Electrical Help Please:

[Raymond Thompson]

I just installed a factory tach in my 1971 Chevy Cheyenne...the complete kit from Classic Trucks. It included a new printed circuit board, as well as new cans and bezel. Now my turn signals and high beam indicator light up when I turn on the parking lights. They still work when I turn on a turn signal but I don't think they are supposed to be lit dimly when the parking lights or headlights are on. Is this a loss of ground issue or do I need to move some of the wires in the dash wire connector. Anyone had this problem before, and can tell me what do do?

As information, I also installed a cruise control, new A/C system and new radio, under dash lights, new dome light and two amps and a equalizer. They all seem to be working fine.

Raymond

[gkesseru]

Did you have an idiot light panel before? The ground and some other wires are different.

[cdowns]

there are supposed to b small cardboard tubes shielding and isolating the light bulbs// not having them in place causes the washover from the other lights

[legendary]

Originally Posted by cdowns

there are supposed to b small cardboard tubes shielding and isolating the light bulbs// not having them in place causes the washover from the other lights

Sounds accurate...

[Raymond Thompson]

Those are all good suggestions... however the truck has a gauge dash to start with and the cardboard tubes are securely in place. I don't think it is bleeding light. The turn signal lights and the headlight highbeam light on the dash panel are getting power from somewhere when they shouldn't be.

On a previous restoration I encountered the problem of converting a NON-gauge dash to one with gauges and had to move wires in the connector block to make the turn signals work and had a similar problem. But I didn't think that just adding a tach would make it necessary to move any of the other wires. The tach is powered with its own wire connected to the back and does not use the circuit board...Any other suggestions?

[haysonj]

Originally Posted by Raymond Thompson

Those are all good suggestions... however the truck has a gauge dash to start with and the cardboard tubes are securely in place. I don't think it is bleeding light. The turn signal lights and the headlight highbeam light on the dash panel are getting power from somewhere when they shouldn't be.

On a previous restoration I encountered the problem of converting a NON-gauge dash to one with gauges and had to move wires in the connector block to make the turn signals work and had a similar problem. But I didn't think that just adding a tach would make it necessary to move any of the other wires. The tach is powered with its own wire connected to the back and does not use the circuit board...Any other suggestions?

Mine was doing something similar except it was only the turn lights, I ended up finding a shorted wire in the tail light section

[cdowns]

there was a factory ground wire from the firewall to the guage panel

[Raymond Thompson]

OK Thanks... It's a missing ground or a short. I'll run a wire from known ground to the can around the back of the dash cluster to see if that fixes the problem. If not, I'll look for a problem in the front turn signal... I had a problem with the right front turn signal lamp holder once before.

I appreciate the help.

Raymond

PS: What does a "junior member" signify??? I noticed that I am earmarked as a junior member???

[cdowns]

junior member means at meetings and gettogethers you get to buy the beer

[john]

Yes check the turn signals. My bulb sockets were loose in the housings and lost their ground. My turn signal indicaters were also lit with the lights on, I dont remember the high beam coming on.

[68 Stepside]

I ran into the same issue when I didn't have a good dash ground. Neat things would happen when I hit bumps, sometimes indicator lights would come on, sometimes the dash lights would go out, etc.

I THINK there is a clip on the factory wiring harness that clips onto the gauge panel, or maybe it goes somewhere else...can't recall

I would run a simple wire from a known good ground to a screw on the back of the gauge cluster.