Hello everyone, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Torben from Germany, but you are welcome to call me Ben.
I've owned a 1968 Firebird / 400 H.O. for a few months now. A wonderfully powerful V8.
I went to our TUV today (unfortunately we need it every 2 years in Germany) otherwise the car can't be driven.
It turned out that the lights for reverse gear both don't work.
For me, this rules out a faulty bulb, and it's more likely to be the fuse or the contact?
As I don't know the car very well yet, I would be pleased to hear about your experiences.
a) Is there a fuse only for the reverse gear lights? b) Is there a typical weak point in the Firebird in relation to the contacts or design that you could help me to solve the problem?
The wiring circuit shows +12 coming from the fuse box to the reverse switch to the bulbs in the rear.
- It appears from that the backup light shares a fuse with the turn signals. So if they are working, I don't suspect the fuse.
- You don't say what trans you have but each have backup/reverse switch specific to them. I would test the switch. In my TH400 with console, the switch mounts on the shifter lever assembly within the console. Search in this forum for "backup switch" (use quotation marks) for discussions of manual trans.
- I would still check the rear bulbs and their holders. Bad bulbs and a bad ground to the bulb holder are common failures. They are easier to test and cheaper to replace or clean then the switch. I would take a multimeter and see if you get +12 at the light green backup wire by the light with the trans in reverse.
Welcome! I was stationed in Furth, the closest I came to Munster was Bremerhaven, and Cassel. I really enjoyed my stay in your beautiful country.
Jimc2002 is right. Start at the bulbs and test them. Then go to the backup light switch and see if it is getting 12 volts. If so then follow the wiring back to the rear harness. Sometimes people work on the transmission or controls, and forget to hook up the backup lights. Worst case I have seen is when a manual trans has been swapped in, and no switch exists because the factory switch is hard to find. Then the fix is to rig a toggle or push button switch to be activated by the driver when going in reverse. That may or may not pass inspection. Do they still require you to carry spare gas at all times?
