brake light short and short story

[Old John]

I finally got my neighbor's 1973 Avanti running after 8 years? If you remember my earlier post, he connected the battery in reverse and fried the wires. I only had to replace the red wire from the starter and white wire from the alternator. The engine didn't want to turn over. I pulled the plugs and shot some oil in to soak. The next day I could spin it with the plugs out. I installed the plugs, drained the old gas and replaced it with fresh gas, and she popped right off and ran. However, it sounded like a dozen ball bearings were flying around inside the crankcase. It hurt to listen to it. I tried on and off to figure what was causing the noise. I thought maybe the lifters were stuck. After running it a few times, it ran worse and started to shake. I thought to myself, what the bleep is going on? I took out the spark plugs to find 5 of the 8 had the electrodes smashed in so they could no longer fire. I turned it over without plugs and some carbon particles came out. My theory is chunks of carbon let loose inside the cylinder head from sitting and bombarded the plugs. I installed new plugs and it started and ran a bit rough for a few minutes. After that she runs like a champ. Nice sound from the dual exhaust. I took it for a drive, floored it and laid some rubber in my driveway. Looks like it has posi. My new problem is the brake light fuse blows when I step on the brake. If I disconnect the wire that goes from the brake light switch to the steering column at the switch, and connect my ohm meter, it shows a short to ground. If I unplug the connector by the steering column, there is no continuity to ground. Do I at this time suspect the turn signal switch in the steering column? The turn signals work fine. Any suggestions?

[WayneC]

<snip> My new problem is the brake light fuse blows when I step on the brake. If I disconnect the wire that goes from the brake light switch to the steering column at the switch, and connect my ohm meter, it shows a short to ground. If I unplug the connector by the steering column, there is no continuity to ground. Do I at this time suspect the turn signal switch in the steering column? The turn signals work fine. Any suggestions?

Congratulations on getting it running smoothly!

Wish I had some wisdom to give you, I just would say that you need to find a way to isolate the short to the turn signal switch, the brake light switch, or the tail light wiring (including bulbs).

Assuming both the turn signals and the brakes use the same (bright) filament, that would rule out the bulbs and the sockets, and wiring between the turn signal switch and the bulbs.

Unless the brake light switch is shorting... easy test, just make sure the 2 wires (disconnected from the turn signal switch) have no continuity to ground with the brake pedal depressed.

Look for corroded contacts where those wires connect to the turn signal switch, as I suspect a poor connection could cause the fuse to blow.

In a prior posting of yours, I mentioned the existence of some Avanti II circuit drawings that were drawn freehand and sold in booklet form some years ago. In trying to research your current problem, I found those diagrams on the internet here:

http://www.studebaker-info.org/tech/Diagrams/aec/aec.html'>http://www.studebaker-info.org/tech/Diagrams/aec/aec.html

And another Avanti II diagram: http://www.studebaker-info.org/tech/Diagrams/AVACD4.JPG'>http://www.studebaker-info.org/tech/Diagrams/AVACD4.JPG

And I also found the 63-64 wiring diagram, although I believe the stop light setup is somewhat different

than the later Avanti II's with GM steering columns:

https://www.studebakerparts.com/studebakerparts/store/s/html/images/63-4-avanti-wire.jpg

Bob Johnson's website: http://www.studebaker-info.org/ (where the above diagrams were found) has an amazing amount of factory technical info

and backyard mechanic innovative solutions.

Edited September 7, 2011 by WayneC

[Old John]

Thanks for the advise. Turns out it was just the brake light switch. It sure was hard to get to. I fixed everything except the air conditioning. I told the old guy that he would have to have a professional do that. In exchange for my work, he gave me some cash and a Ruger Mark II Stainless Steel Target Pistol. I like shiney cars and guns. The Avanti is looking mighty fine now also. There are 3 people wanting him to sell it to them, one being my father-in -law. He's just not sure what it is worth or if he wants to sell it. He's been a collector most of his life and he really needs to downsize.