Hello, I just signed up and need your help!
 

Hi all! I was at our local pca drivers ed. last weekend and was talking to one of the members of this b.b. who said this is a great way to get help and share information. I'm looking forward to it.

I have a '73 914 with a 1.7 motor with dual carb conversion. Here's my problem: When I apply the brakes, my brake lights come on as they should however, they seem to override all of my other lights. My turn signals stop working, the front and side marker lights come on, if I'm in reverse, my reverse lights go out. If I have my parking lights on, the front ones get brighter. The turn signals are my biggest problem because I go from people taking a second look and giving me the thumbs up to them giving me the one finger salute for braking and turning without signaling.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the board SmileWavy

As with any 914 electrical problem, first check the grounds.

Do you have a Haynes Manual???

Oh, and 914s are not for fun, they are for those who always like to be broke ;)

Electrical gremlins.....always fun. Get thee to a wiring diagram and search out your connections.....most probably the wiring behind the tail lights.

Good luck.

Actually I have 3 manuals, Haynes, Repair Guide by Peter R.D. Russek (glovebox series) and the 914 handbook. No clear answers in any of them yet. I have tried using the wiring diagrams with my "limited electrical knowledge".

I picked "9144fun" before I realized that my wish list for the car would cost 3x what I paid for it! However there's nothing like a weekend cruise in a 914.

Sounds like your brake light current is *backfeeding* other lights. I'm surprised you haven't blown a fuse. (You might check if you have the correct fuse in there). Try disconnecting just the brake light wires at the back and see what happens. If the problem is there it could be an easy fix.

Then turn signal overides the brake light, hence the brake wiring goes through the turn signal bundle. That would be the next place to look. A little more complicated. Look for any sign of physical damage such as melted wire insulation.

Sorry i can't be more specific, it would take days. As you go along, keep posting. Between your investigation and the board's help, you'll get it sorted out.

kind of a rule of thumb that should help you get started with the electrical issues. brown wires are ground wires and should be connected to terminals numbered 31 if you start putting brown wires on other terninals wacky things can happen.example:on the bottom of the rear turn signal housing there are 5 terminals on the one i'm looking at.they are labeled RF,54,58 on one row and 31, and L on the other.since your problems occur when you put on the brakes start with there and see what happens.then check the front turn signal assembly,same deal 31= brown wire.

save yourself some grief. disconnect the batery, go buy all new CORRECT amp fuses and clean the terminals on the fuse panel first.

i don't know why that smiley came up.

kevin

I am no electrical guru (no kidding :-) but on 914s, my stategy when chasing electrical problems on any of the light curcuits is to first, check, clean, and tighten all grounds including the ones uder the dash and in the engine compartment. 2nd, make darn sure your bulb sockets are clean and corrosion free. The bulbs need to be cleaned too (duh).
3rd, trace the wiring looms to the lights and make sure the wires are where they should be. I've seen some tail light assemblies with the wires crossed that still worked, they just worked real funky.
I have seen many electrical problems solved by just cleaning the grounds and sockets, and by replacing all the bulbs with new ones.
The only time this doesn't help at all is when the DAPO decided to do some custom wiring. When that happens, a sawz-all is the only answer :-)

Re: Hello, I just signed up and need your help!
 

Be sure that you have the correct bulbs installed. A single filament bulb in a socket designed for a double will short the brake and tail light circuits together.

Thanks for the good ideas! I'll try them out this weekend. Work, wife and kids seem to put my toy on the back burner during the week. I'll let you know if I have any luck.

Chad

hahaha

in my case it's "for broke people who like to be broker"

Problem solved!!!!! PO had the car repainted and when they hooked the tail light assembly back up it was all messed up. It fooled me because brake lights, tail lights, and reverse lights would all work by themselves, but use 2 of them at the same time and watch out. Thanks for all the help. BTW, my 914 is still "4 FUN"!!!!

Chad