Lighting problems

[T_F_E]

Alright, I have done some searching but I am still stumped. I have no parking lights, dash lights or tail lights. My low and highbeams, brake lights, and turn signals and hazards all work great. I am not very good about the electrical aspect of cars so I'm not really sure where to start. All fuses seem to check alright. Any suggestions for a good place to start for me?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Blood_of_Tyrants]

I would start with finding the wiring diagram and then follow the voltage.

 

[Ken_86gt]

Test the wires for 12v on the back of the light switch by back probing the connector. From the drawing, it looks to me like all of the wires should have 12V except the dome light wire (white) when the switch is on. Let us know what you find.

 

[T_F_E]

I'll go run out and do that now

 

[T_F_E]

Ok it seems only the yellow and the large orange wire near the bottom are getting power.... so do I need a new switch?

 

[Ken_86gt]

I can test mine tomorrow to verify, my truck isn't here right now. If you do need to replace it, it looks like it is only $13.99 at AZ.

 

[T_F_E]

I have an old 6.2 suburban I use for parts if I need a new switch.

 

[Ken_86gt]

The large orange wire with black stripe is from the battery and it looks like it is supplying the headlight 12V. There is another orange wire, .8 ORN-4OC, there that is smaller and it goes to pin 5 on the headlight switch and the fuse box. I believe that if you had 12V on this wire your lights would work, but I can't tell you where the disconnect is, it might be a loose connection at the fuse box. I have 12V on both of these wires with the headlight switch off and on. As a test you could jumper the two together with a paper clip or short piece of wire - caution you may blow a fuse. This would only confirm that this wire is the problem. If this test turns on your lights, you will have to follow that wire and fix the problem the right way.

 

[T_F_E]

I used a jumper wire and they worked, so I went and bought a brand new switch and it is still doing the same crap.

 

[Ken_86gt]

Right, its not the switch. You have to follow the smaller orange wire back to the fuse block to find the problem. It may just be a loose connection there. Look in the appendix of the -20 that I gave you in the other thread on page F-13. Look at the fuse block and find where the .8 ORN-4OC wire connects. There is a female connector there on the front where you can plug in a male spade connector to get power for other things. This is the same place that the orange wire goes, but somewhere on the back side where you can't see it. I think the rest is up to you. You may have to remove the fuse block from the fire wall to get to the back side and see were the problem is. But you really nee to follow the wire back to make sure that it didn't get but somewhere along the way.

 

[T_F_E]

Ok I understand that now, should i cut through the electrical tape to trace?

 

[Ken_86gt]

I don't think you need to do that first. Try to find the wire at the fuse block, if so, then try to test for voltage where it connects to the block. If it does, then there is a break in the wire someplace in between the block and the light switch. If there is a break and you can't find it, you could cut the wire at the block to bypass where the break is and connect the other end by the light switch. You should probably disconnect the negative wires from the battery while doing anything around the fuse block.

 

[T_F_E]

I have a good idea where it is on the block and it is not getting voltage