The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Need more help with 52 2 ton

Back again, Guys. I'm having some electrical trouble this time. The headlights work, but nothing else. When I pull the light switch all the way out, the headlights come on, but no tailights. Is there a fuse to check for or a fuse "Panel" anywhere? I didn't see any so far. Could it be a problem with the light switch itself? There is also a separate pull knob for the running lights too.(There are lights on top of the cab and along the dump bed) Don't know how or if this is connected or if this is related to the tail light problem or not. Is there anywhere I can get a wiring diagram for this year? Manual has not arrived yet. I'm not so concerned right now about the running lights as I am getting the parking lights working. These lights are independant of the brake lights. Single filament bulbs. (BTW- I talked to the previous owner and he said they did work before he parked it 3 years ago.) Any help is appreciated as always.

Thanks,

rickdb1,

I looked at a wiring diagram for a '48 as I couldn't find one for your '52. The '48 light switch has a small fuse on the back the protects everything on that circuit. That would mean if the headlights work, the taillights should be powered also.

Again, I don't know if your rig has fuses. I sort of thought there was a small fuse box near the voltage regulator on some of the rigs, but I don't know.

If your rig has the aftermarket dump bed, the only wiring diagram of relevance would be in the cab area. The order of the day would be to raise the box and block it up, then do a visual for busted or mashed wires down the frame rails.

The next step would be to use a meter and find out if you have power headed back to the lights from the switch. Somewhere you will have voltage, then you won't! This might be under the dash, but my bet is in the bed area or down the frame.

You could start at the lights, check for good lamps and grounded light assembles, then probe back toward the cab with your meter. Hopefully you will find a break.

If you actually have the small fuse on the light switch, and it does service both headlights and taillights, it must be intact for the headlights to work. This means you don't have a short going back to the rear...but maybe a 'open'.

If this post gets lost, check the Electrical forum. Good luck!

Stuart

Thanks Stuart. I'm in the process of tracking down wires and taking a look at the switch right now. Will let you know what I find. I have a feeling from what I've read that there may be a fuse at the switch, since I can't find any others. Thanks again,

BTW- Can you link me to that diagram? It may help in my search...

rickdb1,

Here is a link to the wiring diagrams. They aren't very dymanic for your year truck.

http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevywiring/


Stuart

I would imagine that yours is similar to the 51. There is a fuse box on the firewall on the driver's side. Pull the cover and there should be a fuse for the brake lights and a fuse for the tail lights.

All the circuits coming off of the headlight switch have the primary protection of a thermal breaker in the headlight switch.

Just wanted to update what I've accomplished thanks to your help. Found a fuse at the light switch and also in the fuse panel under the hood. Replaced all of them and I now have brake lights and parking lights! (Woo-hoo)Then I went to working on the blinkers. Of course they did not work right off. Found inline fuses on the wires going to the flasher. Replaced these fuses and what do ya know, they work. Thanks to all that helped out and little by little things are coming together. I'm sure there will be more questions real soon.....

I ran into the same problems with my 52, and we discovered that the wired had been frayed and crushed by the bed raising and lowering. We simply ran new wires, and our troubles were solved.
Sam

52 Chevrolet 2 ton

i had the same thing happen to my dump truck 52. i ran the one wire back for the brake lights and things seemed to work together better. the tail lignts on mine had 2 seperate circuits. one for brake and one for tail lights. best of luck man. ps those wires could be close to the exhaust pipe too if the clips have worn.

i had the same thing happen to my dump truck 52. i ran the one wire back for the brake lights and things seemed to work together better. the tail lignts on mine had 2 seperate circuits. one for brake and one for tail lights. best of luck man. ps those wires could be close to the exhaust pipe too if the clips have worn.

I wouldn't stop looking for faulty wiring. There's probably a good reason those fuses were all blown.
Speed

All of the old trucks that I've owned have had some kind of wiring issues. The majority due to mice. The old cloth insulation makes for good nesting materials, and the rubber type of insulations not only get brittle, but they are made from vegetable oil which also makes them attractive to mice. Almost all of the wiring on my '48 2-ton needs to be replaced. I actually don't know how it's running on acount of all of the bare and broken wires. I can't afford a complete wiring harness yet, so I will be replacing the wires one by one.

One thing that I've seen done, and I know works, is running either a four wire heavy cord or two of those heavy round three wire outdoor extension cords with the ends cut off, from the firewall back to handle all of the lighting duties at the rear.

Sounds weird, but this way you have all of the wires that you need for stop, turn and running lights, in an easy to install outer protective covering. Just tie in the ends where needed.

Not exactly what a restorer would want to do, but works perfect for a working truck.

Rezman

Ya know Rezman, I thought about running an extension type cord back there, but didn't know if that would be good stovebolt practice! I'm sure there are some wires (if not a bunch) that need replacing. I raised the dump bed up and tried to check the wires, but it was snowing pretty good and I couldn't get a real good look at all of them. From what I could see, most were in pretty good shape. When the weather is better, I plan to take a closer look and hopefully replace them using the one by one method....At least I know that they will work now. That's a big step forward for me.....

Some folkss use 4 wire trailer flat wire. If you want someting a little better protected and heavy duty go to parts jobber that specializes in trucks and pick up some 7 conductor trailer wire. it would be heavier gauge and protected by heavy outer sheild and is DOT approved. It can be bought by the foot.

Rickdb1,
as a general comment, fuses don't usually fail by themselves. You may want to keep this in mind if you venture out on a dark night.

Thanks Truckernix. I know that something caused them to fail, but I haven't had a chance to find out just what yet. Had to be a dead short somewhere in the wiring. Going to go through it as soon as I can to find the problems. I like the idea of rewiring the back lights. Sounds like a good plan to start with. I also like the idea of using trailer wiring or extensions too. It will make it much easier with everything contained. Appreciate the heads up and I don't plan on going anywhere at night until I get it figured out. It gets REAL dark out here on the road to town. Not good without lights, little alone with them...

The extension cord as tail light wiring may not be as crazy as it sounds.
While re-wiring my '53 6400, the tail light wires looked exactly like an extension cord. Just 2 wires wrapped in cloth strands, wrapped in an outer shell.
I thought it original.
It was definitely old, but may not have been original (maybe the extension cord trick isn't a new idea?)
Rick.

I have seen & have used extension cord on many larger truck & trailers & house trailer truck wiring, works well as long as it is 3 wire & stranded. I prefer the 5 or 7 wire "trailer wire" as above, it has the correct colors & a ground lead. Brian