'86 Chrysler New Yorker help

Hello everyone, I came across a problem that requires your electrical skills. I recently purchased a '85 New Yorker. It has various bugs including the stereo, trip computer and voice module. Anyhow, the most problematic is a non functioning, third brake light. When I got the car, I failed to check for it working. When I traced the wires, I noticed that it was not wired onto the vehicles brake circuit. Several attempts later, I still cannot get it to work correctly.

I attempted to wire it onto the brake circuit at the rear, left tail light and thought I got it functioning correctly. Then, I applied the left turn signal, it began to go from a constant brake light to a flashing light. What gives?? I have tried several combinations with no luck.

Can someone point out how this is suppose to connect??

Thank you,

Jesse

Reply to
Jesse
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My in-laws had an 85 New Yorker.

A third brake light wasn't required until 1986.

Your subject line says 86 and your note says 85. Which one is it ?

Could be an aftermarket light if this is a 1985 car.

Reply to
Steve Stone

Steve,

My bad! It's a '85 New Yorker. May be aftermarket. I don't know. Still, I'd like to know how it wires into the system. I guess, with the double duty, turn signal/brake circuit, it may take a miracle.

Any miracle workers out there??

Thanks!

Jesse

Reply to
Jesse

It can be wired into the brake light switch, located on the brake pedal strut. That way, it receives power BEFORE the brake light feed is split into two independent circuits and combined with the turn signal function by the turn signal switch in the steering column.

Reply to
Steve

This would be an aftermarket add-on; the center high mount stop lamp ("CHMSL") was not required by law and therefore not factory installed until the 1986 model year. Most of these aftermarket lamps were of very poor quality. The ones offered on the North American market frequently came with a "logic module" enabling quick 'n' cheesy/easy hookup to the combined brake/directional lights at the rear of many US-spec vehicles. These modules fail with alacrity and sometimes never worked right from the start -- when these retrofit CHMSLs were popular, it was common to see them flashing with the turn signals, staying on all the time, operating in opposite-phase with the brake lights and so forth.

The factory units and the better-made aftermarket units do not use a logic module. They're wired directly into the brake lamp circuit such that they are not a part of the turn signal circuit. This is really very much better way to do it, though it's more effort.

The way the combination brake/turn system works is thus:

12V feed to the input of the brake lamp switch on the brake pedal bracket. Stepping on the brake closes this switch and sends 12V feed downstream of this switch. This 12V feed goes *through the turn signal switch* which contains a series of contacts that can:

(a) pass this 12V feed to both rear lights directly ("no turn" position)

(b) pass this 12V feed to one rear light directly and the other rear light through the turn signal flasher ("turn" position, either left or right).

To makeyour CHMSL work correctly without creating a bunch of new failure points, you need to tap into the brake light switch output wire, before it enters the turn signal switch. Run your new wire from that point back through the factory wire channel (accessible by removing the driver's side kickboard and front and rear driver's side sill plates) into the trunk compartment and from there through the package tray to your CHMSL.

DS

Reply to
Daniel Stern Lighting

You need a third brake light module - it connects to both left and right stop/turn lamp and "combines" them.

Reply to
clare

My 85 LeBaron T&C had third brake light. Factory. Canada. Same car as New Yorker.

Reply to
clare

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