I solved a problem and now reverse lights work!

"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
11/18/2018 at 21:17 • Filed to: Exocet

There was a lot of poking with a multimeter, cutting things open, and feeling up wires - but it’s finally done. I found the issues that were keeping reverse lights from working on the Exocet.

1) There was a wire that had been pinched/broken - resulting in no power to the reverse switch on the transmission.

2) The wire that I thought was a reverse light (silly me, it was the right color and the in the right place, and alongside all the other lights) - was not. I traced the switch coming off the wire and found the right one.

DISCUSSION (9)

MM54 > Nick Has an Exocet
11/18/2018 at 21:29

Nice, a step in the right direction for sure.

My chevelle may not have reverse lights because I never re-wired them when I swapped the auto for a manual. I suppose if I put the column in “R” they would come on, but I’ve removed the handle, so... yeah. Probably should do something about that.

functionoverfashion > MM54
11/18/2018 at 21:34

Nah, just use a toggle switch on the dash. My truck is like this because it never had backup lights from the factory. It’s a 3-way toggle, up is ON, middle OFF, and down is Momentary ON. This way you can hold the toggle down when you’re backing up, but they won’t stay on. If you DO want them on for some reason, you can set them that way. I love it! It’s the second vehicle I’ve wired this way...

Nick Has an Exocet > functionoverfashion
11/18/2018 at 22:00

Oh, I like that. That was essentially my backup plan in case I ran into any more issues or got frustrated with it.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > functionoverfashion
11/18/2018 at 22:01

I....actually like this idea! It would have absolutely no use to me in my Accent, but it makes a certain amount of sense...I wonder if there would be a way to wire a switch in so that the reverse switch in the transmission USUALLY works, but when the switch is flicked on, it bypasses the transmission switch to turn them on all the time until the switch is turned off...?

functionoverfashion > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/18/2018 at 22:13

It’s great on my truck; if I do put a plow on it, I’ll just turn them ON and leave them on while I’m plowing at night. No neighbors, no traffic, the more light the merrier.

I’m sure you could either a) run new/separate wires to the same lights, or b) run a wire at least to the lights’ side of the reverse switch to light them up manually. In my truck, all the wires are super accessible, so it’s easy.

The other vehicle I did this with was a ‘93 Cherokee, and we used it on the beach at night quite a bit. It was nice to be able to put those lights on whenever.

MM54 > functionoverfashion
11/18/2018 at 22:37

If the interior weren’t pretty much factory-fresh (except worn out foam in the seat and a small tear on it ) I’d consider doing it that way; it won’t be hard to wire it to a switch on the side of the transmission, though. Just need to get around to it.

MM54 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/18/2018 at 22:39

That would be pretty easy to wire up assuming the transmission is just a switch - you’d just wire the switch in parallel with the transmission. Putting it in reverse or turning the switch would turn them on.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > MM54
11/19/2018 at 06:03

THat’s true - makes sense when I think about it now this morning ....I’m not a complete newbie when it comes to electrics, but my brain was out to lunch as it was late last night. :P

I know it’s just a switch on my car, but no idea where it is. A cool mod, but a sortof pointless one in my case! :(

functionoverfashion > MM54
11/19/2018 at 09:06

I hear you on not wanting to mess with the dash. I’m assuming you’ll fix it properly, but it might also be possible to mount a switch near the bottom of the dash so you can reach it, but none of the mounting hardware is visible. That way the dash is unmodified visually.