Seems like I am always on here but the help has been great, so on I continue. I got this car 70 skylark convertible soon after it had the body pulled off and the frame painted and put back on again but the owner had lost interest so that is where I am at now. engine runs , wipers work, etc. My head lights work now but I had to run ground to each connector ( there was a a black lead at each healight connector that was not connected so once i grounded this point all is well with my headlights. My indicators are another issue when headlights are out they work fine , but put them on the right side indicators work but not the left side they might flash once or twice but that is it. Push the headlight knob back in and they are fine. If it was the flasher I would think that this would be a consistent issue. This has definatly got me stumped. If it was a bad bulb would this problem not be the same at all times. Maybe this car was not meant for night time driving or at least any turns.
I would try replacing the flasher, before you try anything more fancy than that. I have had several problems where I thought it absolutely couldn't be the flasher, but then I replaced the flasher, and the problem was gone. The fact that it will flash once or twice... kind of suggests worn out flasher to me. With the headlights off, it gets enough current to heat properly and flash, but with the headlights on, there is not enough juice to get the worn-out flasher to close properly?
You still have grounding issues. The signals are getting grounded through the headlights when they are not on, by going through the headlights to ground in a series circuit. When the headlights are turned on the normal current flow from them does not allow the signals to ground through them. Check the mountings for the signals and make sure they are grounding at that point.
By the way I took the braidee ground that comes off my block and drilled it right into the firewall which I assumed would ground everything properly, it was just hanging loose before. Is there a main point like in a house oanel where all grounds come back to under the dash , if there is I can't find it , though it is not the easiest place to look. On my boats it was so much easier tracing the wiring because of central grounding of the various electrical.
I would also make sure the socket has the right bulb. Alot of times an 1156 gets installed in place of an 1157 which can do screwy things like ground out a curcuit. Check the powers and the ground on that socket. You should have power to the lt blue wire going to the socket. Check power with the light bulb unplugged wit hthe lights on and off.
X2, parts house sent me home with 1156s a few weeks ago, I didn't know any better until I checked my chassis manual. Same bulb on the exterior, but 1156 is a single filament, 1157 is dual filament. Assuming that one filament is for turn signals, the other for parking/running lights? Don't mean to hijack.
Everything in the dash is grounded to the firewall somehow. The ground strap grounds from the firewall to the block, and the negative battery cable grounds from the block to the battery, completing that circuit. The headlights and signals ground to the core support/bumper, but I am not sure specifically how the core support grounds back to the battery, as it is isolated from the frame? o No:
The front parking lamps ground on the core support. The core support is only isolated at the mounts. Its still bolted to the wheel wells and fenders.
Which are bolted to the cowl, which is connected to the firewall, which is grounded to the block... ou: I should have been able to figure that one out.
There is no need for a central grounding point on normal cars, the whole body and chassis acts as the ground, returning to the battery on the negative cable. Corvettes and other fiberglass cars have to have both hot and ground wires going to lights, etc. If lights are mounted on fiberglass or if the fenders or mounting points are rusted a separate ground wire would be needed. If in doubt add a ground wire since it will not hurt anything.
Yes completely understood. Mounted all my bulbs in correct sockets and when I turn on the headlights now and use my indicator for a left hand tturn they come flash although a slower than my right side.
The key statement in that post is "until I checked my chassis manual" You dont know how important it is to have a chassis manual. Sometimes I sound like a broken record about it. I cant tell you how many times I have to refer to it.
Chassis manual was the first thing I ever bought for my car. I actually bought it BEFORE I got the car. Put it on my dad's credit card when I was 15 years old. Back in the good ol' days, when you could buy things on eBay besides bumper bolt kits. :rant: I reference mine every day. Amazing how much is covered in it.
check your chassis manual and look to see what type of light it tells you to put in for your rear back up light. my manual tells me 1157 which is clearly wrong as it is a 1156 . As far as the lamps go you can only fit the proper lamps in the proper sockets. Still a wonder as to why my drivers side indicators don't work when the headlights are on. I am trying to find a flasher for my skylark but I don't see anything that seems to fit on ebay. I hope my local parts store carrys one. I still have no idea how the two be related indicators and headlights two different systems. The only thing that I can think of is that there is a short between the two and when i energize the headlights it somehow shorts out the pulse from the flasher.o No:
The turn signal routes funny through the front side marker and front turn signal. The ground (don't remember the details) goes through both so that when one is bright, the other is dim- they alternate brightness. Try turning the left and right turn signals on and look around the car at which gets bright (or not). The ones that are less bright need circuit work for better conductivity. That lessened conductivity will also cause the sides to flash at different rates.
If your service manual says 1157 for a back up light, throw it out as its not a factory BUICK service manual. There is quite a difference between a Chilton or Haynes manual and the factory one. As far as having the wrong bulbs in sockets, Ive seen it and it happens. A common mistake is to assume things and not check the simple obvious stuff first. Break out the DVOM and the wiring diagram and start checking your powers and your grounds. Its the first rule of diagnosing electrical problems. No offense, but without a factory wiring diagram and a DVOM, you might as well use a crystal ball to figure it out.
no indicators are working now, i will get a new flasher and try that first if not I will start rewiring.
As I said in an earlier post, the signals are using the headlights as a return pathway to ground. The current is going "backwards" through the headlight filaments and using their ground to supply the ground connection they need. Once the headlights are turned on their current flowing "forward" prevents the signal light current from flowing "backward", so no signal lights. For an anology, think of it as a kid sneaking up the down escalator. It can be done as long as other people are not using the escalator going down. As soon as the kid hits the resistance of people going the right way he has to stop going up the wrong way. Also any flasher will work in the signal plug as long as it has the correct number of prongs, either 2 or 3. Just make sure NOT to get a heavy duty unit used for vehicles that tow trailers.
