issue w/ '70 Chevelle

[Sideoftheroad]

I have a couple of them. Not sure if they are the repair manual as I haven't looked at them in a really long time. I am sure at least one of them is the assembly manual that shows you have the factory assembled it. Paddock parts and Harmons are right here in Indiana so I can get it from them too. I have been to Paddocks a couple times in the past so I know they have a store front. Great place, very helpful people. I don't believe Harmons has a store front.

[Sunrayman]

Sorry about that. I meant the dimmer switch, but got confused when I was thinking about another problem I had. It struck ME as funny, too, but when I read the posts about the "dimmer switch" I remembered that was the problem. I, too wondered without much thought about lights neing related to the ignition, but thought maybe it was somwhere together in the harness. THANK YOU for your correction!

 

What's all this about an ignition switch guys? The headlights on a 70 Chevelle wouldn't be wired into the ignition system at all.

 

Sounds likely it's the dimmer switch. If it is a floor mounted one the odds go up dramatically (windshield leaks, wet boots, holes in floor etc. help them corrode). Fuses, connectors and main light switch are other things to look into.

 

Battery tenders typically put out 1 amp or less. Talking about hundreds of hours to charge a deeply discharged battery with one.

 

Diagnosing a battery drain when parked is tedious:

 

First you need to disconnect everything that should draw current with the key off. Unless you have added accessories that's probably only the clock, if it has one.

 

Then you need to disconnect a battery lead and hook an ammeter in series with the battery. On one this old you can get away using a voltmeter.

 

Then start disconnecting things until the meter reads 0. Last thing disconnected is the problem.

 

As previously mentioned the voltage regulator is a good candidate. I believe on your Chevelle it'll be built into the alternator. I'd disconnect that first.

[OldBear]

Sounds like dimmer switch to me. My 84 Ford F-700 dump trucks dimmer switch went out the last time I drove it. Clicked from low to high beam LIGHTS OUT. You sound as if you have a current draw of some sort when it sets. I had a 70 nova that did that, it turned out to be the alternator after checking everything else. Time to get out the test light.

 

+1 on the dimmer switch. Those things will get rusty/funky from road salt and trash and give you a dead short (and THAT's the reason they no longer put 'em on the floor!)

[rod]

+1 on the dimmer switch. My first car was a 327 hp '68 Chevelle Malibu, yellow with black vinyl top. My first wife sold it while I was in basic training. I still miss that car. Rod

[Sideoftheroad]

Had a little time today to try and work on the headlight situation. 1st started by checking fuses and they are all good.

 

I was around town and decided to go to autozone and see how much a new dimmer switch is. It was only $7 so I decided to go ahead and get it. Figured it can be a back up if anything.

 

When I got home, I tried looking for my multimeter. I know where I keep it and it ain't there. I recently had it and can't imagine I put it somewhere other than where I normally keep it, but it's possible I put is somewhere else and can't find it now or maybe one of the rugrats got ahold of it. Not so happy.

 

So pulled the headlight switch towards me 2 clicks. The 1st click just turns on the gauge lights. I have low beams. When I pushed on the dimmer switch to go to high beams, no headlights at all. Put in the new dimmer switch and same thing.

 

One of the members suggested that I use a tester light to the female plugs (3 of them) that plug into the dimmer switch to see if I have power to them. When the headlight switch is all the way in, I do not. When it is pulled out all the way, the tester light lights up for the bottom wire only. Now the question is are all 3 of them supposed to light up. Guessing so since there are 3 wires for some reason.

 

I did look through my manuals and I do have a wiring diagram. It shows the wire that lights up the tester light goes to the light switch. So this should eliminate the light switch as a suspect, correct?

 

The other 2 wires goes to the fuse block. One of the 2 wires only goes to the fuse block. The other wire goes from the fuse block to the instrument panel light bulb for the high beam which does light up when the high beams are supposed to be in use.

 

The high beam connection has 2 wires. One wire we already know the connection. The other wire goes to L. H. Turn. Don't know what the H stands for.

 

The L. H. Turn has 3 wires. One wire we already know the connection. One of the other wires goes straight back to the fuse block and stops. The 3rd wire some other connection. Not sure what it is but I think it is part of the column wiring.

 

The wire from the L. H. Turn splits off to the Traffic Hazard Switch, which works since I accidentally pushed it in several times while trying to get the dimmer switch out. The other split says it goes to the Dir Sig Sw. Guessing Directional Signal Switch.

 

Unfortunately for this wiring diagram that is all that it shows me. Doesn't show me where the directional signal switch goes from there.

 

Looking at the engine compartment wiring diagram, can't make heads or tails as to where the internal compartment wiring for the headlights mates up with the engine compartment wiring. Guessing that is somewhere after the directional signal switch.

 

From looking at the engine wiring diagram it looks like there are only 2 wires that come from the internal compartment and connect to various things like the TCS Solenoid and the TCS relay or a circuit breaker that connects to the horn relay/buzzer.

[Sideoftheroad]

Went back and wanted to make sure of something. The right turn signal does not light up on the instrument panel but does on the bumper signal. I also noticed that the left signal blinks at a slightly faster rate than the left.

 

Could be something as simple as a burned out bulb, but with all these issues starting to pop up, I doubt it. I think I have a spare I can replace it w/. If not, the left signal does light up so I can swap them to see if the right lights up. If it does, then I know it is the bulb.

 

I took a quick glimpse at it, but I also have the Fisher body manual. It looks like it also has a wiring diagram I can look at.

[mm482]

Now the question is are all 3 of them supposed to light up. Guessing so since there are 3 wires for some reason.

 

No, the headlight switch sends one hot wire to the dimmer switch. The other two wires go to the headlight bulbs. One will have voltage when the dimmer switch is on low beam and the other one will have voltage when the dimmer switch is on high beam position.

 

Earl