Hello, Im new to this site, hoping to find some good advise, heres my problem, I have a 65 impala and all electical and lights have always worked great, last night the dash,dome,tail/brake,inside trunk lights all stopped working, the head lights still work, as does everything else wipers,heat,radio,etc. I checked all the fuses and bulbs and are all good, I looked for cut or damaged wires, found nothing, when I touch a tester light to the taillight fuse it doesnt light up on either end of the fuse so makes me think juice isnt even getting to that spot of the fuse box, cant figure where else Im missing here, I didnt think all those different lights would be all together, but when I put the turn signal on the taillights work for that, so Im lost, Any help would be apprectiated, Thanks

You probably have either a rotted wire on the back of the fuse pannel on the bulkhead connector or blew a fusable link. You need to start tracing wires. Your life will be much easier if you can source a wiring diagram.

Chet

Thanks, is there anywhere online to see a diagram? Ive looked for one but havent found one, guess Ill start by pulling the fuse box off and checkin the wirers behind it, Thanks again

well I pulled the fuse box off and all the wires look good, I again tested it with a light tester now on the back of the box and still nothing on either end, all the other fuse holders light up, its like a darker green wire and a gray wire going to that fuse, once they lead into the bunch of other wires I loose where they go, this is so frustrating

Check the wiring at the ignition switch and also the fuse links by the starter


Chet

I am absolutely not an auto wiring expert. If all the bulbs and fuses are O.K. then there is not a short in the system. Is it possible you've lost connection on a ground wire? That would make the lights stop working without blowing bulbs or fuses. It could be that you have a corroded ground wire that is still solid but not grounding at its attachment point, or a wire that was connected to the sheet metal and it rotted away around the connection.

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Dont think it is a ground, he said he has no power at eiter side of the fuse that feeds the lights. Most likely a blown or disconnected fusable link. I have seen several times where someone missed one wire when reconnecting the starter. Not sure where the links are on a 65, some feed off the starter and some are tied in elsewhere, he needs a diagram.


Chet

Thanks for all the advise guys, Im still lookin into finding a diagram, my one buddy said there is a relay in the horn line some where? I havent had a chance to look yet, but I did notice that the horn was no longer working that day, so that all must be connected somewhere, said there should be somthing on the fenderwell and some block on the firewall, any of this sound familiar? Thanks again

man I still havent figured this out!!! I traced all the wires everything seems fine, I think I found my horn relay that my buddy said might be the problem, here is a pic, is this it? it seems to be getting juice so that is good

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and this was a box right next to that relay had a 4 wire connector (where green arrows are) but it was not connected, and didnt do anything when I did connect it, just curious what this thing is??

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I have been watching this for a day or 2 now---

You say your headlights work just fine----this is a great starting point

Now we know power is getting to the headlight switch--good thing.
(can pretty much eliminate anything outside the interior now)

Your headlight switch may or may not have 2 power wires, one of these wires, a larger gage, will feed the headlights ONLY!!!
The other smaller wire will feed the tail/park/dash circuits.

If only one power wire---it may be branched to another terminal on the headlight switch.

The headlight switch is actually 2 separate switches operated by a common rod.

In the first position----only the park/tail/dash come on-----this is one switch
In the second position---the headlights come on----- tail remain on because the contact is larger inside the switch. Park lamps usually go off with the headlights on in vehicles before 68.

I would venture to guess that your headlight switch is has lost the wiper for the tail/park circuit.

I have a 66 diagram somewhere, but cannot locate it now.
I have posted a later 60s switch diagram here in the forum, but it is for a switch that keeps the park lamps on with the headlights.

I would suggest a new switch-----and also suggest a later GM switch to keep the park lamps on with the headlights (69+)(safety thing).

Oh----your pic is of a voltage regulator.

And if your wiring has not been seriously modified, there will be only one power wire into the car.
This will be a larger red or black wire that is attatched to the horn relay.

Thank you for all that info , what I ended up doing for now was I ran a Hot wire to the brake switch by the pedel and everything came back on, So I ran a inline fuse just incase, but I hope this was ok to do, going out driving tonight, hope I have no problems

The horn relay was used as a junction point on a lot of the older GM vehicles. Did you look down by the starter to see if anything was disconnected. I would pull the fuse box apart again if you dont have a diagram and trace the wire that is feeding that fuse. You will probably need to untape the harness. The temporary fix you did, is not a good idea. If there is a weak connection somewhere causing your issue you just added more current potential to it to generate heat. The problem you have should be easy to find. There are places on line that sell diagrams for less than 10 bucks if you cant find one for free. Sometimes when wires rot out or you have bad connections, it can still be confusing even with a diagram.
If it was my car I would just open up that harness to inspect it, fix whatever is wrong and tape it back up. The wiring in those 60"s cars is very simple due to the limited electrical needs. You already found the problem, no power at the fuse, you just need to find the cause.

Chet

he has no power at the fuse and the headlight switch would not effect the brake lights

Chet