2 x 20amp, 2 blade connections installed.


I've got a 1972 Olds Cutlass Supreme (442) that was originally a 350, retrofitted into a 455. Some of the wiring is custom because the previous owner added a CD player that stole power off of the wiring harness. I had it shipped in working condition and now I have several issues that all occurred at once.

1.) Turn signals / 4-ways not working.
2.) Front left running light not working.
3.) reverse lamps not working.

There are 2x 2 terminal connections in the wiring that was installed. I replaced the turn signal flasher with a new 20amp and it worked briefly, now it works intermittently and will work and suddenly stop with the signal flashing. The 4-way flashers work when the turn signal works. When I turn on the turn signal, I can occasionally hear the turn signal flasher (loud model) click but the indicator and light never illuminate. See image 1 for the 2 x 20amp 2 blade connectors installed.

The front left running light doesn't illuminate with the light switch pulled on, but it will flash when the blinker works.

The reverse lamps are new but do not work at all.

I suspect this may be an issue with the neutral safety switch in the steering column, but with the flashers also working only intermittently I don't want to disassemble the entire column to mess with that switch if there's another issue.

The red cable you see tied into the fuse box is where power was taken to run to the CD player. Currently that cable is disconnected, so maybe that is also causing problems? There is a loose yellow cable adjacent to it (power for the CD player, according to its diagram), but attaching them does not change the functionality of anything (CD player, lights, etc.)

Do you guys have any suggestions before I pull apart the steering column to try and get to the NSS?

 

Do you have a 1972 Chassis Service Manual? If not, get one before you do anything else. The wiring in those photos has serious issues. First, the flasher on the left in the first photo with the green and purple wires SHOULD be the one for the turn signals, but it should not be located there. It is normally up under the dash in the vicinity of the wiper switch. The hazard flasher should be plugged into the fuse box above the circuit breaker labeled "ACCY PWR". I have no idea what the unit is hanging down on the right side of the photo. It is not factory. Figure this mess out before you start disassembling the steering column.

As far as the backup lights, does this car have a floor shifter? If so, is the backdrive rod in place from the trans to the steering column? If not, the backup lights won't work.

 

Yes, I have the 1972 chassis service manual but I got lost looking at the electronics because I cannot figure out what the 2nd two-blade switch is for. The switch in there currently is a Tridon 552 DOT 12V 6 lamp flasher. Maybe the new flasher I bought, which is 20A, is the wrong amperage for the connection that was wired in. I'll get the voltmeter in there tonight and see if the amperage is wrong. There's a lot of custom work on this and there's no way to get information from the guy who made the changes.

Yes there's a floor shifter, the car was originally a 3 speed automatic but was converted to 5 speed with a Keisler 650HP/650FT-LB transmission assembly. The reverse lamps worked a few weeks ago before I started having multiple electronic issues and I don't believe that there are likely to be 2 separate issues with the wiring and the backdrive rod at the same time. I think it's more likely there's a problem with the power somewhere in the birds nest under the dash. Is there any common connection point that would cause the failure of the front left parking light (but not the turn signal, when it works) and the reverse lamps? The wiring diagram I have makes it seem like no, but maybe you know of something I don't.

 

So where is the backup light switch? On the aftermarket trans? The stock switch is at the base of the steering column and operated from the backdrive linkage that locked the shifter. Obviously that's not there anymore, so how was the switch operated with the new trans?