Wiring

[mgerdau]

Recently, our daughter gave back the 1970 Bus we had given her. Unfortunately, our dachshund had tore out wires and our son-in-law patched things up with different colors of wires. The fuse block had wires just connected helter-skelter. I've straighten all of that out, I now have headlights, turn signals, headlight dimmer is working, horn is working, wipers are working, emergency flasher is working, courtesy lights are working, backup lights are working, and of course it starts and purrs like a kitten. My problem is I have no turn signal indicator lights (unless I touch the connection with my electrical probe or I turn on the emergency flasher) and when I mount the turn signal switch to the steering wheel the horn honks. Is the turn signal canceling plate suppose to be hot? I'm thinking that maybe there is some insulation I need to do to the steering wheel shaft or at least to the turn signal canceling plate but I can't find an exploded view of the steering wheel assembly. HELP PLEASE!

[Brian]

Easy peezy wiring diagram

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[mgerdau]

[Tcash]

Click on diagram to open.

Wiring Diagrams


I have no turn signal indicator lights (unless I touch the connection with my electrical probe or I turn on the emergency flasher)
If your electrical probe is hooked to ground. You are grounding the circuit. You would need to fix the horn ground circuit.

when I mount the turn signal switch to the steering wheel the horn honks
When you mount the signal switch, it is grounding the brown horn wire somehow.

Is the turn signal canceling plate suppose to be hot?
No, it would be blowing fuses if it was hot. It is grounding the horn somehow.

I'm thinking that maybe there is some insulation
No insulation on turn signal switch or housing.

The steering shaft is insulated from the steering housing. If the make contact with each other the horn will ground and honk.

Horn wiring repair


Thanks to jerseylooker
http://www.jerseylooker.com/FicheDump/EarlyBaywindow/9-032.jpg
http://www.jerseylooker.com/FicheDump/EarlyBaywindow/4-018.jpg
http://www.jerseylooker.com/FicheDump/EarlyBaywindow/EarlyBay-Main.html

Good Luck
Tcash

[mgerdau]

[m.pendzick]

Not really on topic at all, but I am going to rewire my entire bus. I plan on using a newer fuse panel, any recommendations?

[Tcash]

[mgerdau]

[kreemoweet]

[mgerdau]

Well, back to the "drawing board." The new turn signal switch I bought seems to be the problem. I complained about the quality to the seller - anyway. So everything is hot - the steering shaft and the housing, which makes the canceling plate hot too.

[Tcash]

[mgerdau]

Ok, that makes sense. Maybe there's another component that's grounding out. But it would have to be something connected to the turn signal switch wiring.

So the housing is hot but the shaft is not, Ok so the hot is traveling from the horn through the ground wire that connects to the housing, making the housing hot.

I'll clean contacts and put the steering column back together and keep checking resistance between the housing and the shaft along the way.

Thanks, this is really a puzzle.

[kreemoweet]

[Tcash]

[mgerdau]

You're correct, when I refer to housing I do mean the steering column tube.

Well, the t/s switch is an expensive piece of china junk. The part on the t/s switch that houses the dimmer switch (looks like a small house around the contacts) one contact is ground (brown wire) the other is brown and white.

Taking break from cleaning parts and repainting the plate that screws to the floor pan.

[mgerdau]

Ok, this beginning to drive me nuts - and it is a short drive. I have gone over the whole wiring harness, checked the wiring with the wiring schematic in the Bentley Manual (as well as the one's posted on here).

With the key in the on position-horn does not work, worn button when depressed activates the dimmer switch (which personally I find kinda handy), t/s indicators do not work (t/s all work), the brake warning light does not work, and the high beam indicator does not work.

I checked the wire to the horn its hot; that same wire also feeds the brake switch and those are also hot.

I have 5 volts of DC when check between the horn grn (under the horn button) and the t/s (which when I touched my probe would activate the dimmer switch).

With the key in the off position the t/s indicators work great using the emergency flasher switch. I have no resistance between the horn grn and the t/s.

I've followed the thread on horn repair - have no idea why the horn doesn't work, even when I try to circumvent everything.

Does anyone have some encouraging thoughts or suggestions? I'm about ready to buy a new wiring harness, horn, and brake switches.

[telford dorr]

No wire connection to the turn signal switch should have any continuity to the metal turn signal switch frame.

Disconnect all wires going to the turn signal switch. Test all wires for continuity to the switch frame with an ohmmeter. If you find a short, remove the switch and retest. If the short disappears, then there is an issue with how the switch is mounted in the housing, or the housing is mounted to the column. If the short is still there after removal, inspect the wire for shorts or pinching. Insulate, reposition, or de-solder, trim and re-solder as needed.

It seems that aftermarket switches need some physical massaging to get everything mounted up short-free. Bend slightly; add insulation; modify wire positions; etc. Whatever it takes. There's not a lot of clearance there, it seems.

Inspect the metal half-moon bracket carefully to be sure it isn't sunk onto the turn signal housing too much (a common failure point, caused by over-tightening the screws holding the housing sections together on the column.). If sunk too much, it will short to the switch. Its ears should be flush to the edges of the housing. Only viable fix is to replace the housing, if sunk in too far. (Sometimes, a touch of weld on the half-moon bracket, followed by grinding and filing will work for a while.)
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[Tcash]

Hi
Pull the t/s switch off and see if the problem goes away. If it does the t/s switch needs repair.
Good Luck
Tcash