my break lights went out this week, all the fuses are good , t he break light swtch located by the break pedal is good , i have no voltage at wires that connect to the break switch. does anybody have any idea what is going on here , the wiring diagrams on this web site are not detailed to be of any help, if anybody has a complete 1980 shay wiring dig, name your price, no problem, would appreciate your help.

John Curea

Check your fuse panel. It should be middle fuse (F5) on left side of fuse panel. This is from a Pinto/Bobcat wiring diagram package which I purchased on ebay. Let me know if it helps. Cecil

Shay wiring diagrams available in the ANGELFIRE section.

http://www.angelfire.com/modelshaytaz/index.html

Reggie

JOHN: Biggest problem with auto electrics is GROUND. Worse on Shay with so much fiberglass. A good place to start.... LOL DAVE SHANK

John,

I overlooked that you tried the wiring diagrams in ANGELFIRE as not being detailed enough....I have another 2 pages of wiring diagrams that are "hand-written" and they could be the same or different....Need an e-mail address to send to you.

Reading what Dave Shank wrote, reminds me when I was installing new rear Model A Duolamp tail lights...It was the GROUND that gave me heartburn.

Though not applicable to your situation, some have also experience problems when they change/upgrade to new lights as they would come through with 6 volt bulbs.

If you find the culprit, please let us know.

Reggie

Maybe the hand written wiring diagrams will be more detailed, sorry that the ones on the site were useless.




Nick GA

Nick,

First and foremost, your ANGELFIRE site is one of the best things to happen within the Shay information and link spectrum...I reference it all the time and pass it on...A lot of work and effort by you and your contributors benefit the many.

As far as the HAND-WRITTEN wiring diagrams I have, they were given me by my Shay's previous owner and I have never actually sat down to see if they are any different than the ones you have on your site which are very clear and legible and should be enough to solve most problems we owners encounter.

Hope that you'll continue to add to your link for the benefit of the rest of us....One thing for sure, having a Shay is like staying in a perpetual school as there's always something new to be learned.

Reggie

HI Everyone:

It's scary to have brakelight or headlight problems

besides being dangerous U R gonna get stopped by them donut chomping flatfoots.

But as advised go for the biggest cause of electrical problems first "no ground"

or if a wire has worn thru its insulation and gone to ground,

then a loss of lights, but with some burned wire insulation before the fuse saves your car.

So remember if its a fuse (unless it fell out) U got another problem too.

I do remember seeing a complete wiring diagram on Nicks
Angelfire site as Mr Reggie Foote advised,

thanks Reggie and Nick, Shay people R so nice its wonderful to own this car.

It didn't do me any good, but thats because I couldn't figure it out.

My wires R all so faded (plus I am color blind) so I just guess and follow wires back and forth until its fixed or dinner time.

Good luck, I bet its a loose wire

John,
Looking at the wiring diagram package for the Pinto/Bobcat which I referenced earlier, I see the stoplight switch gets it's power from a 15A fuse(F5) from the power buss and when the stoplight switch closes (brake pedal depressed) it sends power to the turn and emergency switch (in the steering column).Assuming the contacts are clean, it goes to the stop light bulbs. You did not say whether the trun signal or emergency flashers work. That would help you in the process of elimination. I had a similiar problem and it wound up being in the switch assembly in the steerin column which I corrected by connecting and disconnecting the plug going into the switch mechanism in the steering column. I have this complete wiring diagram which is for the Pinto and some accessories do not apply to the Shay. However, I would be willing to share it with anyone that could possible get it on the site. I could be contacted at cfwells1@verizon.net or 410-544-1049
How about it Reggie, could you do it?
Cecil

Cecil,

Would be happy to add to the post for you if need be...Just send to my e-mail address...By the way, using PHOTOBUCKET is very easy (easy for me to say) once you try it out...Don Smith's great instructional is listed here at the bottom of each/this page which are the ones I've used and now it's a whiz and I'm not the brightest candle on the cake...Look for the gooey words STICKY TOPIC.

It's been posted several times here in the FORM archive that the steering column was out of a Ford Fairmont.

I'm personally unfamiliar if the actual Ford Pinto wiring schematics would be the same as the Shay's wiring scheme??? I reference the "MODERN A" ASSEMBLY MANUAL which lists specialized chassis and instrument wiring harnesses as coming with the assembly kit.

Bottom line...More information is always of help as some of us run into the same problems as others before us and many of us seem to find totally new and unique ones!!

Reggie