Need help finding short for electrical ground

[aolitesnsirens]

Jiggle and depress the crap out of the hazard switch

And again check EVERY bulb

We're gonna check every single ground and make sure it has clean metal to make contact with.

There should be two ground locations on the core support, for both sides of the light harness, up on the top rail. The side by the battery should technically be attached to both the battery and frame by the rad.

The ground above the parking brake lever, you may have to remove the tab from the mount and clean under that.

The ground from the battery to the engine block. I tie mine in with the frame ground for good measure.

From the back of the passenger head to the firewall.

The tail light grounds.

I've never seen a factory bed to frame ground but it is a good idea.

The next step would be to jump the tail light grounds to a spot on the frame. Not factory, but a mod/test.

I’ve checked every single one of those locations. They’re all making good contact. I’ve ordered a new turn signal switch, which should be here today. My turn signals weren’t working and I figured I’d change it out and maybe see if that could be the problem too. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for the help.

 

[Turbo4whl]

You are on the right track looking for a bad ground. Since you checked many spots, there is another that you may have missed. The lamp housing is one metal, and the bulb socket is different. Corrosion can form from the bulb socket to housing. This picture of a different lamp shows how the manufacture makes sure the bulb socket has a good ground.

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The bulb base can also be corroded and loosing contact to the bulb socket. Easy way to check this, take your test lead, clip it to battery ground. The other clip to an awl. Brake lights on, stab the awl on the bulb base. Did the dash lights go out?

 

[DoubleDingo]

You might want to check out Tony's literature and/or grounding kits, too.

There are various grounding solutions on his site, and he sells the star washers and other items to create good grounds.

https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/

 

[hoagster]

Hey guys, I've got a 1977 Chevy K10 Cheyenne Stepside that I've had for about 25 years. Just getting around to putting it back together since I'm newly retired and have time to finish it. I painted the chassis a while ago and just recently put the bed back on. I'm putting the cab back together and I've got an issue now with the electrical. Everytime I step on the brake pedal, the dash lights come on. I figured the rear taillights might not have a good ground, so I cleaned the bolts holding the bed to the frame and that didn't solve the issue. I've since bought a grounding strap and attached that to the ground for the taillights, but that only solved part of the issue, (just the turn signal lights come on when brake pedal is pressed). I'm tapped out and need some help what to look for next. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ST_352_77_1977_Chevrolet_Light_Truck_Wiring_CK_10_30_Only

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[nbkk43f]

I’ve checked every single one of those locations. They’re all making good contact. I’ve ordered a new turn signal switch, which should be here today. My turn signals weren’t working and I figured I’d change it out and maybe see if that could be the problem too. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for the help.

My initial thoughts were on the turn signal switch, interested to see how this pans out. Otherwise, I think it's a pretty nice "feature" to have for your pickup and might help with potentially selling it down the road

 

[aolitesnsirens]

Ok guys, I finally figured it out!! It was the turn signal switch!! It took me less than an hour to install a new one and when I did, no more turn signal lights on the dash when I pressed the brake pedal. I appreciate everyone's input. Until next time boys...keep fixin u're trucks and get'em back on the road!! Thanks again.

 

[Dejure]

(1) About 40 years back, had a head scratcher: It turned out one of the wires on an 1157 broke, flipped around and welded to the other circuit, resulting in feed back in that wholly unrelated circuit.

Swapped bulbs and the problem was gone.

(2) Electricity, and even air (e.g., HVAC return paths) love the path of least resistance.

If a ground is bad, strange things can happen. For example, the neutral wire in our house panel opened, and the voltage in the circuit to my daughter's room climbed to 220. You never saw lights so bright as her 120 VAC overhead bulbs.

So, double check grounds (e.g., run a test line from the battery ground and see what happens).

 

[Turbo4whl]

If a ground is bad, strange things can happen. For example, the neutral wire in our house panel opened, and the voltage in the circuit to my daughter's room climbed to 220. You never saw lights so bright as her 120 VAC overhead bulbs.

This is very important! Your home has two 110V lines and the neutral (ground). Both 110 share the ground. To get 220V the two 110 lines are mated together. If you loose the ground, every 110 receptacle becomes 220.

Also newer pole transformers have an indicator light. Green is good, if it is red, then that transformer has been overloaded. Should be reported to your utility company.

 

[DoubleDingo]

(1) About 40 years back, had a head scratcher: It turned out one of the wires on an 1157 broke, flipped around and welded to the other circuit, resulting in feed back in that wholly unrelated circuit.

Swapped bulbs and the problem was gone.

(2) Electricity, and even air (e.g., HVAC return paths) love the path of least resistance.

If a ground is bad, strange things can happen. For example, the neutral wire in our house panel opened, and the voltage in the circuit to my daughter's room climbed to 220. You never saw lights so bright as her 120 VAC overhead bulbs.

So, double check grounds (e.g., run a test line from the battery ground and see what happens).

HA!, Man I have had that happen at my house too! Was awakened one night to my little tv in my room popping until it died. It didn't catch fire, how, I don't know. But one part of the house the lights were extremely bright, the other part of the house was very dim. Called the power company, around 0400 hours a lineman showed up. He fixed it and explained that neutral side failed at the weatherhead, which sent 220/240 volts to one side of the house, and about 5 volts to the other.

 

[Dejure]

Explained that to a mechanic friend and it actually pissed him off that I thought that could happen. No amount of explanation could convince him otherwise. However, a mutual friend is an electrician and he backed me. Good stuff. That mechanic buddy is an arrogant ass as often as not.

SIDE NOTE: He's a good mechanic, including that he can think outside the box, but battery DC is a whole different world than electronics and general AC stuff.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Explained that to a mechanic friend and it actually pissed him off that I thought that could happen. No amount of explanation could convince him otherwise. However, a mutual friend is an electrician and he backed me. Good stuff. That mechanic buddy is an arrogant ass as often as not.

SIDE NOTE: He's a good mechanic, including that he can think outside the box, but battery DC is a whole different world than electronics and general AC stuff.

I didn't know it could happen until it did and it was explained to me after being fixed.

 

[YakkoWarner]

I didn't know it could happen until it did and it was explained to me after being fixed.

I can see the logic in how it could happen, but my expectation was that since the ground and neutral are tied together at the main panel box, it should still not happen. But nothing is ever foolproof, which is why I unplug pretty much everything when I leave the house....

 

[DoubleDingo]

I can see the logic in how it could happen, but my expectation was that since the ground and neutral are tied together at the main panel box, it should still not happen. But nothing is ever foolproof, which is why I unplug pretty much everything when I leave the house....

And for my scenario it failed at the weatherhead, the panel and meter were still fine. If I recall correctly, the neutral frayed enough that it broke free of the weatherhead.

 

[Camar068]

Thought I'd add it here to share:

The Big 3 Sticky