Two strange questions

[Harley1650]

Sooo, are the lights in the hood (turn signals) of my 63' supposed to be on when the headlights are on? There are 2057 bulbs in them so I'm guessing they should be.....If they are, does the turn signal switch have anything to do with the running light part? I am pretty sure I need a new one of these but hoping I don't have other wiring issues....

[fleetsidelarry]

they're not wired from the factory to be on when the headlights are on. many of us rewire them so that they are. they're not part of the turn signal wiring , it's how they are wired thru the headlight switch

[markeb01]

Here’s one link showing how to rewire them to stay on with the headlights. I’ve seen other threads, but this one was easy to find:

http://www.6066gmcguy.org/parklamp6063.htm

[Harley1650]

Thanks, I have iturn signal issues ssues to straighten out but will probably get that hooked up when I figure things out.

[Harley1650]

Actually the wiring gremlins are messing with me more....I started trying to figure out why the passenger front signal wasnt working, I have decided the signal switch probably needs replacing. The lever wont stay activated and when I started pushing it harder to try and get one of the signals to stay on, both rear signals are now flashing lol.....I'm gonna put a new switch in and start over!

One thing I noticed as well, maybe someone can tell me if THIS is normal.....My signals stop flashing when I apply the brakes....Can that be rewired as well???

PS: I hate wiring stuff.....

[padresag]

think 66 was the changing point for those lights to stay on. always check for grounding problems with ligkts on these things
ron

[fleetsidelarry]

Originally Posted by Harley1650

Actually the wiring gremlins are messing with me more....I started trying to figure out why the passenger front signal wasnt working, I have decided the signal switch probably needs replacing. The lever wont stay activated and when I started pushing it harder to try and get one of the signals to stay on, both rear signals are now flashing lol.....I'm gonna put a new switch in and start over!

One thing I noticed as well, maybe someone can tell me if THIS is normal.....My signals stop flashing when I apply the brakes....Can that be rewired as well???

PS: I hate wiring stuff.....

Oh yeah, ESPECIALLY on a truck that's almost 50 years old! before this is all over you're going to need a good test light and some jumper wires AND a wiring diagram

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, when you look up under the dash you're going to see a bunch of not-necessarily-professional looking rewiring by previous owners. hope I'm wrong

for sure sounds like you need a turn signal switch, and no, the turn signal shouldn't stop when you apply the brakes (at least it doesn't on my '66), but that's consistent with what padresag said (just saw his post) if he's referring to turn signals/brake lights

[kieth]

I build motorcycle audio systems and as a result have had to learn how to wire motorcycles for auxilary 12 volt power. They now call me Mr. Ground, when I built my 66 gmc I soldered a ground wire to the housing of every light on the truck, wired it in and used a grounding block at the front and rear of the truck. My lights are very bright and I do not have to go looking for lost grounds. One of the reasons for lighting problems being so confusing is that electricity will find a way to ground, be it through the brake light, turn signals, etc. without proper grounds you are shooting at a moving target. Kieth

ps I did wire halogen front headlights in with relays they work great also.

[Harley1650]

I replaced my turn signal switch and it cured all my turn signal/brake issues.....Unfortunatly I discovered the threads on the steering shaft are junk......Hope my steering wheel doesnt fall off!!

Thanks for the destructions to wire my lights as running lights, gonna do that today!

[Harley1650]

I used Markb01's instructions to wire the turn signals to be running lights. It worked fine....Except....The turn signals work fine prior to the re wiring. When I wired them to be running lights too, the running lights come on and all turn signals work fine except the passenger front, it wont blink. If I unhook the wire all four turn signals work fine.....Any ideas?? Maybe need a new socket on the passenger front?

[samuellg1977]

I just wired my "running" lights into the hot (+) on the dimmer switch. When the lights are ON, they come on too. I had no issues with the turn signals before or after the rewire. Just a suggestion.