C3 Electrical Problem

[don justham]

My 1970 COrvette COnvertible has a ground problem in the electrical circuit. The front right park/turn light will not come on and none of the interior/courtesy lights will come on. I can skin back one of the wires on the front park light and ground it out and it comes on. All other outside lights already work. In the interior all gauge lights work but the courtesy lights don't. I am thinking that there must be a ground wire off somewhere. The AIM says that a ground wire should attach on the drivers side under the kick panel but I dont have one there. I also see a screw with no ground but a broken off wire terminal behind the passenger seat. The problem is I can't find a wire that is dangling that says "ground me". Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Harmon C.]

Re: C3 Electrical Problem

The ground wire behind the passenger seat should go to the switch at the rear of the door frame to ground the switch. The wire may be inside near the switch with the other wires as this switch has 3 wires. The drivers side has one also. Lyle

[Jim T.]

Re: C3 Electrical Problem

Don have you removed the bulb for the parking lamp/turn signal and inspected the holder for corrision?

[don justham]

Re: C3 Electrical Problem

I checked both switches at the back of the door frame and they only have two wires, not three coming out of the switch. Thus I don't know hot to ground them. There are only two wires coming off the front ones as well. How do I ground them? Should the front courtesy lamps have a wire frame around them that will ground into the metal lamp holder? DO the switches at the back of the door frame serve any different purpose than the ones at the front of the door frame? Help.

[Wayne W.]

Re: C3 Electrical Problem

The switches at the back of the door are for the door ajar. The switches in the front jams are for the interior lamps. The wires to the switches should be white maybe with black tracers. The way they work is, the switch screws into the metal part of the jam, which is the ground. The wire automaticly grounds when the door is open. Then the only thing that you have to do to check the system is to ground those white wires.

[Harmon C.]

Re: C3 Electrical Problem

The front switches ground as Wayne said. The rear switches need to be grounded by a wire because the mounting plate is attached to fiberglass.If you have an alarm it is wired to the rear switch and also the door adjar light. Newer models from dec.73 on have a wire spot welded to the plate and a two wire switch. Older models have a switch that is round that has three wires in it and one is the ground. If a 70 would not have the optional alarm I do not know how many wires you would have but you need a ground. Lyle

[Harmon C.]

Typo on date of ground change.

Switch and ground change date was Dec 1972 not 73. Lyle