backup lights not working...

[beastnutts]

i just bought a 1990 l plus. the previous owner did a 5speed trans swap but did not hook up the backup lights to the trans... can anyone help me with fixing this prob? i cant get it registered if they dont work... thnks

[batstiva]

Okay, if you open the hood and look down at the lower right hand (as you are looking into the engine bay) corner of the tranny, that is where the reverse light switch is located. Should be two wires mine appear to both be green. Mine's also an 89, so I don't know if the wires are the same color on yours. These wires pass between the starter and the tranny and hit a black squarish connector. Coming out of that connector, they are red and green, from there, they go into the main wiring harness.

The reverse lights are controlled by the "meter" fuse in the panel (10 amp). But I doubt it's the fuse, because if it was, you'd have no warning light/seat belt warning/etc. My guess is the switch was not plugged back into the tranny.

My Haynes has a procedure for checking the circuit. Do you have a Haynes? If so, it's section 7A-2. If you don't, check to make sure the wiring is connected to the switch, and at the square black connector behind the starter, and let me know what you find. You may find a switch in the tranny, and wires hanging down and you may just have to splice them.

[ejp2fast]

batstiva hit it on the head....

fyi the other connector below the axles is the neutral switch... and both connectors are the same for manual trans.

[beastnutts]

Thnks imma take a look at it tomorro ill let u know wat happens

[batstiva]

Best of luck. If you find everything connected and need help figuring out how to test the circuit, let me know and I'll give you the short version of what my Haynes says. My guess is you're going to find the switch either with the wires cut, or with the connector not connected.

[beastnutts]

Good news: I found the connectors unconnected... bad news: therrr different connectors... I looked at the wires tht go to the bulbs in the back, one was red and yellow and one was black. The tannies wires wer both green like u said. I found the black and red/yellow connector right by the green connector in the engine bay but they don't fit... wat do I do? Splice?

[batstiva]

Good news: I found the connectors unconnected... bad news: therrr different connectors... I looked at the wires tht go to the bulbs in the back, one was red and yellow and one was black. The tannies wires wer both green like u said. I found the black and red/yellow connector right by the green connector in the engine bay but they don't fit... wat do I do? Splice?

My advice would be to splice. One of the greens going to the switch is a ground, the other is the hot line. No idea how to tell which is which without pulling the switch out of the tranny. I'm going to assume on the wiring from the lights to the connector, the black is the ground. Should be if you splice them backwards, the worst thing that would happen would be that the reverse lights would work without the tranny in reverse. In which case, you would just need to swap the wires. Splice 'em, turn the key to "on", check for reverse lights. If no lights, put the tranny in reverse and check again. If the switch is good, you should now have reverse lights.

Hadn't really thought about it, but I guess the connectors may have been different between 4 speeds and 5 speeds. Take your time on the cutting and stripping of wires, if yours is like mine, there's not much in the way of extra wire there to work with.

[ejp2fast]

but I guess the connectors may have been different between 4 speeds and 5 speeds. .

yes they are... i didn't clarify earlier...

edit:
see this thread for wiring differences.

[m715]

The black/yellow and the red/yellow are the wires you are after to connect up the back up lights on a 1990.

[batstiva]

yes they are... i didn't clarify earlier...

edit:
see this thread for wiring differences.

Figured the wires might be different colors, just hadn't really thought about the connectors themselves being different.

The black/yellow and the red/yellow are the wires you are after to connect up the back up lights on a 1990.

PITB trying to take a picture of a diagram, ain't it?:p
Hopefully, he'll have his problem fixed soon.

[m715]

Sorry I had to be short on the post, I had a customer. Yes, it can be a chore, but I have taken so many pics of those factory books....
Strange thing is.. I changed one of my 89s to a 91 5 speed, and it had the same connector..... Only thing that was different was it had the green wires instead, and had the extra plug from that "shift" light from ... well... you know... that was on the 4 speed MTX. Makes me wonder if he is looking at the neutral switch instead?

[m715]

As a matter of fact, I made the trek over the mountain on 50 and got that 5 Spd and an Aspire engine in Augusta maybe 2 yrs ago? It gave me an excuse to stop off at the gift shop at Cool Springs?? IIRC. Hadn't been to there in decades!

[batstiva]

As a matter of fact, I made the trek over the mountain on 50 and got that 5 Spd and an Aspire engine in Augusta maybe 2 yrs ago? It gave me an excuse to stop off at the gift shop at Cool Springs?? IIRC. Hadn't been to there in decades!

Cool Springs is the best, ain't it. My grandparents used to live outside of Clarksburg, WV. Every time we made the trip, we HAD to stop at Cool Springs. Too bad Honeymooner's is no longer open.

That stretch of road between Bridgeport and about Keyser is a fun one, for sure. Best check your brakes before you start.

[beastnutts]

yup i found em i jus cant find my sautering(prob spelled wrong lol) to splice the wires... thnk sfor the help guys... ill let u know if it works or not

[m715]

Good luck!