Very easy lighting question

[Roobus]

Just wondering, when the lights are on, which ones in the back are suppose to light up? It's a '78, and when I put the lights on, in the rear, the red ones are lit, but also the left amber is lit. Before I start thinking this shouldn't be that way, and what I really have is just a right amber light out, I thought I'd ask. If the amber lights are not suppose to come on, I guess I'll have to figure out why it is on. I suppose that's along way of asking if the amber lights in back are suppose to be on when the lights are on, or just the red? Thanks for the help.

[bbrown]

The amber lights are your blinkers. They should only come on when you're turning. (directionals)
The large red square elements have 2 bulbs. 1 is for brake, and 1 is for night time running.

[JimD]

They do not come on with the headlights. You have an issue in there somewhere.

What happens when you activate the turn signal for that side of the car? Does the amber light start blinking? Hopefully it doesn't send smoke signals.

[Black-Tooth]

The ambers are your direcionals, only lit when directionals are turned on... and BLINK.

The TOP REDS are your STOP LIGHTS and the BOTTOM REDS are your RUNNING LIGHTS. The WHITES are your back up lights.

Then you have amber and red SIDE MARKERS that are on when the HEADLIGHTS are on, and RUNNING LIGHTS in the rear are lit. Also the ther front AMBERS are lit... but also BLICK as directionals.

They all go OFF with the KEY when in the FULL ON position at the switch.

LASTLY... the running lights, front ambers, and the 4 side markers are lit ONLY with the headlight switch in the MIDDLE position and the KEY OFF. These are called PARKING LIGHTS and (believe it or not...) made to leave ON with the KEY OUT OF THE IGNITON while PARKED!

TRY THIS ONCE BUT CALL AAA WHEN YA DO IT... so they can be there to give you a jump start in an hour...

Download the drawings for your year X and get a test light or VOM to find your problem... we're here also to help...

HTH...

[bbrown]

Then you can leave your parking lights on for the whole weekend, and start your car on Monday AM without a jump! Ha!

[Niklas Andersson]

You have lost ground contact on the side where the amber light is on.
So the rear light on that side is grounded through the directional ligth's positive wire which is grounded when the the directional relay is off.
All rear lights in one corner share the same ground.
If you turn on the left blinker you should see that all lights on the rear left turns off at the same time as the front left turn signal flashes.

[budgetzagato]

Look at the ground cluster in the engine bay left side, clean and tighten the connections. The individual socket grounds can also be corroded and loose, you may need to clean and solder yours.

[Roobus]

I know there is a problerm somewhere. I started by changing out many bulbs, and all the front lights are now working. The trunk area has a few "stray" wires for the side marker lights, haven't figured those out yet. Looks like I'm an electrician this weekend. Thanks for the help everyone. At least I know that amber light is not suppose to be on, and yes, it does blink as normal. Out to the garage I go.

[Black-Tooth]

I can't wait to dump a pile of bucks into my lighting so I can go out and stare at it while its parked!

HA!

... and give the new guy a break... With all his wiring woes... he needs ta straighten that out first!

BTW... you should see my NEW upholstory!

[bbrown]

Originally Posted by Black-Tooth

BTW... you should see my NEW upholstory!

Let's see it!!!

BTW, asking me to refrain from LED's is like asking JJ to do a photo shoot on one of his cars BEFORE washing. Ha!

[Greg (in Conn)]

Originally Posted by Black-Tooth

you should see my NEW upholstory!

[Black-Tooth]

... just to IRRITATE him...

see... Its working...

Ya hadta be there from the beginning... of our discussion about using dyes. I initially wanted to leave the seats I got from Glen Egan all blue, but it just didn't POP like I expected... It more or less POOPED.

So I got out the old duplicolor and for 10 bucks, hit them with FLAT black. They look like a FRESH new LEATHER seat now... perforated centers and all... LOVE THEM...

I'll post some photos in a few days... I've been busy with other CORVETTES and plumbing nightmares...

[Roobus]

Not just an 80's hit song, but also descibes my electrical system. So I got the rear amber light fixed. Seems I don't read Italian very well. I thought back to what I might have done, as I figured it was me, not the X. Sure enough, the one thing I fixed several months ago when I thought I was just doing cosmetic repairs, was the broken left front turn signal. Went back to that, now that I found the Italian color code translation in the book, and I had hooked up the wires wrong. Changed those to where they should be and all was back to normal, for a few seconds.

Then the headlights went up, but wouldn't go down, and the front turn signals on both sides quit working. I spent all day yesterday trying to figure it out, then acidentally tapped this thing by the fuse panel, and the headlights went back down. Also noticed that two of the wires were the same for the front turn signals that run through this box. Got online and found this Sipea A72013 on of the parts places. I guess it's some kind of relay. I also had some hanging wires and just sort of touched them to this box where posts had been broken off before I owned it. Found out they go to the courtesy light and switch. I am now cross-eyed from looking at the wiring diagram. Would anyone know if this also works the headlamps operation? I couldn't figure that out, my eyes hurt too bad, ha,ha. I'll probably replace it anyway, as it would be nice to have the courtesy light. This metal box was getting power, as the courtesy lights did come on. Any other tests I can do? Do you think I could have "injured" this box with my crossed wires before? I am horrible at sorting out electrical issues, but determined to figure this out. Thanks in advance...........again.
Gerald

[Dayton Tom]

There are a couple up under the dash by the fuses... one for the head light pods to go up and another for them to go down. there are two or three more up in the front left light pod area, remove the access panel.

Others will chime in to help sort with the wire colors, out of town so I can't help with that part, no manual/diagram...

[Black-Tooth]

I think you probably have two or three alternatives...

1. Stumble around and haphazardly fix things as they come up... ala domino theory...

2. Wholesale the entire electrical system by pulling all fuses, relays, connections, sockets, and grounds and cleaning them up... resoldering where necessary, testing all the lamps and replacing those that are blown, as well as all ground connections and blossums.

(I used a Dremel Tool with several bristle brushes to get ino the sockets and the like.)

or...

3. Do nothing.

Also MAKE sure you have the correct schematic drawing for your car, make notes on it, and KEEP in the trunk. Translate all the colors if needed PRIOR to needing the drawing!

Sorry for your trouble... but I suggest option #2 as it will ultimately require less work and frustration.

Good luck...