Truck wiring lights

thanks for your help gents ...a couple more small things & shes going in for rego check..hopefully get it on the road soon.

Generally if you have other lights coming on as well as the circuit you are using then there is a bad ground/earth.
The circuit in use is going to ground through the other bulbs causing them to glow/light up.
Cannot help with the flasher/reverse set up but that is the way my 86 F350 works, some fancy switching in the indicator switch.
Cheers Steve

I think both indicators being reverse was common for a long time. Dad's XW and XB and my LC all did the same thing it was is that first had separate reversing lights amongst our family vehicles

That's what I thought , I remember seeing it on a couple of my old valiants , but wasn't sure if trucks had the White/clear reverse lens ....I tried to wire up the reverse to the blinkers but that didn't work .

Hey Trucksyd
Usually if the lights go out of whack if a globe or fuze blows, it is a sign of a bad earth. I have found that running an independant earth from battery earth usually solves a lot of problems. As far as the reverse lights, i can't remember if these where fitted to these old bangers, but it certainly sounds as though you have a reverse switch fitted, if this is the case, just running an extra wire with the loom for the clear reverse lights should not take long. Also check the earth strap from the block to the chassis is good, or even there.
Cheers
Alistair

From memory these have changeover contacts in the indicator switch for the back indicators from original.

Earlier models ran the indicators to the brake lights (pre 1959). The AA workshop manual shows this.

Jarrod.

Mount a separate switch on the dash U can hit wen selecting reverse
or
fit a micro on/off switch @ floor level th@ the gear lever hits wen in reverse

cya
§

Reversing lights for trucks wasn't mandated for trucks until June 1975. Was required on cars at an earlier date.

For the indicators and reverse to share the same globe, there is a diode fitted to the system, on fords I reckon it was a black box on the firewall.
Not sure about Dodges / Inters.

Check on your gearbox for a two wire switch.
Take them both off.
Use the test light between one of the wires and earth. You may need the ignition ON.
One of the wires will be live.
Fit the live wire back onto the switch.
Put the truck in reverse, with the key ON, the other side of the switch should now be live.
Run a wire from that terminal to each clear light .

Failing that:
Come off a positive terminal on the ignition switch (In ON position), or positive battery.
Take that one to one side of a toggle switch, and from the other side of the toggle switch go to the clear lights.

Hope that helps a bit?

chocs

mammoth wrote: Reversing lights for trucks wasn't mandated for trucks until June 1975. Was required on cars at an earlier date.

If there are additional lights fitted, they MUST operate in a manner for which they were designed, Irrespective of year;
Otherwise it would be deemed unroadworthy.