Builds Powda Blue 74 Build - Tilda Bogue Service Station (1 Viewer)

[kudzugypsy]

On the blinkers - did you happen to replace the turn signal switch at some point during the upgrades? There are a few different ones out there I have found - the early 74 that was the first year with the combo lights is a little different As it had options for both the old 73 and 74 wiring. I had to fight this with my 74 - best to unhook the lights from the rear and make some jumper wires so you aren’t constantly walking to the back of the vehicle and get a power probe and hit the terminals (under the dash harness) with positive power to see if they light - I can tell you without the full load on the circuit (and good grounds) they do crazy stuff…like when I mashed the brakes the turn signals lite...Also the early combo lights need good ground they aren’t internally grounded like later ones. I ran a dedicated ground from a distribution block and everything worked…eventually…it was a fight - I was shocked when I hit the turn smith and they all fired perfectly

 

[wngrog]

On the blinkers - did you happen to replace the turn signal switch at some point during the upgrades? There are a few different ones out there I have found - the early 74 that was the first year with the combo lights is a little different As it had options for both the old 73 and 74 wiring. I had to fight this with my 74 - best to unhook the lights from the rear and make some jumper wires so you aren’t constantly walking to the back of the vehicle and get a power probe and hit the terminals (under the dash harness) with positive power to see if they light - I can tell you without the full load on the circuit (and good grounds) they do crazy stuff…like when I mashed the brakes the turn signals lite...Also the early combo lights need good ground they aren’t internally grounded like later ones. I ran a dedicated ground from a distribution block and everything worked…eventually…it was a fight - I was shocked when I hit the turn smith and they all fired perfectly

You got it. It’s a 74 with a brand new OEM blinker setup.

There is a Green/White male plug left over from the new blinker switch that has no female in the 74 harness. Maybe that’s something.

I’ve tried to ground one housing with extra ground at a time but not all 4 at once. I’ll make some pigtails tomorrow and try to ground all the blinkers at once. Thanks for the tips. I know all this stuff works it’s got to be ground stuff but the PowerProbe says grounds are good.

 

[kudzugypsy]

I’m sure you have dozens of spare flashers around and you can try that - I went down that path but it ended up not being the culprit. Did any blinkers function when you first started? I found with old wiring sometimes it’s in a frozen state of functioning and then when you go unhooking and updating all kinds of stuff starts appearing non functioning.

 

[wngrog]

I’m sure you have dozens of spare flashers around and you can try that - I went down that path but it ended up not being the culprit. Did any blinkers function when you first started? I found with old wiring sometimes it’s in a frozen state of functioning and then when you go unhooking and updating all kinds of stuff starts appearing non functioning.

Nothing worked. I feel like a hero that the inky thing left not working is the blinkers.

Like I said it bangs away with the hazards

 

[Jdc1]

I’ve got a couple of wiring gremlins if anyone has any ideas please feel free to chime in


I put in a new brake switch yesterday. The old one was broken. It’s a simple plug in to the harness.


When my brake lights come on my marker lights also come on. So I’m sending a brake signal to the 4 side lights as well as the tail (bright brake not just the tail)


Second. The flashers will make blinkers work but individually they click once and stop. In the past I just added a ground to the housing and it made them work. I went around with my ground wire direct to the battery (PowerProbe) and the housings are all showing a good ground and it does not help with an extra ground.

Any tips are appreciated.

Are the turn signals drawing power at the hazard switch on a 74?

 

[wngrog]

Are the turn signals drawing power at the hazard switch on a 74?

Yes

 

[kudzugypsy]

I’m not a electric guy but dealing with Japanese wiring you have to become (painfully) familiar with it lol ..That flasher has to see a certain load on the circuit to function- like if you disconnect the PS bulbs the DS will blink really fast and erratic. Check the connection at the firewall too - those old plastic terminals rot. I’m thinking that it *may* be the later model turn signal switch - they changed so if you got a new one it’s probably for a late model - you can still get the *old* one but you have to know the difference in the connectors. I’m not saying you couldnt make the late one work, it’s probably the same design but something could be misaligned in the conversation like the flasher routing. My original wiring was such a 45 year old rats nest of PO hacks I was forced to dive in and just start - I’ve found almost 9/10 times it’s bad grounds which will drive you insane.
If all fails…which it might..I ended up taking both rear lights out, opening the hood and disconnecting The wiring harness at the firewall, making some spade jumpers from the cowl terminal and running a ground to both lights to a negative dist block, sat the lights where I could see both of them from inside the cab and hit the terminals under the dash with the power probe to make sure everything operated. all that experiment worked and the blinkers fired right up ( this was after I replace the turn signal with a correct one - I didn’t try the later one I gave up already on that one) - so I know now any issues are with the rear wiring harness which is probably hacked to hell from trailer wiring modifications

…also..do this really basic thing and clean the fusebox terminals and check no blown fuses…I had a blown wiper fuse even though they were disconnected during my rewire I recall reading where in the crazy 40 wiring schematic something gets power from the wiper circuit

 

[Jdc1]

Yes

Everything ok at the hazard switch? While not an expert by any means, it could be corrosion or a terminal that isn’t making good contact somewhere. I do know Coolerman double checks that the wires are terminated correctly at each plug as well.

Does the turn signal switch get a ground at the at the column? You’ve done a ton of PC it could be something there.

 

[wngrog]

Everything ok at the hazard switch? While not an expert by any means, it could be corrosion or a terminal that isn’t making good contact somewhere. I do know Coolerman double checks that the wires are terminated correctly at each plug as well.

Does the turn signal switch get a ground at the at the column? You’ve done a ton of PC it could be something there.

Pretty much everything under the cowl was frozen or not working. I have a good hazard I could swap in.

 

[Jdc1]

Pretty much everything under the cowl was frozen or not working. I have a good hazard I could swap in.

It’s easy to swap stuff in but could be something else too. There’s got to be the test procedure for the switch or it could use a cleaning inside. Only if you aren’t getting power though it though.

I’d definitely jump the grounds first. It could be something as stupid as a bulb isn’t making contact in the light housing too. I hate the way the 40s are wired.

 

[wngrog]

It’s easy to swap stuff in but could be something else too. There’s got to be the test procedure for the switch or it could use a cleaning inside. Only if you aren’t getting power though it though.

I’d definitely jump the grounds first. It could be something as stupid as a bulb isn’t making contact in the light housing too. I hate the way the 40s are wired.

We jumped every bulb today. Every plug is plugged.

 

[kudzugypsy]

I don’t know if you mentioned this earlier- if the turn signals were firing at all..You can disconnect the hazard and check with a power probe. 1 pin that gets a negative read will light the pass side when pos powered and 1 pin that gets a neg read will fire the driver...so if that works you are at the hazard switch somewhere back..you just gotta start at one point and work back til it no longer functions. so I would start at the taillight turn lamps with the power probe ..it gets a good STONG ground beep, not a weak crackling one…so..it works when + applied, move to the connection at the firewall, disconnect, strong beep, shoot + on the terminals ..if that’s good…go to the hazard, disconnect find the neg pin shoot with + one side shoot light, then find the other neg pin, shoot + that should light other side..so then if all works it’s in on to the relay or poss hazard switch itself. you might be going all the way to the fuse box ..lol

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Probably not the problem but on my 83 Troopy the hazards worked but not the blinkers. On that year the power for each is separately fused. My issue was a bad fuse. You already said on the 74 the power for both comes from one circuit (fuse) so maybe that isn't the issue but thought I would throw out the suggestion regardless.

 

[wngrog]

Cold weather ride this morning

 

[Spike Strip]

You really have the eye for making these trucks look tits

 

[CondeCruiser]

You really have the eye for making these trucks look tits

^^^Agreed. Nice work.

 

[wngrog]

Probably not the problem but on my 83 Troopy the hazards worked but not the blinkers. On that year the power for each is separately fused. My issue was a bad fuse. You already said on the 74 the power for both comes from one circuit (fuse) so maybe that isn't the issue but thought I would throw out the suggestion regardless.

One fuse.

So I opened up each light and screwed a ground into each cover.

This has always been my go-to fix if all else fails but it did not work.

 

[JMZ400]

Love the seat color contrast

 

[kudzugypsy]

Since it’s kind of last resort phase with the blinkers this is what I had to go through with a severely hacked up harness - tracing wires and making jumpers to test - it took a while but everything works 100% now…I was at wits end several times. We mentioned the turn signal switch - don’t assume it lines up with the correct pins as mine didn’t. I bought a new improved flasher and had to wire that in but I don’t think my old one was bad

 

[wngrog]

What a mess. I sure don’t want to make that. (You cleaned it nicely)

I’ve got a Dakota on order. He’s picking up tomorrow for test miles. I’ll add this to the “next time” list.