I hope this is an easy one for you electrical gurus.

Our '65 El Camino received a new wiring harness by one of the previous owners. We noticed that when driving, the turn signals work fine - until the brakes are applied - then the flashing stops (at least at the rear, we haven't checked the front). The indicators on the dash continue to flash, but the rear lights stop. Any ideas? Bad flasher or wrong bulbs? Anxious to hear any suggestions or ideas.

Thanks!
Brian

Just a question ~~~~ Do the front turn lights come on when you apply the Brakes? (without useing the turn signal)

That is a great question - I don't think we ever checked! The car is semi-put up for the winter, but the next time we pull it out we will check that.

Thanks,
Brian

That may give you some direction in trouble shooting your issue. I've seen it before. Keep us posted.

UPDATE:::: > In all probability you have a bad ground.


Check all grounds at the bulb sockets

I agree, BAD ground.

I checked with Dad, and he says the front signals work fine - regardless of the brake lights being on or off. When we get a chance, we'll start checking all the connection points to see if we can find anything obvious.

Thanks for all the replies!
Brian

My suspicion is the turn signal switch itself.

- If the brakelights work, it shouldn't be a grounding issue.... the stop & turn functions use the same wiring and filaments in the rear bulbs.
- The stop/turn bulbs are grounded through the chrome housings via 4 bolts into the 1/4 panel... no wires to break/fail.

In the TSS (turn signal switch) there are 2 little metal "fingers" and a cam assembly attached to the lever. When you move the lever, the cam bends the appropriate left or right "finger"... breaking the stoplight switch feed, and inserting the flasher circuit feed.

After 44 years, the "fingers" lose their springyness/temper, and the contact points get arced/dirty. The cam can't bend them enough to make good contact with the flasher circuit.

Try this:
- Switch the key on (or start it) and engage the left or right signal.
- GENTLY apply a little more force to the lever (in the direction of the turn) and wiggle it a bit..... see if the rear bulbs start to work.

I've had to replace the TSS in both my '64 & '65. I got away with re-bending the "fingers" in the '64 for awhile, but the fingers had lost their temper and just re-bent back after some time.

I hope this is an easy one for you electrical gurus.

" We noticed that when driving, the turn signals work fine - until the brakes are applied - then the flashing stops "

Thanks!
Brian

Maybe it's just me, but I read it as the Turn Signals work fine

But hay ~~~ What do I know.

The signals do work just fine - as long as your foot is not on the brake. They blink and cancel just like they should - from the driver's seat you'd never know there was a problem, the dash indicators flash normally. We spotted it when my Dad followed me and asked why I wasn't using the signals.

Thanks,
Brian

OK. Just to clarify....

- Key "OFF or ON", press the brake pedal and both rear lights come on brightly? Y/N

Sitting in the car, Ignition "on", and the turn signal lever in the left turn position, and your foot OFF the brake pedal:

- The left front bumper lamp blinks, the left dash light blinks, and the left rear bulb blinks? Y/N

THEN, press & hold the brake pedal.

- The left front lamp & left dash lamp still blink, the LEFT REAR bulb goes dead, but the RIGHT REAR side comes on steady (brakelight)?
OR
- The left front & left dash stop blinking, the LEFT REAR goes dead, but the RIGHT REAR comes on steady (brakelight)?
- Repeat above switching the words left for right....

In a nutshell the ENTIRE turn signal system works (front, dash, & rear) until you press the brake pedal?? Y/N

John :::::::::: Great questions!!! I'll just sit back and watch this thread and see where it leads. I think you have a good handle on it.

Yes, great questions!

- Key "OFF or ON", press the brake pedal and both rear lights come on brightly? Y/N YES

Sitting in the car, Ignition "on", and the turn signal lever in the left turn position, and your foot OFF the brake pedal:

- The left front bumper lamp blinks, the left dash light blinks, and the left rear bulb blinks? Y/N YES

THEN, press & hold the brake pedal.

- The left front lamp & left dash lamp still blink, the LEFT REAR bulb goes dead, but the RIGHT REAR side comes on steady (brakelight)? YES, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENSOR
- The left front & left dash stop blinking, the LEFT REAR goes dead, but the RIGHT REAR comes on steady (brakelight)? NO
- Repeat above switching the words left for right....

In a nutshell the ENTIRE turn signal system works (front, dash, & rear) until you press the brake pedal?? Y/N YES

Is it possible that the wrong bulbs are in the sockets? This system calls for a two-element bulb, right? If there were single element bulbs in, wouldn't that cause this scenario?

Thanks for your help,
Brian

The bulb thing is possible, but not probable.... A single element (1156) bulb has the alignment pegs directly opposite eachother.... I suppose you could cram one in there... but both sides being wrong??

The correct bulb is an 1157. Twin filament, two contact buttons on the bottom & offset pegs on the shell. It'll only go in one way.

The stoplights & turn signals use the same filament - the switching of "duty" is done by the TSS. (The other filament is for parking/taillight duty.)

This is a good one.... I'll have to do some head-scratching on it...! I posted this over on Team Chevelle as well.
Head Scratcher (http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=250065)

They've made a few suggestions over on TC...

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=250065

"my ten cents"

I think they may have wired the rear lights incorrect, possibley
when the new harness was installed. The rear turn signal should blink while brakes are applied and illuminated. Check the wiring diagrams and then compare them to the current instalation, this will be time consuming. But this is a wiring issue in my opinion, the rear light bulbs are recieving a constant current flow when the brakes are being applied, when it should be recieving the flashers on and off current to signal turning. Your brakes are wired to your rear lights and should not overide the flasher when the turn signal is activated. I would re-wire the rear lights according to a reliable wiring diagram wich is on this site. GOOD LUCK

At the Turn Signal switch connector at the bottom of the column check that you have power on the Purple (PPL), when the key is ON. The Brown (Brn) should have power all the time. The White should have power when the brake is applied.

Click to Enlarge

http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u349/nsstringer/TSSwitchwiring.jpg

Was curious if you've made any progress.... I found the following that should be helpful:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/celba/cars/65%20El%20Camino/th_Wiring01b.jpg (http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/celba/cars/65%20El%20Camino/?action=view&current=Wiring01b.jpg)http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/celba/cars/65%20El%20Camino/th_Wiring02b.jpg (http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/celba/cars/65%20El%20Camino/?action=view&current=Wiring02b.jpg)