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

[Dave Thompson]

Ray,
I have lamps both in the front trunk and rear engine compartment. Both have
mercury switches built in. I have installed small toggle switches in line
with the 12v lamp lead and hid the switches. That way, if I need to keep the
lid open for a while (car show) I can turn off the lamp. The front switch is
mounted on the side of the front latch bracket. The rear switch is mounted
on the hood stay bracket.

Dave Thompson

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Rodriguez III [mailto:ravensong13 at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:21 AM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: <VV> funny (IMHO) story about working on my Vair'

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=sigp
hoto3.jpg
Lake Ariel, PA
CORSA member
66' Corsa 140/4 hot rodded coupe
65' Corsa 140/4 coupe (under construction)