[munch]

I am frustrated with my tail light setup on my 30, as it is cheap and often doesn't work.  I am thinking of going to the LED setup, but can only find the LEDs that fit a 33.  Are they the same size?

[cocobolo]

I don't have the answer to your question munch, but I wonder if you could replace the light bulb in your '30 with LED's yourself?

[munch]

Would not know how.  What I have now is two bulbs n each side, one small for the turn signal and one larger for the tail light.  I don't understand how to get brake lights working as there are only a right and left turn signal wires and a common wire for the tail lights.  I thought I had this working at one time, but cannot remember.

How would this setup get a brake light with only a single element bulb? 

[cocobolo]

That's definitely a valid question, but with only one filament in the bulb, you cannot get both a signal and a brake light separately.  However, I believe it is possible to use the brake light in connection with the turn signal.  I cannot remember (it's the old timers' kicking in again) exactly how that gets wired.  Myself I would always use two separate bulbs just in case a single gets burned out.  I think if you can rig LED's, that their extremely long life will pretty much exclude the need for replacement, meaning that they should never burn out given their long life expectancy.  Plus they use almost no energy and stay cool.

[Senior31]

Munch,

     The larger bulb should be a two element bulb, but is a 1157?  If not, this is an easy fix.  All you would need to do is pull out the old socket and replace it with a 1157 socket.  You can usually pick these up at swap meets for a buck or two.  I think some parts stores still carry them also, but good luck explaining to the kid behind the counter what it is for so he can attempt to look it up on a computer.  You can then just put in a 1157 LED bulb.  This is the easiest way to convert it.  Yes, you should only have two wires going to the tail light.  One should be the ground and the other should be the Tail/Stop/turn function. 

Also, I found LED tail conversions at the Filling Station:

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000014a~Z5Z5Z5AACNE~P65.00~~~~S40R0P37AC70229624214x~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000014x

[munch]

Senior,

In my case one set of wires are for right and left turn signals as labeled and one is for both tail lights.  The ground is the car.

[sixball]

On my '53 pickup there are two single filament bulbs. One is always the taillight. One is the stoplight and turn signal. The old after market turn signal switch sorts it out. In applications with a single two filament bulb it is the same. In these applications the hot wire from the stoplight switch goes to the turn signal switch and the switch sends current to both stoplights when no turns are being made. If the turn signal is being used the switch sends that side through the flasher and sends a stop signal to the other side when the brakes are applied. It's really pretty simple.

[munch]

Sixball,

That is it, that is what I was trying to remember.  But know mine is not working and I cannot determine why.

[cocobolo]

Thanks sixball, that's what I couldn't remember either.  If you plan on growing old(er) make sure you have a kid (someone under...say 50) with a good memory!

[sixball]

That's it? I was born in the summer of '45. One in a string of several Texan and Okie cousins. When the Japs learned about us they surrendered. It is still considered one of the smartest military decisions made in the mid 20th century. 

 Munch. first I'd try the stoplight switch, then the flasher. Those are the cheapest components. Then I'd run the wires and check the grounds. In all of these old systems grounds often are the problem. You may end up in your shop with turn signal unit apart in your lap, mapping on a pad with colored markers, what happens when the lever is moved. That is how I came to be in possession of this important information. To be honest it was not a pad it was a paper plate, and it was not my shop it was at a Roadside Rest Area  north of Dalhart, Texas.

[themoose]

Munch

First tell us what kind of signal light switch you have. There should be some sort of id on. This is a pretty simple circuit really and yes you can have only two single filament bulbs and have brake and signal light combined on one and tail lights on the other with the signal light switch controlling both brakes and signal. On systems using 1157 bulbs the larger filament is used for the brake and signal lights which is also controlled through the signal light switch and the smaller filament is used for the running/tail lights. Once we know what switch you're using we should be able to figure out whats going on without swapping out parts to test the circuit.

Moose

[munch]

The turn signal switch is integrated in the Flaming River steering column and all wiring connects via a GM style connector.  Last night I did find a pin in the connector loose and reseated it.  When I did, the turn signal light came on solid when I mashed the brake.

I plan to test more tonight.

[themoose]

The wiring on the GM switch coming out of the column should be color coded as in the diagram below. The turn signal and brake light are using the same bulb so if you have the light coming on when you hit the brake it sounds like you might have something wired incorrectly. Are your parking lights working correctly. If so you only have to concentrate on the other bulb circuit for the signal lights and brake. Take a look at the diagram and see if it makes sense to you and if you have any questions on how to trace the circuit let me know.

[munch]

Thanks all for the advice.  I traced everything down and, like I said, found a loose pin in the GM style connector and the fact that I have to push the peddle all the way down to get the lights on. I had not realized that.

I am going to look into a manual switch.

Any recommendations?

[62131]

Munch  If you look on EBay and find red led's, then take a thin piece of plastic or plexi glass and cut it to the shape that is needed to fit your housing then lay out a pattern that will accommodate both your tail/brake lights that should be a fairly inexpensive set of led tail lights.