Brake light problem

[fredrader]

Hi All,I have a problem with my brake lights..They work w/o the headlights on but not as bright as they should be I don't think..When I move the light selector switch from the brake light position to the headlight position the brake lights don't work..It kinda looked like they came on but were dimmer than the tail light..The turn signals work fine and all my BO lights seem to work fine..Any idea how to troubleshoot this problem?? Thanks,Fred (This is on my 70 AM General M35A2)

 

[Recovry4x4]

Fred, sounds like there's a problem near the switch or in the signal harness. Double check the grounding of the flasher on the inner fender and maybe pull the plug off of the brake light switch and have soldier B apply the brakes. Check for continuity across the switch with the brakes applied and released. One of these should start to give an indication of where to go next.

 

[fredrader]

I'll check it out..Here is another dumb question,Does the large bulb go in the top socket or the bottom socket ?? If I remember rite when I got the deuce one side had the bulbs Big on top and the other side had the big one on the bottom...I can't remember for sure though...They say your memory is the second thing to go...I just can't remember what the first thing was :banghead:

Thanks for the help...Fred

 

[da_sgt]

I would also check your wires at the tailights, make sure wire#21, and #22 are plugged into the correspondinding #'s of the harness. Thats one more possibillity, but not likely for both sides, but than again you never know

 

[da_sgt]

Fred; It's Large on the bottom, Small on top :smilewinkgrin:

 

[Recovry4x4]

Big bulb bottom socket buddy!

 

[fredrader]

Thanks,I'll check that too...Thanks again,Fred

 

[fredrader]

Well I just checked the plugs and they are in the correct positions,The bulbs are in the correct positions also..I will have to keep checking stuff I guess..The turn signals are nice and bright and so are the tail lights..The brake lights (With the headlights off) work but are not as bright as the tail lights are when they are on.. :banghead:

 

[da_sgt]

Sounds like your grounding out some place, I would start checking resistence....Good luck!

 

[fredrader]

Well I think I need a pressure switch and a 3 lever light switch..I left the 3 lever switch in the brake light position for a day or so and it ran the battery's down and when I crawled under the deuce and felt the pressure switch it was warm..I charged the batterys and checked the voltage at the rear lights and I had 24+ volts to the tail ligt socket but the brake light was less that 12v..The turn signal and emergency flashers were bright but the brake lights are very dim...My 3 lever switch needs to be replaced anyway because the lock is messed up and the spring loaded lock lever is not spring loaded any more..I don't know a good place to get these 2 items so any help would be great..Thanks,Fred

 

[SixBuy]

Fred,

In another post somewhere you mentioned you were looking for a way to connect your 12 V trailer lights to your 28 V Deuce. Why not put some 14 V Zener diodes in series with the trailer lights, like maybe in some sort of adapter plug that goes from mil to civi? You'd have to do some math to determine the appropriate wattage rating for the diode to survive given the draw on the 12 V bulbs. Just a thought.

 

[fredrader]

That is exactly what I was wanting to do..I don't know much about electrical though..

 

[SixBuy]

I don't know how the trailer plug is wired or I'd draw you a diagram. You'd need one Zener diode for each trailer light filament and the wattage rating for each would need to be sufficient to handle the current . Since the deuce charges at 28 volts and a regular car electrical system charges at 14 volts, it looks like dropping 14 volts across the Zener would leave 14 volts for the taillight bulb. Brake light filaments draw a lot more current than taillights so the Zener would have to be rated to handle at least a half amp of current per. Let me scour the catalogs and see if I can find something suitable.
I've been waiting for the last six months for the "just right" deuce and I may land it Monday so bear with me...

 

[fredrader]

Sounds great,I appreciate the help and good luck with the Deuce..