no brake lights

[tthornt]

Hey all - i'm having major electrical issues with my recently acquired 1984 chevy custom deluxe. after three weeks of riding -
No brake Lights, no running lights, no hazard lights and when i put on the right turn signal, the fuse blows.

I've discovered - the white and the orange brake light switch wires were touching. that fuse is no longer blowing. I've reattached the ground wire from the firewall to the valve cove gaske bolt, currently check all ground connections.
any and all help would be greatly appreciated

[NJ C10 Guy]

Originally Posted by tthornt

Hey all - i'm having major electrical issues with my recently acquired 1984 chevy custom deluxe. after three weeks of riding -
No brake Lights, no running lights, no hazard lights and when i put on the right turn signal, the fuse blows.

I've discovered - the white and the orange brake light switch wires were touching. that fuse is no longer blowing. I've reattached the ground wire from the firewall to the valve cove gaske bolt, currently check all ground connections.
any and all help would be greatly appreciated

If the fuse is blowing then you have a short somewhere, but it seems like you already figured that out. I would guess, since none of your lights work (assuming the turn signals don't work either) that your grounds are bad. Check them all, make sure the contacts are clean, and make sure they are secure. The wiring for the lights really isn't too difficult to trace in my opinion. I think with a little patience and a wiring diagram, which you can find online, you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

[jshadwick]

My stepside had the same problem when I got it. No break lights and my turn signals and running lights were acting crazy. I ran a ground from the battery to the tail lights and they started working, So I had to ground my bed to the frame and all the lights work just fine now.

[tthornt]

Thanks, appreciate the advice.
Also, the two fuses that are blowing - Hazard 15A, And tail lights 20 amp.
Currently the left turn signal works, when i turn on the right blinker, the tail light fuse blows. purchased a new brake light switch, and repaired the orn and white wires that connects to the brake light switch. and the fuse continues to blow.

My next course of action - remove and clean all the ground connections, as well as add addition ground connections. then proceed.

Thanks again and any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

[cadillac_al]

I would unplug the tail light harness and probe the plug with a test light or meter. If everything works at the plug then you know it is in the tail light harness and most likely the ground.

[Gregski]

when I went through this on my truck I noticed there are a many ground wire connections, for example each headlight has its own black ground wire to the radiator core support, and I believe each tailight is grounded to the bed inside the tailight housings, also under the dash there is a ground connection for the gauge cluster, so the ground you connected ie the firewall to the engine block is probably the last one being used or attempted out of all these, just trying to help