1973 Camaro Standard Gauge Cluster w/Tell-tale light question

[Hrothgar]

Thanks. I was testing the dimmer switch, but didn't find anything too out of the ordinary (in the form of multiple Amp readings at least), except for this:



However, the wiring diagram for a 1973 indicates the White lead ties back into the door jam circuit at some point, so now I'm not sure its all that unusual. And I didn't reference it in the video, but the setting on the multi-meter is 200 milliamps.

 

[MChamp]

no sir. it should be light green and tan leading from the firewall. a light blue should go to the harness under the steering wheel. (circuits 12,11,10) for the actual floor dimmer switch. Looks like to me the dude has a bad reostat on his headlight switch in that vid.

 

[Hrothgar]

So, I finally got a chance to test the wiring harness today and here are the results:

1). Gauge Power - 11.62 volts
4). Charge Indicator - 3.84 volts
5). Light - Anything from 0.0 to 10.86 volts as I turn the dimmer switch.
8). Gauge Power - 11.09 volts
9). Left turn indicator - Anything from 2.0 - 9.94 volts, sporadic.
10). High Beam Indicator - .07 Max when the high beam pin is fully pulled. This seems awfully low.
11). Right turn indicator - Anything from 1.9 - 9.90 volts, sporadic as the Left turn above.

If it doesn't have a reading, its because it didn't have a reading (0 volts). I double checked the color of all the wires, they are as they should be for a factory warning light harness running into the correct pin.

Nothing looks terribly out of place expect for the High Beam indicator. The rest of the dimmer/headlight switch seems to work fine, per the readings of # 5, but not only do I barely get a reading for the high beam when on, I can't actually see a difference in the headlight itself against my garage wall. Is there a relay for the high beam that I need to check, or should I focus on the headlight switch assembly?

BTW, thanks to everyone who has chimed in, I appreciate the input...feel like i'm getting close now.

 

[Twisted_Metal]

The headlight knob doesn't control the Hi-Beam indicator light.

That is done with the Hi/Low switch (headlight dimmer switch) on the floor, by the emergency brake.

 

[Hrothgar]

Ha...that's funny. I seem to recall some of the later 2nd gens had it on the column....since it clearly wasn't there on mine, I assumed....and well, you know the rest. Guess I have something new to check tomorrow.

 

[Hrothgar]

I love Thanksgiving week. I normally take the whole week off from work, but my wife, in-laws, parents, and kids always seem to make schedules for me that doesn't align with my personal time. Any way, I was able to finish taking some readings on the wiring harness, and this is what I got:

1). Gauge Power - 11.62 volts (12.2 - 12.4 milliamps)
4). Charge Indicator - 3.84 volts (2.2 milliamps)
5). Light - Anything from 0.0 to 10.86 volts as I turn the dimmer switch. (up to 11.2 milliamps as I turn the dimmer)
8). Gauge Power - 11.09 volts (12.2 - 12.4 milliamps)
9). Left turn indicator - Anything from 2.0 - 9.94 volts, sporadic. (sporadic, up to 9.94 milliamps)
10). High Beam Indicator - (Now that I know where the switch is!) 10.77 volts (11.2 milliamps)
11). Right turn indicator - Anything from 1.9 - 9.90 volts, sporadic as the Left turn above. (sporadic, up to 9.90 milliamps)

I'm probably mistaken, but these readings don't look too out of the ordinary, do they?

 

[Hrothgar]

Okay, so I broke down and bought a slightly better Multi-meter, as I had some doubts about my bargain basement model. Turns out, the draw from the car is 1.61 amps consistently, not the .51+ I had measured before (which, from other reading in the electrical section, would've been too high anyway). That would explained my fried circuit boards. So, now that I have a multi-meter worth a darn, I decided to take a look at my fuse box. Ugh, what a mess. I've included pics and a two minute video of a couple of the lose wires just kinda hanging around without a home. If anyone sees anything that is clearly out of place and can spot something relevant, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I guess its time to start tracing out every wire and double-checking every fuse.

 

[MChamp]

uhg is right bro. I'd pull all the wires, replace the fuses, (I'd need extras :/ for sure. looks like someone wanted an extra kick for their speeks. then go from there... sans extra wires of course..

 

[Hrothgar]

So, I finally found some more time to devote to the old girl and started looking again at the wiring diagrams for the '73. Smack in the middle of the diagram, where the grounding wires intersect from various individual components like the wiring harness, lighter, wiper and light switches, there seems to be a a body mounting point (as indicated by the little red arrow in the attachment). Where is this supposed to be located because damn if I can find it, or does that indicate the negative terminal heading back to the battery?