recips

I have a '64 coupe that the rear parking lights won't work. All other lights including both rear turn signals and brake lights work properly. I have scoured the old threads and haven't found what I need as of yet. I initially thought it was the headlight switch and bought a new one only to find the problem did not change. Here is what I have found. At the headlight switch harness I can put 12 volts on one of the brown wires and the rear parking lights will come on. What I don't understand is the connector that goes to that brown wire (on the headlight switch) does not have 12 volts on it when the headlight switch is on? This is why I bought the new switch but it does the same. It is a Delco switch albeit made in China. Any advice will be appreciated!

erb64

Call dr rebuild and get a nos one, those Chinese ones are crap. Went through two before I got a good one.

65GGvert

One brown wire gets 12v from the second fuse from the bottom (taillamps) and the other goes through the rear body connector to the rear lights. Measure for 12v on both sides of that fuse and then at the headlight switch. If you don't get 12v on the brown wire from the fuse, you'll never get taillights. (What you're calling parking lights). All the headlight switch does is connect those two brown wires together when you pull on the switch.
PS. If you're tail light fuse is blown, you won't have dashlights either, even though there is a separate fuse for dash lights, it goes through the tail lamp fuse first so that you have an indication of no tail lights from inside the car.

recips

As far as the switch goes, I have ohmed both and they are exactly the same so I assume the new "Delco" and the original "Delco Remy" are functioning alike. I do not have dash lights and understand that that was a safety feature so if they were out the dash lights would be out as well. 65GG, I had previously checked both of those fuses and even replaced one that was functioning but the metal had loosened from the glass, I got no change. You have however given me something to check. If I have no voltage on the other brown wire then I have an issue from the fuse block to the headlight switch harness, correct? Also I see you are from Kannapolis and I am from Kings Mountain. I was sad to hear about Ron Massey who coached at AL Brown. He was at Kings Mountain prior to coaching there. I will let you know how this turns out. Thanks again to all.

65GGvert

Measure with a voltmeter and see if you have 12v on both sides of the bottom two fuses in the fuse block. Until you get it at all four points, you won't have dash lights. Don't just look, measure. The voltage from the second fuse from the bottom goes directly to the headlight switch on the brown wire.

recips

Fixed it! Everything checked good until the load was applied so I figured it had to be a connection and it was. I had removed and cleaned the female connectors in the harness and the males on the old switch as well. The problem was that the male pin from my switch was sliding to the side of the female connector instead of in the connector itself. When the load was applied it just wouldn't carry the current. I removed the brown from the fuseblock and found it was against the harness wall instead of the center. I took a screwdriver and centered it then reinserted the female connector and voila! Anyway, thanks to 65GG for the insight and maybe this thread will help someone in the future.