pesky problem

[uglypants]

so i've chased down and fixed most of my electrical gremlins but I'm having problems with my brake, dome and 4 way flasher lights .while i'm no electrical genius i'm giving it my best shot and that's apparently not good enough. the 3 just dont work at all.

so heres the facts:

Replaced the front and rear wiring harnesses
replaced the turn signal switch (in the column)
replaced both the 4 way and turn signal flashers
Replaced the fuse

My driving and turn signal lights work fine. the 3 in question used to work fine up until 2 months ago and i'm scratching my head on what it could be. with my luck, its probably something really obvious and sitting right in front of me but i'd still appreciate some direction on what I should do next.

Thanks in advance!

[HOTROD64-STOCK69]

The one thing they all have in common is the electrical strip that lays on the floorpan. The connectors get cruddy and don't make contact. The dome light is always powered with positive and switched on with either the door switches or the light switch. The ground wire is white and the positive wire is orange. Hope this helps or do I need to make an appearance?, Mike

[uglypants]

Thanks for the leads Mike, i'll check them out over the weekend and see what I can come up with. Dont rule out an appearance :-) - i'll keep you posted..

[widetrack]

Do the front turn signals work with the 4-way hazard flasher? If so, it could be a problem in the flat cable. If not, it sounds like a connection problem in the fuse block. Sometimes the fuse can be good but not making good contact or the wires can get damaged. The stop lights, dome light and hazard flasher are all powered from the same fuse, give it a wiggle. Good luck. If you have a voltmeter, I can tell you how to check it out without removing the fuse block.

[uglypants]

the 4 way flashers do not work with the hazzards. How would I test the fuse block with a voltometer? I ran out of time to poke around on it this weekend, i'll start digging in a couple days and post what i may have found. thanks again for all the tips!

[HOTROD64-STOCK69]

I think he is looking at continuity between the glass fuse and the holder. These have been known to be problematic in some cases, like if a car has sat outside for many years and the holders are rusty or have lost their tension. In your description of your problem it seems that the one thing they all have in common is the ground wire. I would start there.

[uglypants]

A big thanks to Mike B and Chuck for coming by and sorting out my electrical mess. Found the short and fixed my brake lights! Seems I need to clean my fuse block with some muratic acid and all will be well.
thanks again Mike and Chuck! I really appreciate it!

[Mark B]

A big thanks to Mike B and Chuck for coming by and sorting out my electrical mess. Found the short and fixed my brake lights! Seems I need to clean my fuse block with some muratic acid and all will be well.
thanks again Mike and Chuck! I really appreciate it!

Use phosphoric acid instead of muriatic. It's not as harsh and won't eat the thin metal away like muriatic acid will. Plus the added benefit of not being as hard on the respiratory system. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowe's cheaper than an autobody supply house. Paint it on with a model paint brush then rinse after a few minutes, repeat if necessary.

[bluebyu64gp]

As tarded as it may seem, check your High/Low beam switch too. My GMC (1977) truck was having all the systems you are describing and it came down to a $8.00 part being burned out.

[HOTROD64-STOCK69]

Thanks for the kudos Mike! It was nice touching base again. Your body work on the car was beautiful! As fas as what kind of acid to use and how to apply it...paint brushes just doesn't cut it as does phosphoric acid. Muriatic acid can be diluted down. I took my fuse block off and soaked it overnite 10 years ago in muriatic acid and it works just fine to this day, no metal erosion.