C1 Brake Light Mystery

**Philip P.** · April 7, 2012, 04:31 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

The brake lights go thru the turnsignal switch. It sould like there is a problem there. Normally if it does not return to center one side will not be on. I would check that I will look at the wiring but am not close to a diagram at the moment.
Phil

**Philip P.** · April 7, 2012, 07:42 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Dave, if I did not miss anything this is how there should be an orange wire to the brake light switch (12v) if the switch is closed there will be 12v on the white wire on the switch which goes to the turn signal switch, out of the switch there is a violet(right side) and pink wire (left side) you should have 12v on these when the brake switch is closed. The 12v is connected in the turn signal switch. The turn signal lamps come from the flasher on a yellow wire to the turn signal switch.

Hope this helps
Phil

**David B.** · April 7, 2012, 09:01 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Thank you very much, Phil. I'll crawl back under there tomorrow and check out your explanation. Thanks again.

Dave

**Bill W.** · April 9, 2012, 01:24 AM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Dave I lost all my lights on my 62 coming home one night last year when I hit a bump. I dont know why but when I pounded on my stuck bright light switch they started working again . Bill

**David B.** · April 9, 2012, 01:12 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Bill, I've come very close to doing some pounding of my own over the past several days.

Here's some additional information from my exploits yesterday:

I think the problem is on the power side. Here's what I did to check my turn signal switch: I have the new (working) brake light switch connected to the old switch wires. I stripped the wire ends and crimped on new lugs. I have the new switch dangling down and not fastened to the switch bracket. This effects a closed circuit, as if the brakes were applied.

With the key turned off, I jiggled the turn signal lever and observed the rear lights. The brake lights did not flicker at all. Then, I turned the key on (not starting the engine) and turned the turn signal lever in both directions. That operated the turn signals on both sides normally, no problems. The lever would center itself solidly. So, it appears to me that the turn signal switch is operating properly.

Dumb question: Does the brake switch bracket establish a ground with the brake switch circuit? In other words, is the fact that I have it dangling, not bolted to the bracket, keeping the 12 volts from getting to it? (This seems illogical because the switch body is plastic.)

Update: I get no rear running lights from the headlight switch but have front running lights.

So, the big mystery is: What's keeping the juice from getting to the brake light switch?

Thanks for your comments, Bill. Thanks to all others, too, as I try to solve this problem.

Dave

**Philip P.** · April 9, 2012, 06:29 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

No to the ground from the turn signal switch,
The ground for the rear tail lights is to the frame, each housing has a ground point and the ground to the frame is under the panel for the spare tire. It may be bad there. Grounds are the main problem for many electrical items in these cars. I would check all of the grounds.
Phil

**John H.** · April 9, 2012, 06:32 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Originally posted by David Berry (53525)

Update: I get no rear running lights from the headlight switch but have front running lights.

So, the big mystery is: What's keeping the juice from getting to the brake light switch?

Dave -

That orange wire (from the fuse block) only feeds three items - the brake light switch, the courtesy lamp, and the terminal on the headlight switch that then feeds the rear running lights (and license light), and that orange wire is hot all the time; if the rear running lights and brake lights aren't working, is the courtesy light working? If not, have you checked the fuse?

**Philip P.** · April 9, 2012, 06:49 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

John hit it on the head there, but your initial problem was brake lights, if you have turn signals that comes from a different power source, ie the flasher, that would tell me the grounds are probably good.
Phil

**David B.** · April 10, 2012, 02:56 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Guys, I feel like such a dunce, not being able to solve this problem. Here's the latest:

I don't have courtesy lights. I guess whoever bought this car new didn't want to spend the extra $6.50 for that option.

So, I checked out what's happening with the light switch again and found that, as I mentioned before, I get front parking lights but no rear parking (running) lights. This time I also noticed that I don't get license plate lights or instrument (dash) lights either. I rotated the light switch fully both ways to make sure that the dash lights weren't turned off.

Does this confirm what you guys have already said or add another clue?

The front parking lights must be powered from a different source than the rear parking lights and license plate lights.

Where do the dash lights get their power?

(Just let me know when y'all are tired of my dumb questions. :-))

Thanks again.

Dave

**Philip P.** · April 10, 2012, 03:40 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Dash lights are grey wire from the lightswitch and fused separate.
Front parking are a violet wire from the light switch
Rear (license and running lamps) is a black wire from light switch,
the switch is gets its power from the orange wire.
The turn signal is from the flasher.
You must have power to the switch if you have parking lights. Do you have headlamps?
I start by checking the grounds at the rear of the car you may need to remove the panel at the rear of the tire carrier area. If I remember the license lamps are grounded through the bumper I can not remember if they have a separate wire.
No dumb questions here, sometimes the answers are questioned but most are trying to get the problem solved.
Phil

**David B.** · April 10, 2012, 04:21 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Thanks for the empathy, Phil. I got a hot lead (so to speak) from another C1 owner. He said that he had the exact same symptoms as mine and found that a corroded fuse holder was the culprit. It made enough contact for a voltage reading but wouldn't pass enough current to run the lights.

I didn't question my fuse's integrity because my multimeter showed that it had continuity. I'll double check that next.

Dave

**Philip P.** · April 10, 2012, 07:18 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Well there is a lot of truth to that, did you know that "Corvettes Leak". Mine has the original fuse panel and I spent the better part of day cleaning it, tough on an old guy, but found a brass cleaning brush worked the best, tried a dremel but not enought room. After you get it cleaned up check the grounds while you are at it, the tail lamps can be done easily with wire brush as can the ones on the frame.
Best of luck, any thing else and will try to help.

Phil

**David B.** · April 11, 2012, 02:22 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Thanks, Phil. We've been dealing with an ailing dog the past three days, so I haven't yet had a chance to do fuse block surgery. Priorities. I'll send updates as soon as our little dachshund is better.

Dave

**David B.** · April 12, 2012, 03:59 PM

Re: C1 Brake Light Mystery

Guys, I found my brake light problem and fixed it. However, before I tell you my tale (it's a weirdly stupid one), can someone post a clear picture of a '58 (or identical) fuse block? I need to see the printing that identifies each fuse holder. Mine is unclear-to-unreadable.

It will be much easier for me to explain my success if I can relate to fuse labels. Thanks.

Dave

C1 Brake Light Mystery

C1 Brake Light Mystery

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