The_Red_Baron
Well-Known Member
Hello everybody,
Recently, I was driving with my buddies behind me on the highway, and when we pulled into the apartment parking lot, they said my reverse lights were flickering on and off. "we thought you were telling us to slingshot around you" (watched Fast 9, so of course a bit of Dom was in all of us that night). We tried to get them to do it in the parking lot, to no avail. I just assumed they were yanking my chain, because I wasn't shifting at all on the highway (50-70mph zones, the engine would self destruct in 2nd gear at those speeds). I just put it at the back of my mind, and assumed nothing of it.
Today, at the end of my shift, I noticed that, surprise surprise, my reverse lights were indeed flickering on and off intermittently. I pulled the car around to a clean white brick wall, and tried to get them to react more predictably. So, When shifting up from 1st to 2nd and then to drive, the reverse lights flash on and off once. So, 1st to 2nd, flash, 2nd to drive, flash. Then I tried shifting from drive to neutral, and it wasn't as predictable. Then I thought, "what the hell, might as well see if I can get them to do it in drive alone." Sure enough, they were going crazy. As I jiggled the shifter in drive, the lights would come on and go off, random time differences, and sometimes they would stay on. While extra light coming from the rear of a classic car is a good thing (helps stay visible to distracted drivers), I'd prefer it if I didn't scare people on the highway, making them think I just dropped the car into race mode and I'm about to leave a trans fluid trail like you've never seen.
Anyways, normally I'd have a video to better show what I'm talking about isn't total BS, but my phone died mid shift and I didn't have a charger.
Is there any switch in the column that could be shorting, or just going bad? As far as I know, there really isn't, I thought it was just a rod that goes out to the shift linkages for the trans. Has anyone ever experienced this before?
Side note, I put LEDs (totally legal and meant for street applications btw) all around the car (front turn signals, marker lights, tail lights). I doubt that has anything to do with it. The turn signal switch on the fuse box doesn't interfere with that at all right? I had to put in a digital switch as oppose to a mechanical, seeing as the LED's pull far less voltage and wouldn't make the element inside a mechanical switch hot enough to click like it needs to.
Thanks for any and all input you guys and gals can provide, this forum has been nothing but a gold mine for me...
Red Baron
Recently, I was driving with my buddies behind me on the highway, and when we pulled into the apartment parking lot, they said my reverse lights were flickering on and off. "we thought you were telling us to slingshot around you" (watched Fast 9, so of course a bit of Dom was in all of us that night). We tried to get them to do it in the parking lot, to no avail. I just assumed they were yanking my chain, because I wasn't shifting at all on the highway (50-70mph zones, the engine would self destruct in 2nd gear at those speeds). I just put it at the back of my mind, and assumed nothing of it.
Today, at the end of my shift, I noticed that, surprise surprise, my reverse lights were indeed flickering on and off intermittently. I pulled the car around to a clean white brick wall, and tried to get them to react more predictably. So, When shifting up from 1st to 2nd and then to drive, the reverse lights flash on and off once. So, 1st to 2nd, flash, 2nd to drive, flash. Then I tried shifting from drive to neutral, and it wasn't as predictable. Then I thought, "what the hell, might as well see if I can get them to do it in drive alone." Sure enough, they were going crazy. As I jiggled the shifter in drive, the lights would come on and go off, random time differences, and sometimes they would stay on. While extra light coming from the rear of a classic car is a good thing (helps stay visible to distracted drivers), I'd prefer it if I didn't scare people on the highway, making them think I just dropped the car into race mode and I'm about to leave a trans fluid trail like you've never seen.
Anyways, normally I'd have a video to better show what I'm talking about isn't total BS, but my phone died mid shift and I didn't have a charger.
Is there any switch in the column that could be shorting, or just going bad? As far as I know, there really isn't, I thought it was just a rod that goes out to the shift linkages for the trans. Has anyone ever experienced this before?
Side note, I put LEDs (totally legal and meant for street applications btw) all around the car (front turn signals, marker lights, tail lights). I doubt that has anything to do with it. The turn signal switch on the fuse box doesn't interfere with that at all right? I had to put in a digital switch as oppose to a mechanical, seeing as the LED's pull far less voltage and wouldn't make the element inside a mechanical switch hot enough to click like it needs to.
Thanks for any and all input you guys and gals can provide, this forum has been nothing but a gold mine for me...
Red Baron