57 Ford guys, I have a couple of questions. Wiring related

Hey guys, thrashing on mama's new wagon to make sure it is road worthy for the drags. The car came with a couple of issues.

1. No headlights. This boggles my mind because I have tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals but no HL, bright or dim. I have no power at the light btw, so I am working backwards. Can parts of the switch go bad? Also, I assume there is no fuse box since all the switches seem to have fuses on the backs of them.
I have ordered the service manual and a schematic , but it will be a few days.

2. No fuel gauge- Now the tank looks like it may have come from something different, I dunno. BUt the gauge reads E all the time. I am assuming this would be a no power situation. Now were these cars originally positive ground or had they converted by 57?


Thanks

Root

 

'57s were neg ground. Sounds like a bad ground on the fuel sender. And yes a switch connection can go bad internally.

Love '57 Fords, had one my freshamn year in college.

 

Negative ground after 55. The headlight switches will get bad spots in them. Try spraying some wd40 into the guts of the switch, and work it on and off. Check your hi/low button. It can be messed up to. You can possibly get those at a local parts store.
The fuel gauge is most likley the wiring or sending unit. Check the wire for continuity. You can check the sending unit likewise.

 

All 57 fords were Neg ground. That started in 56 with the New 12 Volt system. Go to your dimmer switch. It has One 10 agu wire, that's the incoming for both headlights. Test for power. The other 2 14 agu are Low and High. You could easily have a bad dimmer switch. Take the wire off the tank sender and ground it. Turn on the key and see if the neddle goes to full. If so check the Tank for a good ground. Loosing ground is common issue. If those check out and still nothing pull the sender. The float may be rotten. You can get a new one from Dennis Carpenter.
The Wizzard

 

I got a whole new harness and paid dearly to have somebody else deal with the wiring. after a 40 hour process of having the car wired, still have no gas gauge, tried new sending unit, still nothing. some guy told me that the instrument panel was 6 volt and there was some kind of conversion to do there, told me he'd fix it, never has followed up, so i carry a 5 gal. gas can in the trunk.

 

He is correct. The gauges are 6-v. There is a regulator bolted on the back of the spedo unit to control it. Sounds like you hired the Wrong guy to do the electrical part.
The Wizzard

 

Wagons and Ranchero's have odd shaped gas tanks and use a special sending unit due to the spare tire well. Very tall on one side with the sender on top and then flat underneath the spare well. A few years ago nobody made the tank or the sender.

If you have power to the HL switch you should be able to trace the wire from the HL terminal to the dimmer switch and on to the HLs. with a test light.

 

Headlight issue.

Check the connections at terminal block on the driver's side inner fender near the rad support. See if you have power on the cabin side of the block. The harness from the cabin and the harness to the headlights connect at this point. I had a problem with the lights on my 57 a few years ago and the connections at the terminal block were the issue.

Al T.

 

Mine did the same thing I got so fustraded I rewired the damn car. if you go to goggle type in wireing and there is a site with full wireing print outs.

 

see ya dont get what you pay for,buy a manuel and do it yourself.

 

I did order a manual and I will fix it myself.

Thanks to all who have posted. I will get more involved tomorrow after work. I checked the block on the fender and showed no power there with a test light, but I will start at the switch and go from there. I had power to the small fuse on the switch, but I think that is for dash lights.

The original harness is pretty much unmolested and looks good , so I hate to rewire unless I just have to.

On a separate not, how do you get the speedo out of the dash? I took the screws out of the front and it's still tight. There must be some studs on the back side. I need to get a better mirror.

 

http://www.tocmp.com/tOCMP/wiring/5765wiring%20diagrams/fordindex.htm

Posted before but the wiring diagram is here.

 

Bob Drake has the tanks availiable if you need one.

Ask for a Ranchero tank.

.As for the sending unit in the tank,I got a regular sending unit for a car and braised the extra long float arm to the car unit.

It was a bitch to calibrate but its finally close enough after 3 adjustments.

Oldmics

 

On the dimmer switch there are three terminals, They look like this


The one on the top is the hot wire from the switch. It should have power when the switch is on. If you have power here you can put a jumper between this terminal and either of the others and the lights should work. This can be checked with a test light and a paper clip. If there is no power at the center terminal the problem is probably the headlight switch or the wiring coming from the switch.

 

I second the dimmer switch. to test weather the gauge or sender is faulty you should be able to ground the sender wire and see the gauge move.

 

Stomp on the dimmer sw a few times, you might be surprised. I bought a used original
sending unit for mine and it works fine. The first thing to go one the H.L. sw is
the rheostat for the dash light. The fuse is for the dome lite if I remember
right. Once you get the wireing diagram and a factory manuel it's real simple.
Good Luck

 

Thanks guys, you rule.

 

I fixed the headlight issue. It was a bad dimmer switch. I also fixed the interior dome light.

Now, I am thinking about changing the HL switch anyway, just to see if that remedies the no dash light issue.

 

It's probably the rheostat in the HL sw. I always have my dash lights up all the way. If you are the same way you can just jump out the dimming rheostat by connecting both wires at the rheostat together eliminating it. HL switches aren't that expensive but I never use the rheostat so I don't miss it.

 

I am hoping I just stumbled onto something. I was looking at the wiring diagram and I noticed that when I changed the fuse on the back of the headlight switch to fix the dome light, that is also the power feed for the gas gauge. Could I get so lucky? Dunno, I'll have to check it when I get home. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

I have to agree with Tommy on this one. The headlight switch is likely the cause of the non-working dash lights. my rheostat went bad too when we messed up reinstalling the switch and fried a good portion of it. Still works, just dash lights full or nothing. New switches are like $30.

I'd love to be more help, but we installed an EZ-Wire kit in mine with a modern GM panel and fuses. What an improvement. Years ago, if the engine was running (electronic ignition) and I had the electric wipers, stereo, and defroster on, it would blow the 30 A fuse behind the headlight switch and everything would go. Now, I roll without worry charging my iPod or using my GPS

 

Yeah I signed up like 2 weeks ago Jeff. They still haven't approved my application. I even emailed the admin guy. No response. I don't really care but I can't search the archives unless you are a member.

 

Man I am stoked. I was right about the fuse. It also fixed the gas gauge!! Now I just need to change the speedo cable and we should be golden.

 

Thanks. The guy finally approved my application. He said he had been swamped by the spambots.