New member with a dilemma

[bigrik]

Hey guys, new to the boards. Must say there is a ton of useful information here! I just purchased a 1984 M1009 today. Im having some issues with the lighting system. Ive searched and read through the boards, as well as the manual and im at a loss for help. I discovered after i got this truck home that the brake lights were not functioning. I also have discovered that my front passenger side parking light, front passenger low beam, and rear drivers tail light are all non-functioning as well. Ive not begun to troubleshoot the lights other than the brakes. During inspection of the fuse panel it appears the brake light fuse terminal is burnt up. I couldnt get a test light to show any power there either. Any ideas on a solution that doesnt involve a re-harness? Im no mechanic, but i can do minor things, just looking for some possible solutions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Matt1970M35A]

Ive seen a few post were they installed a relay for the headlights. and as far as running lights check your grounds. I dont own a 1009 but I do own a few gm's.

 

[Warthog]

Th usual suspects are the ground tabs in the turn signal sockets. Also check the ground wires at the radiator support. One each above the headlights.

Alot of times the fuse box can be cleaned with Electrical Contact Cleaner an a very small piece of sand paper. Disconnect the batteries, remove all the fuses and clean the box. New quailty fuses are a good idea. Take a picture of the box and the batteries before removal.

You do know about the Blackout Light switch? Download the TM 9-2320-289-10 Operators Tech Manual to learn how the truck should work.

Do you own a multimeter and know how to use it?

 

[Coffey1]

Wiring is a pita ! you need help from someone that knows wiring. Hopefully there"s a member close to you that can help. go to the TMs and see if you can find wiring diagram and start tracing ! Or strike a match ! ( just kidding ) best of luck

 

[Vhyle]

Another thing is that the wiring connectors for the rear lights are bad about coming apart. They are just two cup-shaped rubber connectors, and they easily slip out and become disconnected. At least that's what happened on my truck. I bypassed them and re-wired them, and my taillights are good to go.

 

[bigrik]

Ordering a multimeter tonight after reading through postings here and have a good friend who is an electrician to teach me how to put it to sensible use. Unfortunately hes not a vehicle electric guy, but i still yet may inquire with him on how to bypass the brake light terminal in the fuse box if another solution doesnt present itself soon. Ive downloaded the manuals and begun reading through them, its because of them i was able to discover the missing fuse was the brake light fuse, however, i dont believe they offer a solution for a burnt terminal in the fuse box, however im still going through them. im aware of the blackout switch and how it functions, in my case, mine appears to be disconnected at this time. Right now main concern is getting it street legal, brake lights are a must. Thanks for the replies so far.

For today, i started simple. I changed all the bulbs and fuses in the panel. It was then that i discovered my brake situation was more than simply burnt bulb.

 

[Warthog]

I would guess that it is the headlight fuse that is melted. Happens alot. Read the headlight circuit sticky to see what all is connected to that fuse.

The are many youtube videos that teach the basics of a multimeter.

 

[bigrik]

looks like quite a bit of reading in my future. Thank you Warthog for the direction. Im going to take some time tomorrow to clean all the ground connections for the headlights and tails and see what i end up with. Once i can get hands on the proper tools ill start working harder if i havent worked my issue. Looks like ill be picking up one of the headlight harnesses from LMC soon as well. Might as well do it right from the start and see where that gets me.

 

[MakersTeleMark]

They are on backorder FYI.

 

[bigrik]

so on to a solution to this brake light problem. Is it possible, once ive reduced the electrical load to the headlight circuit with the new headlight harness system, to clip the two brake light wires at the back of the fuse box and wire an inline fuse to the two connections? Same principle only outside of the fuse box. I took some time today and cleaned the ground connections in the tail light buckets, as well as all of the bulb sockets. But as of now im still without rear drivers parking light and no brake lights.

Also want to clarify after again reading through the posts here. The fuse is not burnt, to be precise, there is no fuse. The terminal itself inside the fuse box is burnt and melted badly enough to prevent insertion of a new fuse. All other fuse terminals are in working order and show no outward signs of damage. Hence why im inquiring about clipping and wiring in an inline. Any other suggestions since the area in the fuse box for that particular fuse is shot?

 

[Warthog]

Post a picture.

A new headlight harness will not effect the stop lights.

The way the fuse box is wired may prevent the "extra" fuse option. The 12v comes into the headlight fuse and there is a metal jumper (on the back) that feeds the stoplight circuit.

As a test, use a paperclip or a piece of wire to jumper where the fuse would go to see if the brakelights will work

 

[bigrik]

tried a jumper today to see if i could get power, and as of now still nothing. Ill do my best to get a pic up in a day or so. Im out of days off and time will be sparse till i hit my weekend on Sunday. I appreciate the guidance so far. I have not yet taken the fuse box down to see what it looks like in back. Im sure there is a possibility that whatever cause the melting of the terminal may have severed or damaged a connection in back. Hoping this wont be too difficult of a repair, but wiring gremlins are my downfall.

 

[Lild]

It is possible that who ever had it last had an issue with fuse popping (bad fuse) & replaced it with a higher amp fuse thus instead of the fuse popping due to an surge, the high amp fuse allowed the juice to flow & possible lead to the connector to burn up.

 

[bigrik]

Multimeter arrived today. Went out before i have to leave for work and started checking continuity. Looks like the brake light switch is good. However, im not getting tone when i check the brake light switch plug. Ive done no extensive testing on my fuse box as ive got some studying to do on how to test and what i should be looking for. For those in the know, to test the fuse box terminals, i should set the meter to DC (my meter gives me a V and or mA reading) i connect to a ground source, and then touch the leads of the terminal with the positive lead on the tester. What should i be looking for in terms of readout? Im assuming in the neighborhood of 12v, however at this time ive not read enough to know if im doing this correctly. This weekend will be when i make an attempt to troubleshoot things more intently, ive got some youtube vids to search for multimeter use.

My question lies as this, if im not getting a tone on continuity to the brake light switch plug, then the issue is between the plug and the box. If ive read correctly, part of this wiring may also be connected to the blinker switch in the column. The two wires i have on the brake switch plug are an orange (diagram shows to the fuse box) and a white w/black stripe (diagram states it runs to the blinker switch). Where would you go from here to start narrowing down the issue?

Thanks so much for your help thus far, you guys have been a life saver in getting me where i am now.

 

[swbradley1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3OyQ3HwfU

That will help you with the basics.

 

[GREENMV]

Warthog Is right. "Th usual suspects are the ground tabs in the turn signal sockets." Every time my lights on my truck got loopy, it was always a stupid light bulb socket ground broken or rusted, so I changed them all. I have not had an issue since.

 

[bigrik]

for you wiring gurus' if i test continuity on the brake light switch plug, should i get tone when i check the connection points? I know one wire comes in from the fuse box, the other to the switch in the column which makes me wonder if i would get a continuity tone. If so, ive got the problem narrowed down to that point, if not, ive still got some work to do. I got the front lights all working, bad ground on the parking lights, now fixed and working thanks to the guidance from the members here.