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Well, to start i recently bought a Oldsmobile Cutlass S 1969 2dr thats been sitting in a barn since 1979. I have replaced alot of things on it and since i live in Sweden parts are 4 times more expensive over here. Now to my last problem before i can get it roadworthy and legal, all the lights work, but when either side of the turn signal is on and i put on parking lights or headlights, they stop flashing. I bought a new headlight switch but without any progress.. I dont know if its a ground problem, but i think it might be! I dont have access to the wiring manual/diagram so i dont know where the ground goes. Please help me
If the 4 ways are working fine I'd rule out a ground issue. Swap the 2 signal stats under the dash and see if the problem moves to the 4 ways but corrects the turn signals.
One is located between the left kick panel and the steering column may or may not be attatched in a clip. The other should plug into the fuse box. Its the big silver can in the picture.
Some replacements were also plastic but the same dimensions.
I swapped the 2 signal stats today, and thet are still not working, swapped them back and tried again! This time when i pull the headligt switch the lights freeze, and when i signal to the right, the left turn signal marker on the speedo light up and also the high beam light indicator. So left shows right and right shows left, but when i push the switcy back in they work just fine...
Replace the bulbs.. They should be 1157 bulbs. I have seen some weird things when a filament burns out, and lays across the other filament. Just buy a box of quality bulbs, such as GE / Westinghouse / AC, and stay away from those made in China. Also, check to see that the correct flasher is installed. Many of the flashers are marked 2 bulb, 3 bulb, etc.
Just throwing this out there. I'm not sure this is a ground issue, but years ago I had a very rusty '84 Chevy truck. It had a variety of light issues in the rear. My dad taught me a quick trick to check the lights for a ground problem. We ran a ground wire from the front of the truck to the rear outside the truck, which takes a minute or two. Then we hooked up the light to the temporary ground. In my case that solved all my lighting problems. Frame was too rusty I guess. Knowing it was a ground problem I rerouted the new ground wire from outside the truck to under the truck and was good to go.
Today i put the old switch back, problem stays! So i put the new one again. All the bulds are changed and work fine, i will try to hook up another ground to the lights on monday! I have repaired the gauges, so i noticed today that when i pull out the headlight switch the the fuel needle sinks to the bottom of the gauge, press it back in and its back to normal... i even put on extra ground to the gauge housing, but it seems that the ground problem comes from another place. If it is a ground problem
Had you done anything under the dash aside from replacing the light switch? Were you into the steering column, turn switch, etc? You mention you did a lot of stuff recently, what did you do? lights. Do your brake lamps work when you press the brake pedal?
I have been under the dash when i took out the gauges, but this was after the problem with the lights. Yes i have done alot of things to it, but mostly mechanical, engine parts and cooler, chassis and suspension, the electrical problems was discovered just 3-4 days ago. Checked all the lights and replaced all bulbs and sealed beams, next step in the search for the problem was to replace the headlight switch and the switch on the floor for high beam low beam. I have not been in the steering column or touched the turn switch, and the brake lights work fine
If the switch is on and i signal left, the turn signal Flash to the left outside but to the right on the dash, if i signal right, it shows left on dash but doesnt work outside, high beam light turns on in either direction.
The light blue wire should be in position eight on the steering column plug and the dark blue wire should be in position five. The light blue wire should be in position seven on the speedo cluster plug and the dark blue wire should be in position four on the same plug. It is really hard to see the back of the cluster to check out the plug on both '68 & '69 cars, especially with A/C. Check both sides of the steering column plug to see if the wire colours match each other. If they are correct on the lower plug they must be wrong on the cluster plug to give you a reversed indication.
Last edited by Yellowstatue; March 18th, 2017 at 12:35 PM.
Reason: Found missing word on floor.
Thanks, i will check that on monday morning! But i think it sounds strange because its a one owner car, completely untouched from LA California, imported to Sweden in 1979 and been sitting in a barn since then! Its never been registered after import. But I'll check it out
It has a KMH speedo which means that someone changed it over there. Maybe the wires are in the wrong locations at the speedo plug or the lower column plug.
Are you sure there isn't an 1156 bulb where an 1157 bulb should be? Pull all the bulbs for the parking/turn signal/brake lights, front and rear. Look at the contacts on the bulbs and make sure the sockets for them have the same amount of contacts. Somebody before you may have made a mistake.
Every wire connector that i have disconnected has been checked and cleaned and tested with multimeter!? (dont know the english word). I do remember that on my 66 cutlass i had to put an extra ground to rear right taillight.
The colour of the wire plugs are not in the positions that was mentioned in earlier comments. But everything works as long as i dont pull out the headlight switch.. I have checked all bulbs, added an extra ground to the dash panel, when i pull the headlight switch and turn either right or left it just freeze, and it shows the opposite direction on the dash. Another thing is that the turn signal flasher is clicking very slow, 6 seconds between flashes when the car is off and in ignition mode. When it runs it qorks just fine.. Dont know what to do next
Last edited by Holmberg02; March 21st, 2017 at 09:59 AM.
Reason: More info
Ok guys, here's the news! I checked every connector, every ground and every wire this weekend, cleaned them and added contact gel on every single wire that connects to something. Dont know where the problem was but now everything seems to work! So thank you for all help and ideas
March 16th, 2017, 01:45 PM
