I was driving our '64 convertible home the other night and the amp gauge showed "discharge" when I turned my headlights on. Once home, I hooked a voltage meter to the battery and the voltage was all over the place with the engine running. 13V, 0V, 6V...all over the place. Hoping for an easy fix, I disconnected the voltage regulator and the alternator but the voltage was still erratic. I even swapped the battery with no change.
I checked with a friend who recommended I look for a wiring short. I got under the dash and one of the fuses was blown. The blown fuse controlled the interior lights and the brake lights. I pulled both wires from the fuse block and put a fresh fuse in. I hooked up the interior lights and everything worked well. That made me think the issue was with the brake light system.
Our car has power disc brakes so the brake light switch is up top in the engine compartment and easy to access so I started there. I took a continuity meter and checked the two posts of the brake light switch to see if either was grounded. It turns out that one of them was grounded. I grabbed another brake light switch from the garage and installed it. I reconnected the brake light wiring to the fuse block and started the car. Everything worked correctly. The voltage was steady and the battery began to charge as soon as the engine started. Brake lights work, interior lights work, voltage is steady and no blown fuses.
I checked with a friend who recommended I look for a wiring short. I got under the dash and one of the fuses was blown. The blown fuse controlled the interior lights and the brake lights. I pulled both wires from the fuse block and put a fresh fuse in. I hooked up the interior lights and everything worked well. That made me think the issue was with the brake light system.
Our car has power disc brakes so the brake light switch is up top in the engine compartment and easy to access so I started there. I took a continuity meter and checked the two posts of the brake light switch to see if either was grounded. It turns out that one of them was grounded. I grabbed another brake light switch from the garage and installed it. I reconnected the brake light wiring to the fuse block and started the car. Everything worked correctly. The voltage was steady and the battery began to charge as soon as the engine started. Brake lights work, interior lights work, voltage is steady and no blown fuses.
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