Brake Lights.

Hey all,

I replaced a fuse the other day in the headlight switch on my 64 and suddenly all of my stuff works, dome light, courtesy light, glove box light!

Still no brake lights. So the other day (I was by myself) to troubleshoot
I made a male to male pigtail and took the brake light pressure switch out of the picture by hooking it up to the harness and immediately blew that same fuse. So after 20 mins of cussing I got a fuse back into it.

Who puts a &^%HJ fuse in a headlight switch sheesh!

So today I went out there with my meter and zip tied the meter leads to the brake pressure switch and hopped in and hit the brakes and I see the switch go from OPEN to like 250 ohms.

So that leaves wiring I guess?

Another possibly unrelated clue may be my dashlights are operational, but dim. I am thinking maybe I have a bad ground....

Thoughts? Experiences? wild guesses are all acceptable.

-Michael

Picture unrelated.

So does your fuse blow when everything is hooked up and you press down on the brake peddle or only when you had it bypassed ? Sounds like you have a short somewhere in the wiring. The wires should run down under the drivers side scuff plate. Then into the trunk. I would inspect the wires all the way to the tail lights.

Do rear turn signals, brake lights , or running lights work ?



As for dash lights I found my 65 were very dim also. There is some blue lenses in the dash panel and mine were in bad shape and blocking most of the light. I pulled out the blue lenses and put in green LeD bulbs I got from eBay and it looks way brighter !

Took this a couple of weeks ago after I was finished upgrading my steering wheel. I think the Green on chome looks sinister. Scott Drake makes an LED conversion kit for mustangs is the same for our Birds.

Here is the LED bulbs I used. You can get them in any color. Way brighter than stock and use less power.

Look at this on eBay:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=252053373691

10X Xenon White BA9S LED Instrument Panel Light 1815 1895 1816 Dash Map Bulb 12V

Not that any of this fixes your brake lights !

Michael,

Just a thought....you may want to check the brake light bulbs themselves. Sometimes in dual-filament bulbs (such as those) one filament can drop down and touch the other within the bulb itself, causing all sorts of havoc (including grounds, shorts, and blowing fuses). I have experienced this phenomenon on many old cars; it's more common than you would think.

The sorts of filament faults are not always readily apparent. One way to confirm (or eliminate) the bulbs is to remove them from the sockets before any further testing. You may want to remove the headlight switch from the instrument panel, allowing it to hang down and facilitate easier access to the fuse box , in anticipation of more testing (and more fuse replacing).


Good luck, and keep us posted.

I recently had to replace the brake light switch. The signal lights were working but no brake lights. Replacing the switch fixed the problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voodoofalcon

As for dash lights I found my 65 were very dim also. There is some blue lenses in the dash panel and mine were in bad shape and blocking most of the light. I pulled out the blue lenses and put in green LeD bulbs I got from eBay and it looks way brighter !

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The instrument panel lights were dim in my 1963. I copied the following from my notes:

I bought four LED replacements for the dim 2 candle power (cp) stock part number 1895 instrument panel bulbs off e-bay for $2.52 with postage from Hong Kong included. The description says: “T10 base automotive LED lights for your car! Significant energy savings and extra-long life span, makes these the LED bulb of choice for dashboard and other interior car bulb needs. Whether you're using them to fix up an old second-hander or you want to add some more lumens to your existing not bright enough panels, you definitely won't go wrong with these white LED car light bulbs.”

I installed the LED instrument panel replacements for the original 1895 bulbs. The LED for the turn signal only flashed for the left turn. The LEDs shone with a cold blue light and could not be dimmed with the light switch. I removed the LEDs and put the 1895 bulbs back in place.

Then I bought a set of ten 3-candle power #1816 miniature automotive bulbs off e-bay to replace the stock 2-candle power #1895 bulbs. Description: “These bulbs are used on older cars with a 12 volt system. Used mainly for misc. lights, accessories lights, illumination lights, and radio lights.” They cost $4.05 + $2.99 = $7.04 and came from Leon’s Classic Cars in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 1816 bulb are 50% brighter and are rated at 3 cp at a lower voltage, 13V * 0.33A = 4.29 watts, 1000 hr avg life, T3-1/4 Mini Bayonet Base (BA9s). The stock 1895 bulbs are rated at 2 cp, 14 v * 0.27 amp = 3.8 watt, 2000 hr avg life.

Even with the new bulbs the panel is still not bright, but the temperature and gas gauges are at least readable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voodoofalcon

I think the Green on chome looks sinister. Scott Drake makes an LED conversion kit for mustangs is the same for our Birds.

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Attachment 5896

Wow! When I saw that it reminded me of the movie "Christine" where the car started glowing green with jealousy and tried to kill Arnie's girlfriend.

Attachment 5894

Attachment 5895

So it turns out this was my issue:

Thanks for all the ideas and assistance!