Steering column parts

[wayne petty]

the wiring for the dimmer switch is the same on the column or floor mounted switches......

i did also find the 86 s10 factory manual... i still have not found the page for the trans area wiring .... yet...

the wiring diagrams in this are several pages long and there are several pages...  and they are not the easy to read format.......

when someone ask about the differnces between the years i was thinking of hard parts not electrical parts..

wayne...

[enjenjo]

Ok, the swich for a 75, or 86, ot 94, is the same basic switch. The articulation of the handle to do other functions is done outside the turn signal switch. With a little imagintaion, you could fabricate a handle that eliminates the other functions, but it's kind of over kill.

[wayne petty]

ok... lets go back and start from scratch....

turn signal input wires...( i will have to fill in colors later)

switched ign to brake light switch.. to the stop light input wire..?white?
switched ign to a flasher to the turn signal input wire
15 amp fused battery to a flasher to the hazard input...
once in a while there is a grey wire to feed a bulb in the shift quadrant...
?it is also possable that cornering lights are wired into higher end products..  these fill several more openings..  and could be really handy in a hot rod... they can operate an 1156 - 32 cp bulb to illumanate the side of the road in the turn...

outputs...
right front and right turn indicator
left front and left turn indicator

right rear
left rear

horn... actually this wire is pulled to ground when the horn button is pushed... this closes the relay and energizes the horn...


for the dimmer switch... there are usually 3 terminals... one input from the head light switch..
and 2 outputs... high and low...   on some there is a forth terminal... this is from switched fused power and is the flash to pass circut..


for wipers.. you have vacuum.. so the point is moot.. except.. for everybody else..

i will have to add later... for variable delay wiper switches... there is a carbon resistor in there and that type of wiper switch will only work with a delay type wiper motor...

the non delay switch can be wired in a normal fashion... there is also a washer circut in the plug so be carefull of that ...

for the ignition switches... there are usually 2 or 3 power inputs...

and outputs to the

starter solenoid... purple wire...
ignition 1 goes to the hei or + coil...
ign 2 goes to other accessorys.. like the alternator and gauges..
on most there is a circut that i am not familiar with... it is involved with turning on all the idiot lights during cranking..

more info.... on ignition switches that came on a point type car and some non gm applications...  the ign 1 breaks the circut when the switch is in the cranking position...  this allows the circut to be powered via the bypass circut from the starter solenoid R term or starter relay I terminal...

in switches from hei apps... it does not break the circut...

ign 2 ... again in some apps breaks the circut to non needed during cranking items...

if there is an ign 3 this is usually power when the ign is in the run or crank position... this keeps the computer powered up...  fords keep the power on for 10 seconds after the key is shut off... gm's do a simular thing to retract the IAC plunger to 145iac counts... this lets the engine start at fastest idle... then it slows it right down depending on coolant temp...

the accessorys term may or may not break when in the crank position..  it is also the only one that can be powered up when the key is turned to the accessory postion...  fully the other way from crank

some if not all have a jumper section... that is probably the section that turns on the bulb check somehow...

when installing one of these in a hot rod..  it might be a good idea to see which has full time power and which turn off when in crank position...

mullti terminal dash mounted ign switches have a ground pin to do a simular function..   this is why in many older models there is a steel plate behind the dash with a ground wire on it.. and another ground plate and wire behind the dash mounted headlamp switch...

i have had certain watery hole in the ground brand ign switches that would not cycle through the positions easily and require enough torque that it breaks parts in the mechanical parts of the ign switch to lock cylinder mechinism... a really big oops... i did complain and have not had to install another lately..


so ask a more pointed question... not which parts.. are differnt... i cannot tell what you are thinking...

[GPster]

i did also find the 86 s10 factory manual... i still have not found the page for the trans area wiring ....yet wayne...

The Eauto diagram does show the trans wiring. Just the 2 wires. One goes towards the computor and the other one goes to a stop switch. One little problem that I've had is although the harness is intact and there was a "clip on" with the right wires it didn't clip to anything. When I traced the wires from their start it led to what was supposed to be a "stop switch" in the diagram That made sense but because it wasn't there I was confussed. Then I looked for the brake lights. They had different colors and they went to a "stop LIGHT switch" that only had two terminals and was on a different page of the diagram. I checked out the pedal assembly and there was a second hole there so maybe there was a second switch. Went to Auto Zone to get the switch I thought I was missing and talked to a kid there that surprisingly understood what I was talking about and was smart enough about the problem to tell me I was wrong. There evidently is a 4 terminal switch and he had one. Looked good (but his computor must have jumped a coupple years) so I bought it. My plugs didn't fit the terminals so I took it back and researched it further. The computor jumped again from '87 to '89 but we caught it and went back to '87 and got a different (correct?) number that they didn't have. The second try should be there today. Can 2 different switch names on 2 different wiring diagram pages with 2 different functions be this double duty single item?.I'll see. GPster

[wayne petty]

brake light switches with 4 terminals...
and mounted above that is another cruise control switch... usually a vacuum switch sometimes not...

4 pin brake light switch...  with the brake pedal depressing the plunger...
one pair of terminals ..usually straight through from the plunger is open when the plunger is depressed... and is the stop light circut..

the pair on the side.. is normaly closed when the plunger is depressed... this interupts the torque converter clutch circut...  so when you step on the brake  pedal the car can stop without killing the motor with the tcc still locked up

[GPster]

brake light switches with 4 terminals...
and mounted above that is another cruise control switch... usually a vacuum switch sometimes not...4 pin brake light switch...  with the brake pedal depressing the plunger...one pair of terminals ..usually straight through from the plunger is open when the plunger is depressed... and is the stop ligh the pair on the side.. is normaly closed when the plunger is depressed... this interupts the torque converter clutch circut...  so when you step on the brake  pedal the car can stop without killing the motor with the tcc still locked up

That's what I hoped. Right now I'm going to church and pray for it. Then I'll check at Auto Zone and see if "I shallb be Released". GPster

[enjenjo]

Some neutral safety switches have 5 terminals. two  for the neutral switch, two for back up lights, and one for the computer to sense when the trans is in park.

[GPster]

Mine's the old style with just 4 terminals/2 circuits . NSS and back-up lights. But I haven't figured out if the computor cares how I'm sitting in my seat yet. It may be just the buzzer to tell me I'm doing it wrong. GPster

[wayne petty]

the computer in later models cares.... it controls which air bag device it blows up in your face...    no pop, medium pop, big pop.... sensors in the seat bases..  they can almost tell how much you ate for lunch....  should  you spill something onto the seat.... oops... there goes the airbags...

not really... a bunch of things have to go off before they blow up ...

if you really want to see something... put a timing light on it...  let it idle in park....  put your foot on the brake... see what happens to the timing..
put it in drive and see what happens...

i dont remember on the chevy versions.. but on the buick v6's the timing can jump from 15 to 25 to 45 to 50 btdc without touching the throttle ... just by depressing the brake pedal and dropping in drive...hit the throttle and it drops back then advances again... on a chassie dyon it;s fun to watch...
a long time ago one shop had a chassie dyno left over from smog testing .. the smog check guy was a friend ... and he showed me...
he used to love it when i would stop by with my gto...  i could peg the dyno... he used to get a big kick out of it... i never payed attention to what the max number was... 200, 250, 300hp...  it was a claton for bar 80 testing here in ca....

[GPster]

I hope the guy looking for parts for tilt steering columns found what he wanted. I'm learning more than I ever thought by stealing his post. GPster

[model a vette]

Here is a list of wires from my 88 Celebrity column. The same colors/functions run for many years before and a few afterward.

88 GM column wiring

E - tan from drivers door switch" for key buzzer ground with door open
F -Light green from "key in ign switch" warning buzzer
G - black to horn switch
H- Light blue to left front turn signal and left turn dash indicator
J - Dark Blue to right front turn signal and right turn dash indicator
K - Brown from hazard flasher
L - Purple from turn flasher
M - Yellow to left rear turn signal/brake light bulb
N - Dark Green to right rear turn signal/brake light bulb
P - White from brake light switch

The letters refer to the positions on the stock plug. The letters are cast into the plastic next to each wire.

[GPster]

I'm hoping to eliminate E, F, and K. Those and the "Convience (alarm) Center". The Hazzard lights don't interest me either and as near as I can tell none of those circuits have feeds to the computor. I hate to make these switches less than they are (cutting wires) if there was an earlier switch that didn't have any more than what I wanted. I don't want to hoard the parts but this whole discussion started with someone looking for a place to buy parts. I think there are more S10s than '48 Willys Jeepsters with tilt steering columns but I may be totally out of touch. I advertised a good pair of S10 doors for weeks and got no calls so I decided to take them to the "Crusher" with some other junk. While I was waiting to get weighed out empty I saw three whole S10 cab waiting their turn to be unloaded. GPster