it feels like there are two distinct clicks up and they both feel like the center if you can follow that. At any rate, I won't be wasting any money if I replace some of that old stuff and see if the trun signal problem goes away as a result. I'll also get a new pigtail per Vette-Dude's suggestion as a precaution....for that matter, I'll get two! Thanks guys and if anyone else has any additional thoughts I'd be glad to hear them.

 

[maxphunn]

I'm sure Magoo has it nailed. This is a very common C1 problem, often the right side only. Easy to test for yourself just put a signal light on, cancel it with the steering wheel then check the brake lights. Sometimes it will only act up with one signal lite so you may have to do it a couple times. If you get a brake light to fail, put the opposite signal on, cancel it, then see if the brake light works again.

Mine just started doing the same thing. I'd like to know if there is a permanent cure.

 

[JohnZ]

Your ground is fine. The problem is the mechanical cancelling mechanism not fully self-centering after a turn, which doesn't properly center the pin in the switch itself, which either gives you no brake lights or only on one side. Every C1 eventually has this problem. You need to pull the steering wheel and thoroughly clean and lubricate all the moving parts in the cancelling mechanism so it will center by itself after a turn. Had to do this on every C1 I've owned, and they all worked fine afterwards.

 

[Vette66AirCoupe]

Magoo/Maxphunn/John Z.

You guys nailed it! I just ran through the drill as Maxphunn suggested and found that indeed the brake light was not functioning upon self cancellation of the right turn signal but if I pushed the lever a little further toward the center, BINGO, the light started working normally again. Thanks guys. Again I've saved a lot of time and probably quite a few bucks as the result of the good advice I've found on this forum. God I love this place! :Twist