mv213

My '70 Cutlass hadn't been started in a few months so I decided to fire it up this morning. When I turned the switch to the On position the starter began cranking and wouldn't stop until I turned the switch to the Off position.

I should mention that the dash board and all instruments are out of the car, and so is the headlight switch. The courtesy lights came on when I opened the door.

Any thoughts? It seems strange that the ignition switch would pick this time to go bad. Or is it that the instruments aren't hooked up? I don't know where to start (no pun intended).

thanks,

mv213

Well, after reinstalling the dash and instruments, and putting in my new neutral safety switch, the starter operates normally again. I think my broken neutral switch may have been feeding voltage back somewhere and causing a problem. Anyway that's all sorted.

But now my dash lights aren't working. While the dash was out I installed a new AC/Delco headlight switch. The headlights come on but no dashlights at all. I haven't done any troubleshooting yet but it should't be too hard to figure out, I'm hoping.

svnt442

This might help....

scan0002-1.jpg

mv213

Wow! Thanks Randy. That's one heck of a diagram!

svnt442

That's out of the chassis service manual.

Mongoose

You could've told him you just busted out a box of crayola's and a #2 pencil, and jotted that out from memory...

mv213

Ahem.....I was born at night, but it wasn't LAST night! Thanks for the chuckle!

svnt442

Well I did have 2 years of drafting in HS (Lane Tech in Chicago), but that was MANY moons ago.

jrsixx

Recheck the connection at the headlight switch. I had the same problem on my 77 and found that the terminal for the dash lights was bent a bit and wasn't in the connector properly. I pulled the connector back off, bent the terminal and reinstalled connector...works now.

mv213

Good tip, thanks! I was hoping for something REALLY simple like a blown fuse but I couldn't be that lucky. I'll take a look next week when I'm working on the car.

mv213

That's three hours of my life I want back. I pulled the fuse, it looked fine. I tested it with an ohm meter, it tested good (0 ohms). So I pull the light switch to see if the connector is not on tight. Looks fine, so I swap the old switch back on. Still no good.

So I ponder the wiring diagram for a while and conclude that the instrument panel light fuse should have voltage only when the light switch is on. Put a volt meter on it, and sure enough that's the case. When I pull the switch out, there is voltage at the fuse...but only on one side....hmm....sounds like a bad fuse or corroded fuse holder. Then I pull the switch out again, and I see blue sparks INSIDE the fuse! Never seen that before....so I go down to the parts store and get some more fuses and swap it....VOILA! We have panel lamps......So taking a closer look at the funky fuse, it looks like it's faulty....makes connection only when it's in a certain position. Finally put the new switch back on and tested it, then spent 20 minutes trying to get it into the dash before I finally got it.

Good grief, I could have used that time so much better.