just bought a Ghia, and have no taillights or brakelights

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:00 pm

Well I had the oppurtunity of trading my recently purchased 914 for a 68 Ghia plus some cash and I took it. It looks good and needs some work but what's bugging me is that the rear lights aren't working. The headlights work, but the tails dont. I haven't inspected the car fully, so I'll check the bulbs first, but apart from that, where should i start? It's my first ghia and don't know whut's up yet. There is wiring btw. thanks

John Kelly · Post by **John Kelly** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:08 am

Sometimes if you rotate the fuses in their holders magic happens. If this works you have some corrosion that should be cleaned up with a little sand paper.

There is an electrical forum here. Scroll down on the main page.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:02 am

Also make sure that the bulbs are ok and not burned. The ground wire for the assemblies needs to be fully grounded, and if there is any rust, or if the wire looks iffy, just sand and replace as needed. Also, make sure that the back up switch wire is plugged in(you will see it to the right of the engine as you face the engine bay. Sometimes when pulling the engine out or the stock filter it gets unplugged.

E

execk2 · Post by **execk2** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:34 pm

I agree with the grounds.... get some sand paper and score the tail light housing.

Post by **Marc** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:05 pm

Do the front parking lights work? They're powered from the same two fuses as the taiilights (the 7th and 8th ones counting over from the steering column end). The little brake system warning lamp that's supposed light up when you press it gets its power from a different source than the brakelights themselves, so that's of no use in troubleshooting. The first fuse powers both the brakelamps and t'signals on your car (or should unless someone's messed with the wiring) so if the signals work it's probably not a fuse problem.
There's a small harness leading down to the master cylinder for the brake light switches. The black wire supplies power to them, and the black wire w/red stripe connects into the main harness going back to the lamps (the little red one is for the warning lamp). Find the inline connector for the black/red wire and disconnect it, then pull the black wire off at the fusebox and make a temporary jumper to go from the fuse to the black/red wire in the main harness. This should make the brakelamps light any time the key is on - if not, the problem's at the rear (or the fuse) but if it does, the problem's down at the M/C. If the car still has the original `68 M/C it'll have three switches - two 2-prong hydraulic switches in parallel for the brakelamps and one 2-prong mechanical switch operated by a shuttle plunger in an outrigger passage between the front & rear circuits, for the warning lamp) but the replacement M/C only has ports for two switches - newer cars had two 3-prong switches cleverly wired so that if one operates and the other doesn't power feeds back to the warning lamp, allowing them to do away with the shuttle piston setup.
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/schem/4brake.gif
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/schem/3brake.gif

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:04 pm

okay the brake lights do work. the front parking lights do work, but the blinkers don't. The drivers side front parking light just stopped working again, it wasn't working when i got the car but one day it simply worked again, now it has quit again. The rear lights still dont work.l I think i'll put some time to this issue since I just blew the motor I believe. The engine starts but there's a loud clank inside the case. I think a bearing or something is clanking inside. Oh well, time to upgrade to a 1600.

Ephry73 · Post by **Ephry73** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:40 am

May be the relays, or the actual turn signal lever. Check that.

E

Post by **doc** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 5:09 pm

I hope this will get even more attention here in the electrical forum.

doc

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:47 am

Thanks Doc for the move..
We'll get this figured out.

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:25 pm

so I've been trying to get my tails to work but they dont. I got the brake lights to work and the front parking lights also work. I dont think there's any fancy custom wiring. What type of bulb should I have in the tail light socket? And is the brake supposed to be the middle or the top bulb. I did notice that my turn signals don't work either. I've cleaned the fuses under the dash and got all of my light s to except the tails. What else could I do before I decide to let an electrcian check it?

Speedy Jim · Post by **Speedy Jim** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:52 am

Download a diagram here:
http://www.type-14.com/
Click on
Technical/
Electrical

There is a separate fuse for left and right Rear tail lights.
See if the license plate lights work; that will be a clue.

Diagram shows placement and bulb size too.

Use a 12V tester/meter to check for voltage right at the bulb socket.

Replace the old fuses and polish the fuse holder ends to assure good contact.

See if you can sort out the tail lights and then post back with what still
doesn't work.

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:11 pm

Thanks sir I will look into this today when I get home. Unfortunately my car did not have a Deck Lid when I bought it so the license plate light wont offer any clues. Thanks. I'll keep you posted.

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:38 pm

Well Thank You. I got my tails to work with the help of those user friendly schematics. I found out that i had several grounding issues with the sockets.
Now I'm ready to tackle the turn signals. okay so I checked the bulbs to begin with and they are all new. The front ones are dual filament and the bulbs light up when the parking lights are on, but the other filament does not light up when I activate the Turn signal switch lever. One thing that does occur, is the turn signal indicator in the dash lights up solid. The rears don't light up at all since they are single filament and only acts as turn signals. So where do i start?

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:48 pm

What condition is the rest of your wiring.. have folks been playing with it?

Brewtech · Post by **Brewtech** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:20 pm

MNAirHead wrote:What condition is the rest of your wiring.. have folks been playing with it?

looks very dusty in the trunk because it was desert car. but the wiring is a mess once it leaves the tighness of the harness. Some things do look corroded, like the fusebox, so I'll be replacing that very soon. But nothing fancy or custom looking if that's what you mean?