Tilt wheel indicator light ground.

[Accelo]

I am installing a period correct tilt wheel in my truck. I always check out the lighting before installing anything with a bulb in it. My Tilt wheel indicator light works when I ground the bracket. However, it doesn't work when the ground it attached to the column or the ground at the switch connection. Anyone had this issue or understand how the column/light is grounded. I know the column is grounded as it has to be for the horn to function. This is a bench check. I did powder coat the column but taped up where parts connect.

Tip for today; I use an old14.5V drill battery for my voltage checks. Works great for jobs like this.

[Accelo]

I identified the issue. The bulb feed wire was installed under the ground tab. I originally thought this was a retainer for the wire. After dissembling the switch from the column, I determined it was indeed a ground. I cleaned up the area on the housing where the ground would contact and moved the wire from under to over the ground and it worked as designed. I was glad I found the issue before everything was installed. I also missed a small plastic clip that was built for the bulb wire. I think I got is going just fine. I have included a couple new pictures highlighting the changes I made and some differences between the old switch and the new replacement. Note the differences in how the wire is bundled in two groups in the original switch and a single flat wire on the replacement.

[tim_mc]

Thanks for this post. My shift indicator light on my GM tilt column has been intermittent, which was so annoying that I removed the bulb. Tonight I took off the steering wheel & hub to see if I had a good ground based on the above post. The light bulb bracket was making a good connection, however, even after cleaning up the contact area I noticed that the light would go out when moving the steering wheel. I assume the ground between the tilt mechanism and the column isn't solid, so I decided to run a dedicated 18 gauge ground wire from the light bracket to the dash. Now the light is solid. Here's a pic of the black wire I added, just stripping and wrapping the bare end under the light bracket mounting screw.