The further adventures of #2613

[Farrar]

Why not install another 134a adapter? You can get them with or without a valve.

Hervey used a (no-valve) brass adapter — supposedly better than the aluminum ones that I see for sale everywhere, and yet somehow that cracked.

Another adapter seems like a temporary solution to a long-term problem. But if it gets me through until the weather cools down, I may consider it.

[Ron]

Hervey used a (no-valve) brass adapter — supposedly better than the aluminum ones that I see for sale everywhere, and yet somehow that cracked.

Another adapter seems like a temporary solution to a long-term problem. But if it gets me through until the weather cools down, I may consider it.

Since you may have a leak and need to evacuate the system to get the correct charge anyway, I think a good permanent solution would be to remove the valve and install a good adapter that includes the valve.

[Farrar]

Since you may have a leak and need to evacuate the system to get the correct charge anyway, I think a good permanent solution would be to remove the valve and install a good adapter that includes the valve.

Agreed. I never liked that "Schrader valve pressing on another Schrader valve" wonkiness I've seen on some cars' adapted systems.

[Farrar]

Having replaced one side's brake lights with really bright LEDs, I asked my wife to see what the difference in brightness was when I stepped on the brake pedal. She said there was no difference. Uh oh. I thanked her for her service, found a jumper wire and jumped the brake switch to inspect the lights myself. Not a single brake light is coming on, not even the new third brake light.

I pulled Fuse #4 and it was fine. So I pulled every other fuse in the fuse box and inspected it. They're all fine — which leads me to suspect that the brake light circuit was modified by the DPO, or there's a hidden fuse somewhere. The Technical Manual's wiring diagram shows Fuse #4 for all of the rear lights except for the reverse lamps. On my car, that is obviously incorrect: the directional indicators are still functioning normally.

I inspected the rear wiring harness and found that (1) it was routed incorrectly, and (2) it had been damaged. I unwrapped the harness and found that the ground wire was melted in three places. The previous owner had simply wrapped some electrical tape on it. That won't fly with me. I removed the damaged portion of the ground wire and replaced it. This was not the cause of my brake light failure, but it was bound to cause problems sooner or later. I used my normal crimp-solder-seal method and re-wrapped the harness in high temperature cloth tape. (I really like that stuff.)

There's plenty of slack in that rear wiring harness, so maybe the previous owner got confused and thought it was supposed to lie on top of the coolant expansion tank. Anyway, after re-wrapping the harness, I routed it beneath the expansion tank and the coolant pipe/hose that's fixed to the pontoon at that point, then pushed a few inches of that slack through the rear grommet. Now working on the taillights is not nearly as difficult: there's more room to pull them out before disconnecting them. An unexpected improvement!

Since I had my soldering iron out and more slack in the harness, I took the opportunity to improve something I did when I was young and didn't know any better: I removed the ScotchLok where the third brake light's +12v feed was tied in umpteen years ago and soldered the feed to the green/purple brake light wire, then sealed it with tape. I know that will never be a cause of brake light failure now.

And then back to the mysterious missing brake lights. I backprobed the black bulkhead connector to see if +12v was on the purple/green wire. Zero. I suspect, as mentioned above, a hidden fuse. I'll have to do some more sleuthing, but for now I'm calling it a day. In the meantime, if anyone knows where the fuse is hiding, please by all means chime in and make my next troubleshooting day shorter. LOL

[Ron]

Look near the brake pedal.

[CFI]

Look near the brake pedal.

+1 some early cars had a brake light fuse near the brake pedal.

[Farrar]

Look near the brake pedal.

+1 some early cars had a brake light fuse near the brake pedal.

Thanks, y'all! I stuck my flashlight and head down in the footwell and didn't see anything. I'll pull the console for a better look.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Thanks, y'all! I stuck my flashlight and head down in the footwell and didn't see anything. I'll pull the console for a better look.

It's a little glass fuse in the harness near the drivers right foot. Look for that type of fuse holder.

[Ron]

+1 ...I should of said gas pedal -- no need to pull the console!

[Farrar]

It's a little glass fuse in the harness near the drivers right foot. Look for that type of fuse holder.

+1 ...I should of said gas pedal -- no need to pull the console!

I dunno guys, I disconnected the brake light switch and followed both wires back a bit with my fingers and didn't feel anything. Maybe I'll take the seat out so I can get more than just my head and one arm down there. (I really hate working in the driver's footwell. LOL)