[Olle]

My backup lights won't come on, and it seems like I don't get any power to them. I disconnected the switch on the steering column and checked it, and it seems to work just fine. Then I read the voltage between the wires that connect to the switch, and it didn't show anything at all. The fuse is (as far as I can see) the same as for the blinkers, and as they work there shouldn't be a problem on that side. I'm not sure how it's connected, but I figure that I should read 12V on one of the two wires, and get ground on the other one.

Does anyone know if the positive side is a continuous wire to the fuse box, or are there any connectors etc in between that I need to check? Would also like to know it I can safely connect 12V to one of the two wires just to check the rear part of the wiring. I would think that the backup lights will come on if I do that, but don't know which wire to connect to. The car is a -69 Malibu with column shifter.

 

[johnny69]

just a thought not to insult you but did you check the fuse?i think there is one that feeds 12v to that backup switch on the column,dont forget that switch has to be engaged to complete the circuit to feed voltage through the wires to the lights.turnung the column to the right spot engages that switch...so if you can i would pull the wires off and tie them together with the key on to see if the lights light up good luck...

 

[Dean]

You should be checking voltage from each wire to ground while disconnected from the switch.

One should be hot (if the key has to be on) the other wire is going to the lights and would not have any voltage unless it was getting power from the switch.

To check the switch, check it for continuity with the wires disconnected.

You could connect a hot wire as a test but if there happens to be a short, it wouldn't be a good idea.

 

[Olle]

Originally posted by Dean:
You should be checking voltage from each wire to ground while disconnected from the switch.

One should be hot (if the key has to be on) the other wire is going to the lights and would not have any voltage unless it was getting power from the switch.

To check the switch, check it for continuity with the wires disconnected.

You could connect a hot wire as a test but if there happens to be a short, it wouldn't be a good idea.

Thanks, that's what I thought. Didn't think about a possible short though, thanks for the warning!

I found out that my test instrument took a crap, so I'm not sure if my readings are correct. Seems like the switch is ok though. I'll check on it again with another instrument, could actually be a simple problem like bad ground in the tail lights.

 

[Olle]

Ok, checked it again with a good instrument, and it turned out to be a false alarm. I do have 12V to the switch, and the reason for the malfunction was just dirty connectors. I cleaned them, and everything works just fine now.

Thanks guys!