• Welcome to ClassicBroncos! - You are currently viewing the forums as a GUEST. To take advantage of all the site features, please take a moment to register. It's fast, simple and absolutely free. So please join our community today!
    If you have problems registering or can't log into your account, please contact Admin.

Turn signal and break light problems

Bayou Bob

Newbie
Joined
Nov 1, 2021
Messages
2
All of a sudden I do not have turn signals or break lights in my 1966 Bronco. The owners manual states the fuse is located in the light switch. Is this correct, and any other recommendations would be of help
 

tampabronco

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
458
and the metal contacts are touching the connecting tabs. Chased a short for three days only to find the fuse wasn't connected
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
Hey Bayou Bob, welcome!
It's true that if your switch is original, or a very old replacement, it probably still has the small glass fuse clipped to it. But if it's a more modern replacement (like in the last 20 years or so?) it's probably the updated newer version with the internal circuit-breaker.

Sounds like it might be older though, since the breaker is a self-resetting type so once something overloads it and stops working, it should work again at least for a moment when you try again. Unless it's a dead short, or a dead circuit-breaker, in which case you'd probably get zero joy at any time.

Of course, it could just be coincidental failures too. Your brake lights and turn signals are the same wire from the firewall back, and the same bulbs. Did you check to make sure the bulbs were good?
Your brake switch and your turn signal flasher could have failed also. Both components do fail. Not sure how the '66 was laid out as far as the brake light switch is concerned, but most Early Broncos came with a funky strange switch mounted to the top of the pedal arm at the rod pivot. Funky, but the darn things work really good when they work, so no use complaining I suppose.
I can't remember if your '66 would have had a plunger style (like most of us are more familiar with on other vehicles) or the Ford-unique one on the pedal.

Rear tail-light sockets also get old and rusty. Is yours an early model with no backup lamp lenses in the tail light lens? Just red with no clear? Or do you have backup lamps?
Either way, time to take the lenses off and inspect the sockets for rust and bent up or broken contact springs.

Do you happen to have dual exhaust? If it's a V8 lots of people put dual exhaust on them and the driver's side tube or muffler can get close to the wires on the frame. If they get buggered by the heat they can give you the symptoms you have.
Easy to run down the wires and look for crimped, broken, melted or otherwise compromised wiring.

But another common thread here is the turn signal switch. New or old, they fail often. Your brake light power comes out of the brake switch and up through the turn signal switch so it can go out on the same wires as the turn signals and so the turn signal won't mess with the opposite brake light. Letting both do their jobs.

So it's not just one thing that it can be. Especially with a vehicle this old!

Good luck.

Paul
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,734
All of a sudden I do not have turn signals or break lights in my 1966 Bronco. The owners manual states the fuse is located in the light switch. Is this correct, and any other recommendations would be of help

Welcome aboard Bob...Â….
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,355
thought that might be you, but I answered your question in Tech too. No need to post up a thread about the same thing in both forums. We're the same members, and most of us browse more than one forum here. No need to separate the issues and answers.

More of a "tech" question I would think, but nothing wrong with putting it here in "chat" either. If needed, Admin will move a discussion to one or the other forum where it seems more appropriate.
Check out the other thread too and see if any of the answers narrow down a solution for you.

paul
 
Top