I hate wiring!

I am by no means even an amatuer at electrical so this may be a stupid question. I finally got my rear bumper/tire carrier done and I am working on back-up lights. I found the backup light wires but I am not sure what is happening. I tested both wires and one does what it is supposed to... it is hot when I put the trans in reverse but the other wire is hot all the time. Even when key is off. Is this right? It doesnt make sense to me. Is there only one back up wire? And if so are you supposed to run both lights off of the one wire? And if that is the case how do I get equal power to both lights... so that they are bright. Thanks in advance.

 

Yes there is only 1 backup wire. The Intermediates use a comman ground electrical system. Ground the lights to the frame or body and use the wire that is hot when in reverse. I personally would be tracing that always hot wire down and determine why its always on. that is a short waiting to happen.

As for wiring. Split the other light off the hot wire before you go into the first light. Ground each light seperately. This will give you the same current to both lights.

 

The power to the backup light switch should indeed be off when the key is off.

 

And you don't need to worry about balancing the power. Just make sure your connections are clean and they'll work. Most electrical problems at the rear of a vehicle are caused by bad grounds (except for wires that are hot all the time ). Make sure the contact points for your ground wires are clean, and that the ground from the battery to the body is good.

 

Thanks Hudson and Timgr for the quick reply. I will definately trace that hot wire.

 

I just rewired the rear lights on my '73. Seems the PPO liked to cut things. I had the newer rectangle lights, without any backup lights; the wires had been cut. I put the round lights on and rewired the back. There will be a green wire with a white tracer in the harness that comes to the driver side rear light; that's your power. In the harness that goes a cross to the passenger side of the jeep, my wire was green; the book says it should be green with a white tracer. Anyway, use those for power, and the light grounds itself on the body. You should be able to have your lights working in less than an hour's worth of wiring. Check your switch too. Mmine was bad in addition to the other problems, which makes me wonder if that is why the wires were cut (I didn't say it made sense).

 

Thanks. Got em working!