The original post from mrnapolean1:
Reverse lights just stay on all the time. How to fix?
People have said the check out the Neutral Safety Switch but I don't know.
And another - opposite - B/U light issue from smoothandlow84:
I don't have ANY reverse lights...Been trying to get them to work since I purchased the truck last December.
Read this first:
I am guessing that since you can get the lights to come on, by lifting up on the gear shift lever, that you have a neutral safety/back-up light switch. It should be column mounted and right up against the firewall. Correct?
At one point a few years ago I was having the same trouble as you. It was not really an issue - until you have to keep upward pressure on the shift lever while trying to back down a steep dark driveway in the middle of the woods.
So I decided to at least
look at the switch. I'm pretty lazy, so often that's as far as I get.
This time however, I fixed it. Took about 2 minutes and zero dollars.
While I was poking at one side with my finger, the whole switch made a ratcheting sound and rotated around the steering column. Seems that the plastic housing (switch open/close point) is infinitely adjustable.
It might take awhile to figure out but basically put your gear shift in R and then (with the key on) have someone watch the back-up lights. Push the switch one way or the other - I forget - until the back-ups come on.
Here are a couple of real bad images I just took - I am reassembling my steering wheel/horn button so I was in the area. My finger tip is pushing on the RH (passenger) side in one of the photos:
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
And a sample of the responses to the post:
1. man this should be a sticky , I am glad you posted this ??? and I am extremely grateful for the pictures and the solution. I have had this same problem for the last 6 months since I bought my square , after this I just now went outside in the dark and fixed it in exactly 2 minutes and it starts to . thanks .
2. Damn C*****y! There you go again making my day! I have been fighting that thing all weekend and ordered a new neutral safety switch. Now I don't need it but it was only ten bucks. Thanks again! Love this site. I second the sticky!
But what if, after reading that (and trying what the OP suggested), you still have no back-up lights?
BTW this rest of this post only applies to s&l84. (mrnapolean1 - you should be all set)
Still no reversing lights after all the basics (loose connections, burnt lamps, blown fuse, incorrect lamps jammed into the sockets, heavily rusted sockets, easily spotted broken leads, Indian burial ground, etc)?
You're going to have to do it the hard way. Time to break out the Fluke/test light and methodically ring the circuit out - from fuse to lamps. It sucks, but sometimes there is just no magic bullet.
Here is a map of the entire B/U light circuit for trucks equipped with an automatic transmission. This is specifically for a 1984, but should be good for all 73 -87.
The red circles indicate where to check for voltage loss first. The blue line is the hot lead from the fuse block to the switch (mounted on the column) and the light green line is everything else - all the way back to the lamps:
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
