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Ok all, so I’ve spent more than ten years restoring my 51 Chevy COE. She’s absolutely beautiful, but it will all be for naught if I can’t figure out the electrical 🤪. I kept her 6V as original and everything’s been rebuilt with 6V parts...starter, generator, signal switch, flasher, bulbs, etc. Just got a 6V battery installed. Dome light works, dash lights works, brightness level when rotating headlight switch works. The headlights and parking lights work...sort of. When I pull the headlight switch out to the first position (parking lights only) actually illuminates the headlights (the dimmer switch does work 😂) Pulling the rest of the way out (headlights and park lights position), the headlights go off and the parking lights come on! Turn signals don’t work...well, the flasher does its thing but no lights blink.

So I pushed the headlight switch all the way in, and let it sit overnight. The next day, the battery is dead, I mean totally dead. I wired the headlight switch and ignition switch as shown in the attached pics. In full transparency, I don’t yet have the the rear turn/tail/stop lamps wired up (wiring is run, but currently ‘open’ - no wires are touching any others or anything steel.) I also don’t have the fuel tank sender grounded yet. Could either of these be causing? Everything else electrical is connected.

Thx in advance for any help!
Derek

someone will chime in here soon... but we are going to need to see a couple pix of this truck.

It is helpful to put a relay(s) in the headlight system, after you figure out the leakage problem.

Are all the grounds clean?

Ed

You may have 2 problems. Killing the battery would suggest a short. When I have rewired something, the first thing I do before hooking up the battery is to put an ohm meter to the battery cables. With everything off, and assuming no shorts, you should have infinite ohms or lack of continuity. Or you can hook up one cable and drag the other across the post and in weak light you might see a spark. I just don't want to have an electric fire and burn up an expensive harness. If you have a short somewhere, then you have to find which circuit(s) might be involved.

The second issue relates to the wrong lights coming on. You could have mixed wires up, the switch may be bad or the harness is wrong. Only you know what items are new to your truck and which have been used before and proven to be good. For example if your switch worked before, it is highly unlikely that it is the problem.

The switches were all the same and they do fail. I'd bet this is your problem if no lights stayed on and none of the open circuits were grounded when the switch was off. I'd get a handheld tester, remove the switch completely and test all functions of it. Good luck. The replacement switches will work but don't really match the old ones exactly.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for the feedback and ideas. I’ll definitely check them out and get some pics ASAP. FYA - everything is new. The harness, the headlight and signal switches, the lights/bulbs, the ground cable, the battery, etc. I’d say all the grounds are “clean”, as in, there are bolts or screws through everything and all thread into virgin metal/threads. Is it possible that the surface area isn’t enough? For example, I may need to strip some paint off the Xmsn housing for the main ground? Does the headlight switch itself ground through the dash? Also, the rod in my headlight switch doesn’t quite go all the way “in”...it stays “out” about 1/8”...is that normal?

Derek

Hi Derek,
Your switch is broken. It is suffering the same problem I showed in a post on this same section. As long as you can't push it in all the way, it will be making contact and draining your battery. Please see my post and let me know if you have any questions.

Thx Jon, I saw your post ironically enough. So that even happens with brand new switches? It’s never gone all the way in and I was thinking the issue you describe happens when it actually goes “too far in”?

Thx again,
Derek

The tip end of the rod is sharply pointed, Derek and there's just a wee bit of room between the tip and the bakelite end. Maybe 4 thousands of an inch. And bakelite can be extremely brittle. So the combination isn't a good one. I think the damage happens when the rod retainer groove gets worn, but apparently if you had a problem with a new switch that's not so. I was assuming your headlight switch was an original one. The import switches are different...not the same design at all, and I don't know where you would find a new Delco original switch today. Maybe somebody has some old stock on eBay, but it would be expensive as all getout. Take a look at this one (which I bought to study). Each of the brass rivets on top is a contact point inside the switch. I haven't opened it yet, but just looking at the top I can see a world of difference...and there is no way to release the knob rod.

Also the circuit breaker for the import switch is housed in a separate metal box at the end of the switch whereas the one on the original sits right on top...you can see it easily in my first image.

Classic Parts sell both replacement switches for $24.95 and original style for $49.95. I bought a original style that matches the OP’s picture exactly. So far it works perfectly. The original style does not come with a knob or shaft so you will have to use your original.[LINK]

I added a picture of my old switch to show you how it is wired.

Derek, if you compare your photo with Phak1's photo above, it looks like you have switched the parking light and headlight terminal. That would explain one of your problems.

This is the problem with the internet in general. People putting on things that are wrong. Not checked. Derek's labeled switch does not even match the diagram he shows.
As far as that two position ignition switch. You can't get it wrong. It makes no difference which wire goes to which terminal.

Use Phil's switch hook up. He knows what he is doing.

As far as your questions:
1. You now know why headlights come on at first click. You have park and headlights wiring swapped. As Kent has noted and Phil has pictured and your diagram shows.
2. The non blinking is because the tail lights are not connected.
3. The tail lights not connected and the ground for gas gauge are not causing dead battery.
4. The knob on the headlight switch is not designed to smack into the dash. So a clearance is normal if you have the shaft installed properly.
5. If you have a new switch, it is probably good. They don't fail often.
6. Your battery going dead could be anything. Probably something you wired wrong....or a bad battery. Go out after dark and observe any light on somewhere. Be sure key is off. Be sure ammeter is wired properly. It sounds like everything electrical is new. Installed and wired by you. Is that right? Do you have a glove box light or a under hood light? Newer radio? Bluetooth? HERE is how you check to see if you have a draw on the battery with everything off.

The labeled headlight switch used by Derek is from Deve's website....and it is wrong. It is unfortunately splashed all over the internet including the HAMB. I don't know if DEVE made the picture or he copied it from somewhere.

ALWAYS USE THE SHOP MANUAL.

Jesus, ok. This is awesome! Thank you all for your feedback. I'll have to get out to the truck this weekend and make some corrections. I (still) can't tell you all how much I appreciate your time, expertise and advice!!!

Derek

Your truck is serial 1001? Holy Moly...........that is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahahaha, yes sir. I know. I thought the same thing when I found it in a barn in 2007! The story was as simple, but as rich as any you could hope for. This family owned it for over 50 years, having bought it from the local Chevrolet dealer who owned it for the first few years (and likely the reason for it being 1001!). So I was only the third owner. The only bummer was that it had lost its original engine and transmission long ago because of an unintentional date with a pond 😀 As bright spots, at least they replaced the transmission with one of the same US L serial number and a GMC 270 motor (with a bit more power👍). Thx again for all your help, I’m gonna try to get out to the truck Sat or Sun. Will keep you posted until we’re up and running!

So Phak1’s labeled pic shows STOP LIGHT left and DOME LIGHT right. The switch in the original schematic shows DOME LIGHT left, STOP LIGHT right. Can you guys confirm which is correct?

Thx,
Derek

They are on the same terminal. Either is correct.

Doh...guess all I had to do was look closer at the switch 🤪, thank you!

Is it possible you wired the ignition switch wrong (or simply left it in the on position, like I have done before) and the ignition was powered when you left it overnight. If that is/was the case that would account for the battery drain. On the ignition switch both the ignition and accessories terminal are electrically connected together. So if you wired it incorrectly, even if you switched off the key, the ignition could still be powered.

If you find that to be true, you may have also cooked your points, condenser and coil.

Phil, testing on the ignition switch shown, if it is the two position, has shown that all are on and all are off, no matter how you wire it. Maybe someone can confirm that.

It’s the off position that I was thinking about. I haven’t tested the switch myself to confirm either way. I know you (bartamos) understood what I meant, but for the sake of the OP, I will explain my prior post.

We know, with the ignition switch in the “On” position, all three terminals are electrically connected. My questIon is, when the switch is in the “Off” position, are all three terminals isolated from each other? If two of the terminals are still electrically connected (in the “Off” position), then it could be easily be wired that turning the switch to the “Off” position would not disconnect power to the coil. Thus the drain on the battery.

If the switch in the “off” position does isolate all three terminals as you say, then my point is moot.

Thx again guys! Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to work on that part of the truck this weekend 😁 If the ignition was wired as shown in my original posting photo, and there was never a key in the ignition, could that still be an issue?

Don't understand the question. An issue with what? Does the switch turn or not? Is it a two position? (on/off)

Yep the switch turns, but I never did it with the battery installed 😂.

I originally installed the battery, checked out the basic lighting where I observed the issues in the original post. I was just asking if the ignition switch was wired as shown in my original photo, could that have been the cause of the drained battery?

If the other end of the wires went to the correct place and the switch was off, that would not drain the battery. As I posted, it does not matter which wire goes to which terminal on the switch. Trying to answer without being misinterpreted. Does that answer?
The sticking voltage regulator contact could cause it or other ignition malfunctions sticking.

Did you see the post that I linked, battery draw test??????

Yep, that answers the question - thank you! I just need to get back to the truck and do some investigating. I spent the weekend working on toolboxes and rear fenders I saw and reviewed the post about finding battery draw, again, just have to get some time to look more deeply into.

So with my multimeter on 2000k ohms, i touch the black lead to my negative battery cable and the red lead to the positive battery cable. The number jumps wround a bit and quickly settles on "1"?

I also checked out the link from bartamos to try and determine where the draw may be coming from but it has you tapping into fuses and the only two on my truck are for the tail and stop lights (as original)?

You are set WAY TOO high. You need to read milli-amps. 1 usually mean "out of range". I only gave the link for the negative battery cable test to find parasitic drain (small milli-amp readings) not for fuse tests.

Changed to 200 milliamps (200m DCA) and get 00.1 or 00.0.

For that test, I need to have the battery installed and the positive hooked up. It then says to set to 20A, but my multi-meter only has a 10A setting. Would that be good enough?

Use red cable to ma if you have that port on your multimeter

LOL, we may be confusing two conversations.

Lightholder said to measure Ohms without the battery installed by touching the black lead to the negative cable and the red lead to the positive cable. I set the multimeter to 200k Ohms because he said if everything is wired correctly, it should go to infinity. I got "1", which as you said, means out of range, so I was assuming that test was positive. However, I'm pretty confident that if I put the battery back in, it will be dead tomorrow.

So I was moving on to your (bartamos) direction and was changing the setting of my multimeter but I only have 10A setting. I just wanted to know if that would be sufficient (even though that article you pointed me to says to set your mm to 20A.)

To be more clear when you state setting. Say if it's the red plug in or the dial setting. Post pic of your meter if you want.

Will do, sorry. Ok, so here's two pics. Ignore the fact that I now have the battery charger on the battery. Before that, I had the positive cable hooked to the battery, and the negative cable disconnected. I put my mm on 10A and the red lead is in the 10ADC hole. When I touch the black lead to the negative battery post, I was hearing this clicking sound. After repeatedly touching and releasing, the horn started to go off. So I took the mm off and put the negative battery cable on the battery and the horn again started to go off. Then I got to thinking, s*&t, I forgot, I don't have the horn fully wired yet (as you can see in the second pic.) Would that be the cause of my battery drain? The strange thing is, when I first hooked the battery up a couple weeks ago and submitted the OP, the battery was not going off? Or maybe I've got the horn relay wired incorrectly? I'll have to get a pic of the horn relay...

Is that supposed to be the drain test you are showing? Hope not, because it's wrong and you are getting close to blowing the meter. I have no idea what you are showing in the meter picture. Please explain.
After that I will run you thru the test now that I see your meter. I would like to see a little better picture of meter by itself.

As far as the horn going off, that ain't good. So show me the relay wiring and explain exactly where each wire goes.

"Before that, I had the positive cable hooked to the battery, and the negative cable disconnected. I put my mm on 10A and the red lead is in the 10ADC hole. When I touch the black lead to the negative battery post, I was hearing this clicking sound."
Correct me if I'm wrong but this sounds like you had the meter red plug into 10A jack and dial on 10A .............and red lead hooked to positive battery post and black lead to negative battery post? Yes?
Where was the clicking sound coming from? Horn trumpet, horn relay or meter?............... or a cricket?

If you start by disconnection all the fuses, you will save some time, fewer hot circuits, then hook each fuse up in the dark of night and look for a spark, that is your leak.

Ed

Bartamos. The only thing worth noting in that mm picture is the mm settings and the red lead - nothing else. The battery is a fake/look-alike so those metal looking plates on top don’t connect to anything. The black lead isn’t actually touching anything in that pic and I had already put the battery charger back on when I took that pic. A new pic of just the meter is attached.

Yes, when I ran the drain test with the negative battery cable disconnected, I had the red lead plugged into the 10A jack and the dial set to 10A. The red lead was then connected to the negative battery cable. When I’d then touch the black lead to the negative battery post, the horn relay would click (I think it was the horn relay but could have been the voltage regulator?) After several times, maybe 8-10, the horn (not sure if it was just one or both) started blowing. I then disconnected the mm and put the negative battery cable on the negative battery post. It then started blowing the horn again. So I disconnected the negative battery cable and put the charger on for the night.

Also attached are pics of my horn relay and voltage regulator. On the horn relay, the brown wire on the right goes to the steering column. The red wire in the center goes to the BAT terminal on the voltage regulator. The thicker red wire on the left connects to the two horns. Thanks again for your patience and willingness to help!

Your explanations and your pictures and your methods are somewhat confusing. You do have the correct connections on one end of the relay. Also: On the relay itself, the convention from left to right is Load-Battery-Switch, which is what you have. It's obvious that your drain could be horn related. Therefore you need to disconnect the horn and do the drain test. Because the horn seems to be interfering with that test. Then, if you see no drain, you can assume that the horn was the problem. So assuming the relay is good, then something up at the column must is shorting. The horn wire is a ground wire which is shorted intentionally by the button parts. Those parts can touch due to incorrect assembly. I don't know if that is your problem or not. But the horn is your priority after the drain test.

Sounds like you know what you are doing, I guess. I will let others take over. We are getting nowhere.

When you say disconnect the horn, I just disconnect it from the relay?

Also, FYI, I don’t have the horn contact parts installed (reference the pic I attached earlier of the steering wheel.)