Scotty B

Folks, I'm perplexed...the tail lamps don't work on my 72 442 'Vert, and also the instrument panel lights are out. And the GEN light is on steady.
Here's what I know: All the fuses in the fuse box above the emer brake are good and I replaced them anyway. The tail lights work when the brakes are pushed, and when the turn signals are on, but not when I turn the headlights on. The instrument panel lights no worky either.
Even though the fuse for "Taillamps, side-marker lamps, license plate lamp" is good, none of these lights work. The Instrument panel fuse is good also.
I have a secret audio system hotwired to the battery but even it is not getting power and I have no Tunes.
And what does it mean when the GENERATOR light comes on? Admittedly I don't know the diff 'tween an Alternator and a Generator.
The car has plenty of fire when cranking, so I think my battery is good.

Perplexed in North Dakota...

68/70 Cutlass

Check your connection at the light switch. Could be a bad switch too.

74 Omega

Sounds kinda like a grounding problem. Check to see if the body is properly grounded.

Oldsmaniac

As mentioned check headlight switch and connections. Also check bulbs. There are 2 filaments there....one for brake lights and one for tailights. Gen light should not be on. You should use a voltmeter to see if alternator is charging. Measure battery voltage then start the car and see if voltage increases.Sometimes a bad diode in the alternator can cause the red light to come on but still be able to charge the battery.

Oldsguy

"Gen" light is a carry over from when all cars had generators, even after they started using alternators. As an idiot light is just to alert the operator to have the charging system checked. A generator is a DC device, an alternator is an AC device with a circuit incorporated into it to convert the AC into pulsating DC which can be filtered and regulated to charge the battery. Why? Because alternators are usually smaller than generators, ever notice how long a generator is on an older car?