Tail Lights and running lights don't work

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: RogerWVA  (Original Message)
Sent: 11/23/2004 11:01 PM

Can someone tell me where do I find out how can I get my taillights and running lights to work. I have brake lights, turn signal lights and back up lights but no tail lights and no running lights. I have changed the light switch and the secondary switch that is close to the fuse box. also I have no fuel guage, no temp guage, alt guage. also the gas heater doesn't work anymore. what's wrong, this redneck limo is falling apart. haha.



From: DaveVa78Chieftain
Sent: 11/24/2004 11:29 AM

Roger,
In order to help it is going to require a wiring diagram.  Most here have earlier model Winnies based on a Dodge chassis.  Winnebago used a Dodge chassis on the Chieftain/Brave/Indian line up untill approximately 1979.  Thats when Dodge went out of the motorhome manufacturing business.  For the Elandan series, they mainly used the Chevy  P30.  Your 1980 Chieftain I suspect is based on a Chevy P30 chassis.  If so, then I/we would need the Chevy P30 wiring diagram in order to properly help.  Otherwise we are guessing based on a Dodge chassis design.  I can say you need to take a voltmeter and read the voltages at the points like the fuses and headlight switch.  That at least would let you know if the fuse is getting power (in/out) and if the headlight switch is getting power and then providing it on to the rest of the circuit.  I do know that on a later 70's Dodge based chassis, the headlight switch feed a relay which all tail/running lights were controlled by.  Do to the amount of current being drawn, I would not be surprised if yours is that way too.  If yours is based on a Dodge chassis, let us know and I/we can help easily.  If a Chevy, as the old saying goes, need more input    (electrical wiring diagrams from chassis mfg)

Dave



From: cooneytunes
Sent: 11/24/2004 6:36 PM

Great pics of the red neck winnie.......I have the same light problem, plus headlights are out with my 76 Custom. Have turn signals front and rear, brake lights, no head, running, clearance, or parking lights. Since I'm just at the start of rewiring, I'll probably find the problem, anybody have any guesses?   It all started with the blink light switch,  hit the blink switch, and every thing blinked off and never came back on.......all fuses are good..Will post results when wiring is finished....Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.be Safe traveling...Eat......drink..... be merry, drink some more, and eat some more......and may the Winnebago Gods shine on you all ! 
Timmy



From: DaveVa78Chieftain
Sent: 11/24/2004 11:24 PM

Timmy,
You have to lay on your back under the steering wheel to see this however, there should be a relay (was installed by Dodge not Winnebago) mounted on a metal plate attached to the left side of the steering wheel support column (way up under the dash).  The relay is about 1 1/2" square.  I had to replace mine however I used one of the aftermarket fog light relay kits.  Allows me to do the same thing your blink switch does.  For rigs without a blink switch, the power from the headlight switch (tail/marker terminal) is feed to the relay coil.  The blink switch on yours is most likely wired in series with that wire.  I modified mine so that the tail and front parking lights are fed directly off the headlight switch (like a normal car) with all the marker lights feed from the relay.  This allows me to blink the marker lights without affecting the tail/front parking lights.

Dave



From: denison
Sent: 11/25/2004 7:16 AM

RogerWVA: I would guess that your lack of guages working is a separate problem from the running lights. I have an 87 chevy van, and its instrument cluster uses a printed circuit for connections, in place of the maze of wires. Those printed circuits have been the source of poor connections, both where the wiring harness has a connector that plugs into the printed circuit board, and between the pins on the gauges coming out to the printed copper lines. Sometimes I have had to clean up the surfaces with fine steel wool or a finger-nail file, and unseat and reseat the connectors a few times. If you can figure out which of the lines is the -ground- you could run a new and separate wire to a good ground on the chassis, which might help your fuel and temp gauges. Also, I had to replace the temp sender unit on my 87 chev. It barely showed any upscaling, even when the engine was fully warm. It was just old and had died little by little. 



From: HeavyHaulTrucker
Sent: 11/25/2004 8:51 PM

RogerWVA, your lack of rear lighting can possibly be traced to the cheesey lights that Winnebago used.  On my 1977 D21 Brave, I fixed mine by drilling a small hole through the wire contacts below the slot that the wire slides into (self-cutting contact).  I crimped a ring terminal onto each wire, then screwed them down onto the contact using the hole I had drilled.  I then liberally coated them with dielectric grease to protect the contacts.

John



From: 70winnie
Sent: 11/25/2004 9:10 PM

A few weeks ago, I noticed a problem with my rear tail light: the brake light would work and the parking lights would work, but when I applied the brakes while the lights were on, NOTHING worked.  Turned out that so much dirt had made its way between the outside-mounted tail light assembly and the body of the coach that the light wasn't being grounded properly.  On the advice of my mechanic, we removed the tail light assembly, cleaned the dirt off the assembly back and off the coach, and re-attached it using a new screw thru the "ground" hole.  Everything worked perfectly!

If any lights misbehave in the future, cleaning things up is the first thing I'll try.



From: denison
Sent: 11/25/2004 10:28 PM

Over the years I have had to improve the grounding for my winnys tail lights and clearance lights one by one. Aluminum corrodes to form aluminum oxide, which does not conduct electricity. For those lights where I can reach the interior behind them, I added a ground wire running to the frame. For the uupper clearance lights I add a copper wire from the lamp housing, which I pinch against the aluminum skin under a mounting screw, with some anti-oxidant conductive paste on it. Its the same type of stuff the defroster lines on the rear windows of modern cars are made of.
I doubt the tail-lights on the Winnebagos were any better or worse than those on any other aluminum bodied RV. You just cant expect them to last for decades without some deterioration.