Back Up Lights Dont Work

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dgtwo

dgtwo

dgtwo
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Aylmer Ontario Canada
I have a 1973 Duster 340 A833 4spd I cant seem to get the back up lights to work I baught a new switch new harness still nothing the main dash harness is out of a 74 valiant the engine harness is new reproduction,There are two connectors grey at the back of the engine one comes from the wire block on the firewall the other dont really know yet havnt untaped the harness not sure if I got them right but tried switching still dont work any help would be appeciated
Thanks in advance
dgtwo
 
Simple circuit. The backup lamps get power from the fuse box, through the bulkhead connector, and down to one pin of the transmission connector at the switch. Then the switched side wire comes back up, goes BACK into the firewall and ends up in the kick panel connector, and back to the rear with the tail and stop/ turn lights

So pull the connector off the transmission, turn the key to "run" and see if you have power. If you do, short the pins together and see if you have lights

If not, it's a matter of finding out where it's lost. Pull the left kick panel, get to the rear harness connector, and use a continuity checker to see if the backup lights wire has continuity (to ground through the bulbs)

If so, check continuity from the wire in the dash side of the connector down to the transmission

To test the power circuit to the transmission, you need a LOAD so that you force some current, to show up bad connections. So rig a junk lamp socket with a stop/ tail bulb, and wire both filaments together. Turn the key to run, and one of the connections at the transmission should have power

Don't forget that aside from grounds, the socket connections themselves, as well as connectors are the no1 suspects

So you have the sockets, the kick panel connector, the bulkhead connector (twice) the connector you mentioned at the rear of the engine, and the connector at the switch.

The diagrams at MyMopar:

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73ValiantA.jpg

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73ValiantB.jpg

It shows the rear harness backup wire as VIOLET but CHANGES to WHITE at the kick panel connector, goes OUT the bulkhead connector at Z, AND CHANGES to BLACK in the engine bay, where it goes to one side of the switch on the transmission.

From the switch it goes (BLACK) back to the bulkhead at W. This is the POWER supply side of the switch. From the bulkhead it then goes to the fusebox.

I would bet that if you download the '72 shop manual it is essentially the same:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=132309&highlight=manual,+download
 
I have the same problem on my 1972 Plymouth Duster340. I have trced the sme steps as you all but I ran into a snag on this. My Z terminal is missing on the bulkhead connector. I hag rigged up a switch to power the Back up lights but am now trying to get them to work normally. What is up with this?
 
I also noticed that W is missing on the bulkhead side too. This car has been a real mystery at times. Any Ideas?
 
Are the two wires in question present on the INTERIOR side of the connector? If so, all you need to do is scare up the connector / wiring that goes from the gearbox up to the bulkhead.

Did you buy it with no engine? Maybe someone yanked 'em out of there?
 
67 Dart, no, these missing connections are comming from the interior side of the bulkhead. Will it work if I give a ignition switched hot to terminal W and then zonnect terminal Z to number 6 in the Kick panel?. I had to get a neutral safety switch harness (scored it from Ebay) as it was missing. I hooked it up but had to get a new connector as the old one was stiff and dried out. The guy before me had the engine out and half assed things from there on. (This is the story of the whole car as I have fixed an unbelievable amount of things that the previous owner(s) had done before me) If memorey serves me right, he had even replaced the Dash harness with another one or had at least worked his special "majic" on it as he had done to everything else. Some people should not be allowed to own tools. lol
 
You need to come out of the fuse box, as the ignition run lead is NOT fused. But essentially, yes. As I outlined in a previous post, one of the bulkhead connectors comes from switched / fused accessory, out the bulkead, down to the switch, then up from the other side of the switch, back through the bulkhead to the connector in the kick panel. Surely part of that harness is still there
 
This is getting kinda wierd (as usual w/ this car) I did the wiring as described and still have nothing. I do have the power to the bulkhead now but none to the other side. I will test the plug to the switch sometime this week, but I wonder if there are different lengths of the 3 prong switches. Does anyone know?
 
im just finishing up rebuilding my a833 4 speed and when i put the back up switch in i noticed that when i shift it into reverse the reverse lever just barely contacts the ball at the end of the back up switch. isnt it supposed to actually push the ball in a bit? its like it should screw into the trans case another 1/8" at least. im getting a new switch anyway because i have the old style with riveted on prongs that tend to leak.

if you have your side cover off check to see if the arm is contacting the switch.
 
If the rooster comb in your transission isn't correct for the 3 post neutral safety switch, the reverse lamp part of the 4 post switch wont operate. In some cases the rooster comb can damage the 3 post switch.
I recently helped a guy sort out this and some other problems encountered when his 70 Demon got a 65 model 4 speed trans.
 
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