Hello, I am new to this site and so far it has been great. I live in North Carolina and just bought a 1970 F100. As of now the truck runs very good. I am having a problem with the electrical. All outside lights work but brake light does not. most interior lights work except for half of the gauge lights. I have replaced the brake light switch and still nothing. It seems as if the trucks wiring has been rigged so bad that I will never be able to make heads or tails out of it. I have been thinking about replacing all the wires all together just to prevent any other problems. Is this a good or bad idea? Any other solutions or tips? Also I do need to repair/replace some body panels. I have never done this but I am pretty good with my hands. What are some tips for doing this or is there a good website or books out there to help. If I go to buy a welder, what type do I need and which is a good one to use. Thanks for you time

 

For a welder I would suggest a MIG setup by Miller. 110V and 135 Amp minimum for most body work. I work at a Body Shop here in California and all our guys run Miller 135's w/ .023 size wire, and a 75%/25% mix of Argon/Co2 for shielding. Don't let all the numbers confuse you. A half a day of playing with the wire speed and voltage on a mig welder and you will be capable of laying fairly quality welds on various gauges. As for tips on replacing body panels, it all depends on what you are replacing. Whether you are removing all of a panel or are sectioning. If you are going to be working on anything thicker than say 1/4 I would invest in a 220v Mig setup with .035 wire. I am not a body man (run the parts dept here) but have repaired, sectioned, replaced my fair share of sheet metal, but no expert. Take care.

Oh and get an auto-tint helmet. Worth EVERY penny, makes welding a joy not a PITA.

Jay

 

As for a welder I use a Linclon 110v. Your brake lights, are you checking them with the key on? My truck the brake lights do not work unless the key is on.

 

The most common cause of brake and tail lights not working on these old trucks is an old worn out turn signal switch. You see, all the rear end lights are wired through the turn signal since they have to blink on and off. My tail lights and blinkers worked intermittently. I traced wires for days until I got the advice to put in a new switch. Problem solved. I can't tell you how many times I've seen others on this site have the same problem get fixed with the same advice.

 

Jeb, What part of the Tarheel do you live in? If you are close by maybe I can help.

John

 

Jeb: I strongly recommend you get ahold of jowilker (John Wilkerson), even if you think you aren't close by. He is a good man with a great resources available.

He has hosted me in his home, we have broken bread together and he grills the most excellent dead yard bird to boot!

 

I live in the Archdale N.C. area. I'm not to sure where Creedmoor is but Archdale is about 15 min. from greensboro and about one hour from Charlotte.

 

He is north of Raleigh.

 

I had a problem with my left rear turn signal not working on my 70 sport custom, and a new switch with wiring harness in the steering collum fixed that.

 

Jeb, I am off I-85 EX 186. I got some buds having a work day this morning in North Burlington, but I guess it's too late to join that one.

John da picker, I guess your truck should be loaded by now ready to come home to ya. I spoke to Ron for a min. yesterday on the Nextel 2way communicator. I know you will be very happy to have it home again.

John

 

If you want to be able to trouble-shoot these wiring problem and future ones I would suggest you get as complete and specific a wiring diagram as you can for your truck. There isn't many electrical problems you can't figure out with a wiring diagram and one of those test lights that hook to ground and light up when you have 12V.

 

I don't know if all trucks are wired the same anymore but mine have fuses that affect the turn signal, I replaced mine once and I've been fine ever since.

 

Jeb, had the same problem on my pickup, all the running light would work and turn signal lights but no brake lights. I would say check your connections on your brake light fuse in the fuse block, i cleaned mine and pushed the little clips that hold your fuse in a little closer for a tight fight, i think mine were both dirty and loose. hope this helps