Joe 77

Hi everyone new to the board. I just got my first corvette and she is great. She needs a little TLC and sheÂ’ll be on the road soon. When I got her the head lights where up and I got them closed by connecting the vacuum line straight to the headlight vacuum actuator(green and red lines). Now doing it this way they both go up and down just fine.
Since I removed the entire interior to refinish, I can see everything under the dash. I traced all the vacuum lines according to the assembly manual and they are all connected correctly. All testing is done with car running. Vacuum at manifold is about 18 lbs. Vacuum at hose that connects to the tank that supports bumper 18 lbs. The 2 yellow hoses coming out of the tank that goes to the vacuum relay is very weak. About 3 lbs.
Now here is what is happening. When I turn on the lights at the switch nothing happens. If I go to the front of the car and remove the incoming line and remove the yellow line on the drivers side light and connect the two (basically cutting out the vacuum canister) the light pops up and they are one like they are supposed to be. Now if I go shut the light off by the switch the light goes down. But once I change the main line over to the passenger side nothing happens. The passanger side will go up and down if I connect the main line to the green and red hoses respectfully. So I swapped out the vacuum relays passanger and driver and I get the same results. Any help would be great this is driving me nuts.
Thanks Joe
:confused:


[Modified by Joe 77, 11:58 AM 5/6/2004]

Ace77

I found a vacuum troubleshooting guide a while ago. It's probably still out there on corvettefaq or somewhere...
You have mail.

wcsinx

Sounds like you have a combination of a leaking tank, and a leaking actuator. You should be getting a lot more than 3 lbs coming off the tank feeds. Did you plug the other port when you tested the tank vacuum? A leaking actuator will usually still work when you just stick the main vacuum line to it. But when you start introducing a leaky tank and/or a leaky relay .... lose a little pressure here a little there ... lights stop moving.

A78Corvette

You can borrow a vacumn pump from autozone. Your seals could have holes in them. The seals cost $5 bucks, and the boots are $5. Check your lines for leaks too.

Joe 77

:D Thanks everyone.
I am going to NAPA and get replacement lines the ones on there are original I think (they are all color codes per assembly manual.
Thank to Ace 77 the trouble shooting guide lists all the diameter of the hoses and the tests for each part. I already had a vacuum pump and now that I know what and how to test IÂ’ll start on that this weekend.
"WCSINX" I was think the same thing that my tank may have a leak. The 3 lbs was out of one port the other was plugged and the main lines connect both were like that. I am going to plug both yellow ports and charge the tank with about 5-10 psi and spray the tank with soapy water like a tire and see if I have any leaks.
If the tank does leak do you really need it or can I connect the mail line via a tee to the two yellow lines? Thank again to all. If any one else has any other ideas I am all ears. I'll post again after the weekend tests.
Joe



[Modified by Joe 77, 10:35 PM 5/6/2004]

wcsinx

The tank's purpose is to provide some reserve vacuum when the car is shut off. I.e. so you can put the lights down after you kill the engine. So yeah, I think you can plumb the line directly to the relays.

gotchashawn

Check the archives. There is plenty of information ! I had problems too. :cool: