Running lights stay on when key is turned on

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 08:01 AM

Ok so here is the deal. I have a 77 911 and she is having her time of the month. She has been parked in naval storage since I have been out to sea and now she is grumpy. No brake lights, no rear driverside blinker or hazard. Running light stays on, on the drivers side when the key is turned on. The reverse lights stayed on to, but I unplugged the reverse sensor and that solved the problem. Just have to get a new one of those. I changed everything from the bulbs, both brake switches, fuses, and even changed some wiring that was cracked. I bled the brakes. No bubbles in the switches and there is plenty of pressure going to them. I tested the wiring for current and it was there, but when pushing the brake there wasn't any current leaving the brake switch's.
NOW the kicker. I was taking the drivers side running light out and I heard a snap, so I put in in and out a couple of times and still the same small snap. So right then i know it was a short some where. I turned all the lights of in the garage and did it again and the was sparking at the little nuts. No remember this is with the key on and not running. So, I then unplugged one wire at a time until the snap stopped and it ended up being the wire with the white 3 prong terminal that some how connects the coil and the brake hot wires. "O", and I cleaned all the grounds.
SO the question is has this same thing happened to anyone, and how did you fix it without tearing the car apart and buying a new harness.
But i did leave one thing out. When I checked the hazard-blinker relay it was black on one terminal, but all blinkers and hazards work excepts the rear drivers side and the terminals all have the correct output.
pls help this is one of those things that just gets to you because it seams so simple.

Gogar · 01-08-2011, 08:07 AM

I gotta ask - did you check your battery voltage, and did you make sure your turn signal stalk is in the middle?

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 08:13 AM

Sorry about that. It is in the middle. when you move the turn signal up or down with the car off the light light up fine. The light that lights up with the car off is actually the brake light on both sides. The battery is new.

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

Is it possible that some critters have chewed on your wireing while in storage?

p911dad · p911dad's Garage

You might check all the ground points (there are several and some are hidden) and the fuses related to the lights, etc. It is a shot in the dark, but I have had such weird happenings with my ol' 84 Carrera. Once, even a bouncing tach was cured with cleaning the grounds. Just a thought.

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 10:16 AM

pulled all the fuses and the right rear still comes on when the key is turned???????????did find this out though, when the key is on and i unplug the right and left rear lights from the rear fender walls, there is one pin in the plug that has power. However, even though the left rear has one pin that has power, there isn't a light that comes on and no wires have power. Now when the right has the same pin that has power, but when its plugged in, there is a light that comes on....???
I think the car is laughing at me.

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 02:35 PM

ran hot wire to brake switch and the dam wipers came on even though the key is off??????????

sailchef · sailchef's Garage

Sometimes the pin (switch) in the tranny will get stuck and the reverse lights will stay on because of it. Just driving it , or even running it thru reverse gear a few times may help.

j911brick · 01-08-2011, 04:53 PM

I just has similar fun on a 914 restoration. turned out to be a combination of incorrect wiring, incorrect bulbs, and bad grounds. But I don't think that is your problem. If i read you correctly your only having a problem with the brake lights... Which brake light switch did you unplug?

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 06:11 PM

i solved the brake light problem. I paid a guy to put in a new fuse box and he wired my brakes to my wipers...yayayaya hahahaha.
Now why is the driverside running light staying on when the key is turned? The blinker is in the middle pisition. It will not blink nor will the hazard work on that side. Everything else works great front and back except the driverside rear. The brake lights on that side however work thanks to my quick thinking. applause......................................

navy911t · 01-08-2011, 06:15 PM

"O", and I pulled every fuse and the light still stays on when the key is turned. Now when the key is turned I still hear is click(spark) in my distributer cap and the same go's for if i take the bulb in and out. i get the same click. Now if I un-plug the light at the fender wall the cap will still spark. the only time it doesn't spark is when I unplug the white 3prong plug that comes off the cap wiring.

navy911t · 01-12-2011, 08:15 AM

ok i fixed that to. never hire some one to fix something when it is easy enough to do it yourself. wire was crossed. lol