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(69 Automatic, 350/300, coupe) Question - The reverse lights are not working and I'm struggling to find out exactly why. No power to the bulbs or neutral switch that I can tell. The light green and pink (LG P) wires go from the neutral switch up to the dash and terminate (though I've yet to find the end) and is supposed to go out through the firewall. There's where my problem begins I think. I have no LG P wires coming through the fire wall, and I have no idea where or what they would connect to??? The AIM is not real specific on the automatic or I'm not looking in the right place. Any help you can provide would be great, and pictures are helpful too.
On my 4 speed the switch supplies power to complete the circuit. I had to replace it because it was grounding out in the switch and blowing the fuse which is also on the signal lamp circuit.
Reverse lights= backup lights? If we're talking about back up lights the neutral safety switch is not part of the circuit. I'm not familiar with a 69 but on my 76 the buck up light switch is located on the shifter in the console. If you power to the bulbs you have possibly two things wrong, bad bulbs or bad ground/s. I would suspect bad grounds.
I'll recheck the switch again, but I'm not sure where it ends. The wires leave the switch then to a connection then up to the dash where they disappear. also, i need to correct my earlier statement. There does NOT seem to be any power to the rear reverse lights. Bulbs are good though (phew!) I just realized that I checked bulbs first and was thinking of a different switch. Ugg, sorry for the confusion!
Where does the neutral switch get its power? The green and pink disappear into the dash and the two purple wires are under the dash that are not connected to anything. The parking and brake lights do work though. Yes, the neutral switch is at the shift assembly.
Hi n,
The AIM shows two separate electrical connections at the neutral safety switch (within just a few inches of the switch).
One for the neutral safety switch and one for the back-up lights.
Both are shown connecting to the dash harness.
AIM UPC M40, Sheet A10, Item #4.
Regards,
Alan
Here's the dash harness connector for the automatic trans back-up lights. (Unused on a 4 speed car.)
The backup/reverse light switch on an automatic equipped car all run thru the neutral safety switch on the shift lever. They run into the dash harness. The pink wire is the 12v+, and the Lt. Green is the one that breaks out to the rear lamp connector. The purple wires, (purple/white stripe and purple) are for the NSS. On a manual trans, the purple wires are taped back to the harness as Alan's picture shows.
Two separate switches located in the same harness. His problem could be anywhere in between the switch and the light bulb housing including the bulk head connector.
So, I checked and I indeed have no power going to the sockets, but the bulbs do work. The driving lights, brake lights, and turn signals work - which appears that the turn signals and BU lights are on the same fuse. I'll need to take the console back apart but I did take a few photos of the neutral switch and the connections through the ash tray - one LG and P and the other is two purple. The purple ends up in the dash with just a connector and the LG and P end up there to, not connected to anything. Actually the seem to disappear in the harness, I don't see the end.
My next step I think is to check power to the switch at the P wire, correct? What's the way or sequence? I loath electrical stuff!
The 2 purple wires in the same connector have nothing to do with the backup lights. The Lt. Green and Pink are the ones you're chasing. Pink wire comes from the fuse block with 12v+, is switched at the console --then runs back in the Lt Green wire to the fuse block and cones out in the same harness as the rear light connector.
As stated above, the NSS and the backup light switch are combined in the same unit, but completely different switches housed in one unit.
The 2 purple wires in the same connector have nothing to do with the backup lights. The Lt. Green and Pink are the ones you're chasing. Pink wire comes from the fuse block with 12v+, is switched at the console --then runs back in the Lt Green wire to the fuse block and cones out in the same harness as the rear light connector.
As stated above, the NSS and the backup light switch are combined in the same unit, but completely different switches housed in one unit.
So, you think I need to check power there first and If I've got no output from the switch than it's reasonable to say that the switch is bad and needs to be replaced?
The pink wire should have 12 volts, if not bad wire or bad fuse. The lt gn wire should show ground if the bulbs are in their sockets, if not bad bulb/s, bad socket or no ground. If you have 12 vols to the pink wire then with everything assembled there should be 12 volts at the sockets and if not you have a bad switch or a miss aligned switch.
In addition, the cause for one of my back up lights being out was because there was a "spring" problem causing the connector on the bulb to not make contact with the connector. Good luck.
Just a quick update on this. I didn't have time to tear down the console but did check power via a light tester. There does't seem to be power going to the Pink wire from the harness - though I don't know how good of a ground I had. I also used the multimeter and put the positive to the Pink and grounded to the seat frame bolt. It was the only thing I could see that I thought was grounded. Anyway, there seemed to be 3-4 volts. I'm not sure what this means? I checked the fuse and the fuse seemed good. It's on the same fuse as the turn signals and the work? So, either not connected or?
I spent most of the weekend putting on new brakes which opened up another set of questions and the proportioning valve etc.
check the grounding on the backup light housing. Just had a similar issue with my 72. The frame ground wire had come loose. BTW the bulb socket is where the ground must be connected, not the housing - that is fiberglass!
check the grounding on the backup light housing. Just had a similar issue with my 72. The frame ground wire had come loose. BTW the bulb socket is where the ground must be connected, not the housing - that is fiberglass!
I'll see if I can reach up there and take a look. Not 100% on the anatomy of the bulb sockets and how they come out from the rear? My 81 was like most - twist and pull. These have a boot etc on them. Do you have a recommendation on how to best go about it? Also, there doesn't seem to be power to the Pink wire coming from the dash nest? More work checking the fuse panel - which I loath getting under! Thanks!!
Hi nix,
The access to the tail light, brake light, back-up light BULBS are all from the exterior… the lens must be unscrewed.
The SOCKET is an integral part of the taillight housing.
The CONNECTION to the socket is by an individual connector in the rear lighting harness for each socket.
Regards,
Alan
09-11-2017, 08:57 AM
69' Reverse Lights - Not Working??
also, i need to correct my earlier statement. There does NOT seem to be any power to the rear reverse lights. Bulbs are good though (phew!) I just realized that I checked bulbs first and was thinking of a different switch. Ugg, sorry for the confusion!
