Rear lights and lic. plate light won't turn off.

Just had my new '65 delivered last night and when the guy shut the van off and pushed the headlight switch in the rear lights and license plate light stayed on. There was no way to shut them off and they drained the battery. Any thoughts on this? Am I in for a long discovery process or has anyone had this happen to them? Any help is much appreciated.

I don't know the specifics but here is a link to a bunch of 1st Gen wiring diagrams that many on here have found useful. I'm sure that one of the GVan guys will respond also.

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t25630-first-gen-wiring-diagram

I think I would be checking the wiring at the headlamp switch. Possibly a short there or a faulty switch. Shouldn't be any live power in the upper harness with everything off unless someone has altered things. Maybe could start by unplugging the headlamp switch, that I think would isolate that as a problem. Good luck !

rfergnes wrote:Just had my new '65 delivered last night and when the guy shut the van off and pushed the headlight switch in the rear lights and license plate light stayed on. There was no way to shut them off and they drained the battery. Any thoughts on this? Am I in for a long discovery process or has anyone had this happen to them? Any help is much appreciated.

I had some issues with my van and the lights. It all boiled down to replacement of the light switch.
It took me checking everything wire wise a to z then bright idea- Check the switch! The light switch was the problem. Start there... LOL

Good luck!

After you check the main headlight switch, next check the turn signal switch.  The tail lights and rear brake lights pass through this switch as well.  There are several reed contacts in there that wear out, bend and short after 40-50 years.  A lot of tail and brake problems can be traced to the signal switch.  Don't worry, replacements are readily available and its a good learning experience to pull the wheel and replace the signal switch.  Brake light switch under the front grill can also short and cause problems with rear lights....welcome and have fun, fixing things is half the fun of owning a vintage vehicle!  OH, BTW, if you are not familiar, don't try to unscrew the headlight switch knob, its pressed onto the shaft, there is a small release button on the side of the switch that lets the entire knob and shaft slide out of the switch...I didn't know that when I first got my van....also, the wires release from the switch by inserting a small flat blade screw driver into the sockets to release a small tab on the lugs, do them one at a time. Search the threads here for the front parking lights on with headlights modification too. In 1964-65, it was not required to have the parking lots on with the headlights in some states like all modern cars do today. There is a simple switch of the front parking light wires, I think it's the double purple, into a different socket on the switch so the front parking lights stay on with the headlights. Apparently GM made the switch to work either way. Might as well do this while you're changing the switch. Much safer in case a headlight goes out, that side of the van will still have a light for oncoming traffic so you don't look like a motorcycle!

I would postpone the turn signal switch investigation. (It is a good learning experience, though!) I'd start with the light switch. Pop out the knob, like Vantasia says. Wow, why should we bother typing instructions anymore when there's YouTube?! Found this in two seconds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhVKjR8TOB8

Then unscrew the round nut on the front side pull the switch out the back and get it out under the dash where you can get a good look at it. The big plastic connector can be hard to remove. You may have to carefully pry with a screwdriver around the sides of it to help pull it off.

OMG, here's a video showing how to bench test the typical GM switch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryuwnYO9GUw

If the license plate light stays on too, that means it's the running lights that are not turning off in the back. Blinkers and brake lights are a whole different circuit. Running lights are the brown wire that runs from the plug on the back of the light switch straight to the back of the van. See the wiring diagrams.

Thanks guys for all the advice. I'm starting the project soon and will post updates. Thanks again. Lover this site.