Chevrolet Repair: tail lights,brake and runninglts, brake light switch, fuse box

Question
QUESTION: i have a 1955 chevy truck.i have a problemwith the wiring of the rear tail lightsthe problem is the brake lts and signal lights work fine as long as the headlights/parkinglightsare off.when the light switch is turned on the brake light cancels everything out,no turn signal no running light.purple wire is power to turn signal, red wire from fuse box to stop light switch .where do i run wire exiting brake light switch?what wire to turn signals

ANSWER: Hi,

 You have a ground problem.  Without a proper ground your second filaments are canceled out when you hit the brakes.  You need to check all the grounds and or run new ones.

Wayne


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QUESTION: i have grounded cab to box and both rear tail lights? i know the grounds are good.the front signals work fine

ANSWER: Hey,

Can you refresh my memory and I can help you further?  I am assuming that the running lights and brake lights are the same bulb (1157) and the signal lights are solo (1156)?  Or is the other way around.  I am just trying to visualize the system.

Wayne


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QUESTION: 1157 in back and i beleive 1156 in front these are 2 wire lights black and white in rear black and green in front. they are new, aftermarket

Answer
Hey,

 Ok thats good information.  If your wires in the back have two wires to them and they are 1157's that means they ground through the metal casing when you plug them in.  What I want you to do is turn the lights on and put something on the brake so the rear lights cancel out.  Then take a test light from a known good ground and touch the metal part of the bulb (case) and see if the test light lights up.  If it does that means the brake side is trying to find a ground through the lights side and canceling out the ground.  Its hard to explain but it really sounds like a ground problem.

Wayne