<VV> funny (IMHO) story about working on my Vair'

[Rick Norris]

I think we have a contender for the Bohunk Award!
Rick Norris
#36 Sunoco Corvair
www.corvairalley.com


> This morning I decided I was finally going to straighten up all the extra 
> wiring under my dash and make it nice and neat (wires from my stereo 
> system, GPS, etc.)
>
> Many of you will know where this is going long before the end!  =P
>
>
>
> While under the dash I found a wire that was not connected to anything.... 
> I traced it and found that it was connected to a trunk light (luggage 
> compartment), obviously with the wire disconnected the light was inop so I 
> hadn't noticed it before.  The wire just went straight to the light 
> fixture...  all in plain sight except for where it runs inside the hood.. 
> no switch etc.
>
> I thought a little about how I wanted to wire this thing up for best 
> convenience and finally decided I wanted it to work even with the key off. 
> I hooked the wire directly to 12v.... but the light didnt come on, so I 
> went to the trunk to fiddle with the fixture.
>
> I removed the one screw holding it in place and observed that the fixture 
> only had a single lead so I hooked a jumper to it and connected to ground.
>
> I removed the bulb and found that it was burnt out, so I replaced it... 
> but still no light.
>
> I spent the next hour checking things...  first I made sure my ground was 
> good.. it was...   Next I started testing the 12V wire at various points 
> to see where the problem was...  but I seemed to have 12v everywhere... 
> after fiddling around for a minute I even got 12v from the socket... odd.
>
> I put the bulb in and twisted it back and forth and wiggled it.. it 
> flashed a couple times then VOILA!!! it came on steady!  I reinstalled it 
> in the lid and moved on to the next step.........
>
> At this point the light was just connected directly to "always hot" 12v... 
> I was lucky enough to find a door switch among the junk in my garage... 
> disconnected the battery and set to installing the switch.
>
> I wired the switch into the 12v line and JB welded it to a convenient spot 
> inside the trunk... then let it harden.
>
> Next I reconnected the battery.... light on..  depressed the switch with 
> my finger... light off.... so far so good!
>
> After that it was time to check the placement of the switch.....   I 
> started closing the hood slowly and.... the light went out long before the 
> lid contacted the switch... what the heck????
>
> I lifted the lid back up... the light came back on.....   halfway down... 
> the light went off again...  I spent a few minutes looking for a bad spot 
> in the wire... jiggling it around etc...  but the light didnt blink.... 
> it only went out when I lowered the lid.....    WAIT A MINUTE!!!!  I 
> traced the wire again....  nope...  definitely no switch in the line....
>
> At this point it occured to me that maybe it was the ground that was 
> switched...  I checked my shop manual and couldnt find any reference to 
> it...  I went over to my disassembled 65' and looked at the hinge 
> assemblies...  all metal.. no way the ground could be switched.....
>
> Time for Google!!!!  I just came upstairs and quickly found the answer 
> online....  an angle switch built right into the little tiny fixture... 
> who'da thunk it?
>
> So now I know why the new bulb didnt work at first (the fixture was 
> dangling and tripped the angle switch), I spent all that time installing a 
> redundant door switch...... and a LOT more time troubleshooting a 
> non-existent problem =P
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Ray Rodriguez III
> click here for a pic of me and my car 
> http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/Swiftblade13/?action=view&current=sigphoto3.jpg
> Lake Ariel, PA
> CORSA member
> 66' Corsa 140/4 hot rodded coupe
> 65' Corsa 140/4 coupe (under construction)
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