I have a 1969 pace car convertible I just bought and it has electrical issues. When you hit the brakes, the interior lights, the front running lights etc. come on. Also, the Generator light comes on when I shut the car off. I am trying to narrow down the problem. I have never owned a Camaro before. Does it seem to be a bad ground or voltage regulator? THe car is bone stock.

 

Sounds like someone who doesnt know about wiring has done some patch-it work. Best thing to do is find a wiring diagram and chase it out.

 

Sounds like you have either a short or bad ground. The factory voltage regulator (mounted on the drivers side of the radiator core support) is a mechanical relay. When the engine is running and with the headlights on, do the lights flicker or does the generator light go on? With your gen. light coming on like it does, I would suspect something wrong with the voltage regulator, or the wiring. The plug connections on the regulator tend to get rusty, so that would be a good place to start. Then possibly replace the regulator if cleaning your wire connections doesn't help. Another problem area is the horn relay, also on the core support. It acts as a junction block, and connections can get corroded there too.

 

My voltage regulator and wiring harness are new. The horn relay too. When I shut the car off, the generator light comes on and the battery will be dead in an hour if left that way. I suspect a bad ground or a faulty electrical device, but am not sure where to look.

 

For the brakes making lights come on, pull just the 2 brake light bulbs and see if lights still come on when you step on brakes

 

A ground completes an electrical current. If you`ve got lights on when not suppose to be and generator light on when car is off, there is power somewhere it is not supposed to be.

 

Sometimes a bad ground will cause crazy stuff to happen cause the power will start to back feed thru other live circuits. Normally when I would get a work order that sounded like what you described I would verify all the grounds where good witha quick voltage drop test and if it was lights only issue I verifed the correct bulbs where used. CHecking for water in the sockets when you check the bulbs is a good idea.

If you do not have a schematic you will need to map your fuse box. Pull all the fuse using a test light note what has power Key on and Key off. Now hook all the fuse back in and pull them on at a time. See if any of them have power coming it where is supposed to be going out. THis will only show an issue if you have seprate circuits crossed.

 

Your battery going dead as the car sits would not be from a bad ground. But a short will cause a power current draw to kill the battery. I would disconnect the power lead from the back of the alternator and see if your battery still goes dead. I'm suspecting a possible bad diode inside the alternator. One of the diodes functions is to keep power from the battery from back-feeding through the alternator, and killing the battery. If the battery doesn't die after disconnecting the alternator, then that means your alternator has an internal short (that would also explain your generator light being on). Take the alternator in to get checked, then you can decide to either rebuild or replace it.

 

Thank you for the info on the alternator. It makes sense. Can someone tell me where the ground for the tail lights is attached to the body? I am convinced that the running and instrument lights are coming on because the stop lights are not grounding.

 

The socket is the ground, did you try just pulling both brake light bulbs out and seeing if the dash and running lights still come on when you step on brake pedal?