'71 Bus Hi/Low Beam Wiring - UPDATED W/PHOTOS!

jblair630 · Post by **jblair630** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:42 pm

Went to go get Phred inspected today and the only thing that kept him from passing was an inability to switch from low beams to high and back. This cropped up a couple of weeks ago but the distraction of dealing with Z's old car and getting the new one meant I put it off for awhile.

I figured the problem was in the dimmer switch attached just under the fuse box and so I got a replacement for it. The switch worked after I put it in but then did not work when I took it in for the inspection (figures!).

After looking around I found that one of the wires (the brown/white one) on the turn signal switch (the stalk you use to activate the left/right turn signals) must have been barely hanging on and finally had come loose.

No problem, I'll just solder it back in place. The problem is that I don't know where to solder it and can't find a picture of where its supposed to be connected. I have the wiring diagrams, Speedy Jim's great drawings, etc., but no clue as to where the wire is supposed to be soldered.

Can someone please take a picture of the connections on the turn signal switch, or maybe point me to where a picture might be? Remember that Phred is a '71 and I think the turn signal switch wiring for early and late bays are different.

Any other clues to look for with regard to the high beam issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!

Jeffrey

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:19 pm

Hi Jeffrey,

Aren't the terminals in the signal switch labeled? As you know from the diagrams, the wire you speak of connects to terminal 'S'. Maybe your switch has the labeling worn off. I have a spare signal switch at home, so I'll snap a picture of it tomorrow afternoon and post it up here for ya!

zblair · Post by **zblair** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:02 pm

We went back outside and we took a few photos of the light assembly undone with the loose wire(s). There aren't any markings to speak of near where the wires go, so it probably rubbed off like you mentioned, Dick.

Sorry these photos aren't any more clear folks!

Editor's note - link to photo removed as it is no longer available.

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:02 pm

Hiya Jeff,

Take a look here...............

Editor's note - link to photo removed as it is no longer available.

There's your brown/white at the yellow arrow. It is soldered onto the bracket (red arrow) edge. I'm thinking that if you look closely at that bracket edge you'll see remnants of the original solder point. In any event, it does NOT belong anywhere on that mini-circuit board where most of the other contacts wind up.

Hope that is of help.

And..........remember, I wanna see how that interior for Phred goes together.

zblair · Post by **zblair** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:19 pm

Hiya Mike,

That's exactly what Jeffrey needed! Thanks! I just printed out that photo for him!

Post by **Amskeptic** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:50 am

zblair wrote:Hiya Mike,

That's exactly what Jeffrey needed! Thanks! I just printed out that photo for him!

Update please. . . Did that fix it?
Colin

zblair · Post by **zblair** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:55 am

YES! Phred passed his inspection yesterday afternoon!

I will remind him to update his thread later

jblair630 · Post by **jblair630** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:53 pm

Update please. . . Did that fix it?
Colin

Yes, indeed that fixed it. I wouldn't have found the solder point for that brown/white wire without Mike's pic. Turned out to be one of the trickiest soldering jobs I've done in a VERY long time since it was pretty hard to solder that wire in place without melting the insulation on the other wires. At one point, I had been at it for quite awhile when I dropped the soldering iron. When I grabbed it out of mid-air, the smell of searing meat convinced me that I had better stop for the day and toss some burgers on the grill instead.

When I finally got the solder point tacked down, the dimmer switch still wouldn't work so I got a good lesson on the wiring in the back of the fuse box. The wire going to 56a on the dimmer switch had also come loose so I repaired that as well. SUCCESS. I must have spent the next 10 minutes just flashing between low and high beams to make sure the fixes would stick.

Went back down to the inspection station (run by a good ol' boy named Terry who always remembers the bus) and when he got around to testing the high beams, I crossed my fingers, toes and eyes for good luck. Hallelujah, it passed.

Thanks for the help guys

Jeffrey

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'71 Bus Hi/Low Beam Wiring - UPDATED W/PHOTOS!

'71 Bus Hi/Low Beam Wiring - UPDATED W/PHOTOS!