[Bill Hanlon]

The page 14-5 drawing of the turn signals and the switch agrees with what I said earlier, even showing 3 different drawings of the turn signal switch. One for left turn, one off and the 3rd for right turn.

[Safari Larry]

I screwed up saying "For electric wiper, see page 14-7". Electric wipers was not offered in 55.

When I read description of the electric wiper, I was looking at the 56 Shop Manual Accessories Section (LINK) on page 14-7

[Bill Hanlon]

I'm assuming Parkman51 doesn't have an ohmmeter and/or doesn't know how to use one. So .....

Remove both wires from the brake light switch.

Put a new, proper sized fuse into #9.

Does the fuse immediately blow?

If yes ...
... the problem is between the fuse and the dome light/trunk light. If you can find the connector with an orange box around it and unplug (or unscrew??) it, put in a new fuse and try again. Let me know results and we can continue down this path.

If no ...
... the problem is between the brake light switch and the brake lights. Let me know results and we can continue down this path.

I've fixed one oversight and added the orange box in this new version of the wiring diagram.

[Parkman51]

Lot of good information today. Bill's color-coded tracing of the wires was extremely helpful also, and you're right - 3 and 9 don't connect. Yet somehow the trunk light still comes on (???) when the parking lights are on, despite supposedly being on fuse 9. Perhaps at some point it was rewired into a different circuit? There's another weird thing about the trunk as well - it has two wires going into it, one of which dead-ends. See photos below, as well as a connector that seems to feed the trunk light wire currently. This connector doesn't appear to unplug or unscrew, it seems to be a type of permanent clamp fitting.



I did the recommended test - removing the wires to the stop light switch, and the fuse burnt out again immediately. (There's also a disconnected spring hanging around in there for some reason, but it didn't touch anything.)



Also filled and installed the air cleaner!

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Parkman51

Today's two questions:
2) Can I modify my existing wiper switch to work with the electric motor? It already has the necessary hookups for the vacuum washer, and using a new electric switch would, I assume, require modifications to that system.

Originally Posted by Safari Larry

I don't know. For 56, the same vacuum switch was used for the electric wiper motor. I suspect 55 used the same wiper switch as 56. Your wiper motor may be different than the original 56 Pontiac wiper motor.

Hi Parkman, I had the same issue in my ongoing restoration: I wanted to use the original (vacuum) wiper switch with the electrical motor. Since parts are very hard to get here in Germany, I modified the original vacuum wiper switch to still use it with the electrical wiper motor and keep the original look.

Take a look here in my thread, there are pictures and also a small video how it works:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...8&postcount=14

In fact I constructed an adapter for the backside and 3D-printed it, and the two small switches are from Amazon for around 10EUR. A few small screws and a stopper from a bike brake cable - that was the whole magic

I can send you the 3d-printfiles if you like to do it the same way, it works very good.

[Safari Larry]

Top for your air cleaner now up for bid on ebay. Surface rust but I don't see any dents. These are hard to find.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/28707019322...3223&recoPos=4

[Parkman51]

More progress today.

The clock: now correctly regulated (hasn't lost or gained a minute since I tweaked it earlier today) has been running for two or three days at this point. Mission successful!

The speedometer: another brief run around the neighborhood demonstrates that it is not improved at all. After the run I took off the connection at the transmission, and tried to turn the cable from there, but it was so stiff that I could not do it at all by hand.

The brakes: I now have brake fluid leaking from the rear passenger wheel without visible cause. I'll take the wheel off tomorrow and look, but I expect a blown wheel cylinder.

The weatherstripping: after today's exercise I backed the car into the garage and removed the old weatherstrip from the rear passenger door. The passenger weatherstripping will be a project for the next week of evenings, I suspect.

Today's two questions, therefore...
1) if it's not a kinked or dry cable, what else could be causing the bouncy/jittering speedometer? Did I not use enough grease, and I should just load it up instead of the thin coat I tried previously? I noticed that the "collar" on the cable is on the speedometer side instead of the transmission side, if that matters.
2) Before I order a new rear wheel cylinder and brake hose, is there anything else that could cause a brake fluid leak from the inside of the wheel?

[Jack Gifford]

With the cable removed from the speedometer is the speedometer also difficult to turn? Use something that simulates the square cable end, maybe a small screwdriver. If the speedometer turns easily, then a new cable is needed. And possibly the cable sheath also.

[Bill Hanlon]

Originally Posted by Parkman51

More progress today.
The speedometer: another brief run around the neighborhood demonstrates that it is not improved at all. After the run I took off the connection at the transmission, and tried to turn the cable from there, but it was so stiff that I could not do it at all by hand.

This is memories from working on speedometer cables in the early 1960s, so it may not be correct:

I think the "collar" is supposed to be on the speedometer end like yours is and therefore the cable "loads" into the sheath from under the dash.

Try disconnecting both ends of the cable and see if it is easy to turn. It should be. If it turns easy the problem is in the speedometer. If not the cable is causing grief.

I remember using powdered graphite, not "grease" on speedo cables. Grease tends to get sticky after a few decades. I don't know how to remove the grease.

[Bill Hanlon]

Are you sure picture 4 is the stop light switch? It doesn't look like what I expect it to.

You didn't say, but given A/C, the under hood and trunk lights, and automatic transmission I assume the car has turn signals. The fuse blowing with the brake light switch disconnected says the problem is not down that path.

When you say "the trunk light still comes on (???) when the parking lights are on" does the trunk light stay on when the headlights are on?

Try pulling fuses one at a time and checking for operation of the trunk light to see where it gets its power.

[Parkman51]

Unless you mean a different switch, this is the switch under the steering column which interfaces with the brake pedal. CPR shows that it's the correct replacement part as well. On a related note, it's GREAT to hear that the problem isn't with the stop lights or turn signal - you know, the things I actually need. I don't mind losing the courtesy lights for a bit until I track the problem down. Do you think I ought to remove all the lightbulbs (2 courtesy lights, dome light) and try a fuse again, on the chance that the fault is downstream of one of the lights, or is it likely that the fault is upstream?

The trunk light I traced to fuse 3, actually - would explain why it activates when the taillights are on.

I do have an ohmmeter, but am inexperienced in its use.

[Bill Hanlon]

It is very unlikely that a bulb would develop a short. At least not for long. So removing all the bulbs and trying again is likely fruitless.

But the more I think about it, maybe a bulb is sitting wrong in its socket and shorting the contact to the case which is ground. It shouldn't take long to try. Pull all the bulbs, put in a new fuse and see if the fuse blows. If it blows you have a wiring problem between the fuse and the switches.

If the fuse holds turn on the dome light switch.
.................If the fuse still holds install the dome lamp.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,If the lamp lights consider yourself lucky.

Now do the same thing with the trunk lamp.


The reason I thought that was the wrong switch is the way the switch is drawn on the wiring diagram. There it looks identical to the brake light switch that GM used in their Chevy and GMC trucks.

[Jack Gifford]

The "connector" in the 3rd photo is one of those hated aftermarket items to tap a second wire into an existing wire. Never used by manufacturers, they typically cut into some of the strands of a stranded wire, reducing its load carrying ability.

[Parkman51]

I got it, I got it! And it was SO DUMB the whole time, of course it would be:

The trunk light being on fuse 3 instead of fuse 9 was the key to the whole problem. Obviously, since that is true, a modification must have been made to the wiring at some point, since that no longer adheres to the diagram. This would immediately explain why there are TWO wires going to the trunk - one is the original wire, now out of service for some reason, and one is the replacement wire, connected to the taillight circuit.

Since this fuse issue occurred almost at the same time I figured out the trunk light the first time, it dawned on me that something must have happened to the old trunk wire that was now shorting the circuit. I investigate - and lo and behold, the old trunk wire had snapped under the trunk lid hinge, so that when I closed the trunk, the live end of the wire touched the hinge, shorting the circuit.

So I clipped the end of the wire flush and taped it, labeling it appropriately (so that I can rewire the trunk light correctly in the future), and inserted the last remaining fuse in the 4-pack I purchased - and everything worked!

And yes, Jack, I've added 'rewire trunk light' to the list of Things to Do. I highly disapprove of such high-handed and inefficient doings, especially when you lose functionality over it (the trunk light SHOULD always come on when the trunk is open, not just when the parking lights are on).

[Parkman51]

Today's two questions:
1) What fuse/circuit should I connect the electric wiper motor to? I checked the '56 shop manual, but didn't see a wiring diagram for it.
2) Can I modify my existing wiper switch to work with the electric motor? It already has the necessary hookups for the vacuum washer, and using a new electric switch would, I assume, require modifications to that system.

[Parkman51]

So...
Maybe all the clock needed was oiling. I fully removed the mechanism today and inspected it (ingenious, in the traditionally understated 1950s analog way).

After studying it for an hour or so, and being more impressed the more I looked, and after I gently scraped the contacts (which looked to be in pretty good shape), the WD-40 had penetrated its way everywhere it needed to, and it was ticking somewhat reliably. Back into the car it went, and when I reconnected the fuse, I heard the happy little whirr of the winding mechanism, and now the car ticks like a time bomb. I'm going to leave it overnight, and if it's still running tomorrow, I'll put the securing bends back into the case and make all fast.

A note of history. This clock was made, according to the stamp on the back of the case, by the New Haven Clock and Watch Company, which was formed in 1853, and remained in business until filing for bankruptcy in 1956. The company was finally broken up in 1960.



See yesterday's post for questions.

[Safari Larry]

Good job on getting the clock working! You are doing great with solving problems.

Originally Posted by Parkman51

1) What fuse/circuit should I connect the electric wiper motor to? I checked the '56 shop manual, but didn't see a wiring diagram for it.

According to the 56 Shop Manual, the electric wipers are not connected to any existing fuse but use a 30 amp inline fuse. Instructions for your electric wiper should tell you what amperage you should use. I think you want to connect it to the ignition ACC circuit so that they work only when the ignition is turned on. Probably the easiest place to attach it would be at the ACC contact on the ignition switch. Or you could attach it to the backside (FEED SIDE) of the fuse panel at the yellow wire.

2) Can I modify my existing wiper switch to work with the electric motor? It already has the necessary hookups for the vacuum washer, and using a new electric switch would, I assume, require modifications to that system.

I don't know. For 56, the same vacuum switch was used for the electric wiper motor. I suspect 55 used the same wiper switch as 56. Your wiper motor may be different than the original 56 Pontiac wiper motor.

[Safari Larry]

I looked up the wiper switch in the Master Parts Catalog and different switches were used in 55/56.

[Bill Hanlon]

One more thing about the clock ....

Some of the clocks of this era had a feature where if you set the clock forward it would slightly speed up the mechanism because it assumed the clock was running slow. If you set the clock backward it would slightly slow down the mechanism because it assumed the clock was running fast. Don't know for sure that 55 Pontiac clocks work this way, but many of the era did.

[Parkman51]

Good news today! I took a short drive around the neighborhood, and almost everything worked properly.

Two things did not: first, the speedometer (which for obvious reasons has been heretofore untested) - it bounced/jittered around wildly instead of reading a consistent speed, like it was partially sticking.

Second, the car has to be cranked for a long time before it starts. I don't mean it thinks about starting for a while and just needs to get warm, no, when it gets gas it catches and comes to life with an endearing enthusiasm - but it takes a good ten seconds at least of cranking for it to get there.

Update on the clock: it's not all-the-way fixed, because it still stops sometimes, but it did run for five hours straight last night, and a tap on the face started it again. So that's close enough for now, and it'll go on the longer-term project list. Bill, the mechanism looked simple enough not to have the auto-increase/auto-decrease ability, but I can't be sure.

Update on the wiper motor: the 55 and 56 switches seems to be one of those odd parts that no one really seems to have. I think I'm first going to see if I can figure out a way to run the electric motor off the original analog extension wire, but that is quite far out of my wheelhouse, so we'll see if I come up with a better idea after sitting on it for a few days.

Today's two questions:
1) How do I fix the speedometer?
2) What's going on with the long crank, and what should I do to address that?