testing a turn signal switch???

[kaptnkaos]

Hey guys,

I hooked up the PS steering column and had some pretty crazy things happen.
When I turned the switch one way, I had nothing in the front, but both rear light blinked.
When I turned the switch to the other direction, the horn relay would click every time the light should...
I'm no electrician, but did come to the conclusion that somethin' aint right.
Now, I have a few questions...
Is there a way to test a turn signal switch ???
Anyone know how the power gets to the switch itself???
Wouldn't one of the wires on the column plug have to feed the switch which inturn would feed each circuit... right???
I bought the CS from the original owner who really didn't change anything except tp upgrade the engine from a 360 to a 390...
I have no idea if the donor truck had any alterations.. I do know that all the lights worked as they should when I dismantled it...
I'm, pretty sure I hooked everything up right...
But I was also sure that I had the plug wires on right, only to find out I was one hole off...
Any ideas woud be greatly appreciated...

Thanks in advance...
KaptnKA S

[fordman]

is this the correct switch for your wiring harness. i think the pin out locations might be diferent for 67-69 vs 70-72 because of the plug differences.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Fordman...

No, the switch is out of the '71 (it worked perfect in it)...
I hooked it up using the conversion chart you posted for me...
I had a thought last night, Could it be the steering wheel 'causing the problems ???
I put the wheel that was on the '71 on it temporarily so I could get it home.
The wheel has a flat base, but doesn't go all the way to the coller because it makes contact with something... it steers fine though.
I don't know if that would cause the problems or not...
That's why I was wondering how to check the switch...
I was gonna check it with the wheel on and with it off to see if the wheel is grounding out the circuits...
I have referrenced and cross referrenced both the '67-'68 and '70 schematics and keep coming up with the same configuration as I originally had.
Last night, I figured out each circuit by its number, then got the colors based on that... I came up with the same wire configuration...

Still puzzed...

KaptnKA S

[l1k2gadd]

Did you attempt to unplug your original column switch and plug this one into the under-dash harness BEFORE you replaced it or did you just install it and hope for the best?

Any time I am going to install a steering column harness in a vehicle (and I have done a bunch, from 60s Mustangs to 80s trucks and vans, tilt and non-tilt) I do a test run before I remove an old switch and wiring and install the new one. I believe I installed a later model switch into my '68. I had a yellow taillight wire that had to connect to a green column wire and an orange taillight wire that had to connect to a different colored column harness wire. My replacement is working fine.

(edit)Ok, here is a pic of mine...

The connections are as follows (7 wires total, 3-on-the-tree)... under dash red with black stripe wire to column harness solid green wire, under dash solid blue (dark) wire to column harness solid light blue wire, under dash solid green wire to column harness solid green wire, under dash blue with yellow stripe (horn) wire to column harness blue with yellow stripe wire, under dash white with blue stripe wire to column harness white with blue stripe wire, under dash green with orange stripe (I couldn't see the orange stripe but I am sure it is there) wire to column harness orange with blue stripe wire and finally under dash yellow with black stripe wire to column harness green with orange stripe wire. The last two connections are the two that go to the rear brake/turn signal lights.

Oh well, I had a pic but I am getting an error message trying to upload it.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey l1k2gadd

The switch came out of a '71 CS that I drove for 6+ months and it worked perfectly...
Rather than just replacing the broken canceling cam in my '68 CS, I swapped switches.
Everything in the column came off of my '71 CS except the housing itself.
My 68 has a 4-speed whereas the '71 had an auto so I didn't want to use the '71 column
(even if I did use it, I would have still needed to change the plugs).
I did a full PS/PB upgrade... so this is a pretty small set back..
It's just a little frustrating 'cause I can't figure it out.
you'll need to check out my thread
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... highlight=
There is no differance in the switches except that they changed wire colors on the newer switches...
There is no way to plug it before installing it because '67-'69's have 2 plugs wheras 70-72's have only plug...
I installed the switch and the plugs with it outside of the truck to make sure I put the right wires in the right sockets...
I'm pretty sure it was right according to the LMC chart listing the corresponding colors on the new switch to the colors on the old switch.
That's why I was asking if there was a way the steering wheel (80's style Ford wheel) could be shorting something out.
Thanks for your input...

KaptnKA S

[l1k2gadd]

O.I.C... just an FYI, what I do is draw a sketch of the plugs, both ends and label all wiring colors where they are at in both ends so I can put anything back that I remove after the test... I remove all of the ends from the column side of the plugs... I do the same on the donor or new switch (usually I have already done this at a wrecking yard)... I look at my diagram and match all similar colored wires on the new or donor switch harness to the under-dash harness's connectors and then start on the wires with non-matching colors... when I have the odd-ball colors installed I do a plug-n-play test to see if it works right. I rearrang any odd-ball colored wires if the test doesn't go good.

You can have the empty plugs of the column end of the wiring harness plugged into the under-dash harness and slip the wires into the plugs without bending the tabs out to lock them in place while you are doing your testing. If the new or donor harness doesn't work you can reinstall the original switch's wires into the plugs by referencing your diagrams that you made before you started.

But, doesn't your 80s model steering wheel have two horn contact surfaces on the underside. Didn't the '71 wheel only have one?

The cruise horn wiring on the 80s steering wheel's contacts had a ground that clipped to the bolt hole in the steering wheel and a yellow and another blue wire that made the connections to the contacts inside of the area the horn pad screws down to AND the common horn pad's two black wires just connected to the two contacts inside of the area that the horn pad screws down to.

I can't see this crossing up the connections on the lighting/signaling portion of the switch though.

Also, the automatic harness has the connector for the column indicator illumination, or does it even have a light that lights it up?

[kaptnkaos]

Yeah l1k2gadd,

I did that with the '68 plug...
but for some reason didn't do that with the '71 plug...
I disassembled the '71 column nearly a year ago now and had the column parts stored in a nice dry place waiting for this upgrade project...
It wasn't until I went to reassemble the '68 column that I realized that wire colors were differant...

KaptnKA S