Hi all -greetings from Vancouver Canada. I'm a newbie. I've recently inherited a 1980 firebird esprit, 301 auto. I've been tracking some dashboard electrical issues. The previous owners son did a very bad hack job on a stereo install and when I got it I had no dashboard lights at all.We took out the cluster, cleaned up the circuit board, checked all the lamps for continuity etc and all is good except the oil idiot light. I know the oil idiot lamp works. The oil pressure switch itself is a 2 wire. The connector has 3 wires, brown/white, green and blue . The green one, the middle one seems to be redundant and goes now where. I think the brown/white goes to the dash but I'm not sure where the blue one is for or where it goes. I don't have an engine wiring diagram but I would love to get one if someone could send me in the right direction.
bcfirebird
Wrong sender I belive. The Oil Press are 1 wire, on both the Gauge type and the Idiot light type. They conduct to ground.
Hi Leigh, welcome to the forum. Do you have Chilton's Firebird Manual?
Look up page 6-47. On that page the wire you're looking for is only the one wire as Dan said. It is Light blue in clour and goes from the oil pressure sender swich back to a thing called electric choke, which is earthed at that point. That can be a source of trouble right there if it's loose or not earthed properly.
Light blue wire then goes from there to the choke heater relay, has no colour assigned and goes to a choke tell-tale, then its a pink/black wire to "Ignition 1" and its fuse is 10amp rated. Check that fuse if you can locate it..In fact, when you find the cars main fuse box it's a good idea to check all fuses any way.
I have found variations in GM wiring when they don't follow the colour keys 100%, and for that reason I would check any wire from anywhere on your engine to make sure the contact is free of oil and is clean and tight to ensure proper electrical contact. If you are not sure then get her in to an auto electrician. Remember...these are old cars now, and the wiring has seen a lot of years, possibly been pulled at or disconnected a few times in its life, and safety is paramount in any car. Your ride has to run well but to really enjoy it, it must be safe.
Jules
![Image]()
Look up page 6-47. On that page the wire you're looking for is only the one wire as Dan said. It is Light blue in clour and goes from the oil pressure sender swich back to a thing called electric choke, which is earthed at that point. That can be a source of trouble right there if it's loose or not earthed properly.
Light blue wire then goes from there to the choke heater relay, has no colour assigned and goes to a choke tell-tale, then its a pink/black wire to "Ignition 1" and its fuse is 10amp rated. Check that fuse if you can locate it..In fact, when you find the cars main fuse box it's a good idea to check all fuses any way.
I have found variations in GM wiring when they don't follow the colour keys 100%, and for that reason I would check any wire from anywhere on your engine to make sure the contact is free of oil and is clean and tight to ensure proper electrical contact. If you are not sure then get her in to an auto electrician. Remember...these are old cars now, and the wiring has seen a lot of years, possibly been pulled at or disconnected a few times in its life, and safety is paramount in any car. Your ride has to run well but to really enjoy it, it must be safe.
Jules
Thank you so much. I took the air filter housing off to have a look and yes there a mess under there. There are no wires to the solenoid and green is to the choke, so clearly things are not set up right. I will follow thru on this, if not I'll take it to our local carb place and have them reroute it correctly.
Be very careful with wiring...the electric choke is nowhere near where you need to look for the oil temp switch which is normally down in the block area. usually off the oil filter housing. That contact is often dirty and needs cleaning and fitting better, or tighter... check the simple things first like connections and fuses, then if the bulbs need changing, do that too. THEN, if that doesn't work and you know how to rig up a circuit tester bulb with a small battery etc., or better still a digital multimeter, set to resistance (look for the omega symbol for ohms)...then you can test the continuity of the wiring by placing the probes on each end of the wire.....if no clues are then revealed you should get it to an auto electrician. That way, you stand more of a chance of getting the work warranted, and proper working electrics.
jules
jules
I did have a friend who is more familiar with auto electronics and has a meter, he did check the dash bulb and it is good. He also tested the switch wiring and said it was good as well. So his assumption is that the problem is in between the switch and the dashboard. I did take the oil switch out cleaned it , the contacts and added some Vaseline, put it back and nothing . I didn't clean the area on the block though . I also followed the wiring to the electric choke, cleaned it and added Vaseline. I does feel a bit sloppy on the post. I also discovered that there is no wiring to the solenoid. I will have a look at the fuse box for the IGN 1. I do know that there has been problems with corrosion on the fuse block. I really appreciate the help guys, Thanx
I finally had some time this fall to work on a few little things.
So to follow up. My oil pressure switch/idiot light is still causing me grief. I do have the proper one and most likely the original 3 wire pigtail on the switch. From what I understand the 3 wire are as follows, brown-alt light,green/choke and blue/idiot light. This explanation came from
http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=25761#.UmUjgPmxeSp but the idiot light does not come on during start up which it is supposed to, I think.
I mean it's beyond my knowledge base and I'll have a professional look at it if I can't figure it out. But it's fun to try. Choke is working yet the the car almost stalls after warm up and will recover. My carb guy thinks there is something floating in the carb. Carb rebuild-I'll add it to the list. I have fixed a few things, door jam switches-corroded and broken-yeh I have interior lights, cleaned the carb and the engine bay, mocked up a air intake hose until I can find a used good one, rerun some new vacuum line, replaced the egr valve, couple of turn signal pigtails installed. My biggest challenge is the fuel filter , the nut is completely stripped and theres no way I can get it off.I may have to cut it. I'm sourcing out a new fuel line but no luck yet. If I can't find one I'll have to bite the bullet and cut the line and put a small rubber section in place. I don't want to do that but I doubt that fuel filter hasn't been change in years. I took it out for a good run today, put some premium gas in it and it feels like it's running much better. Going to see the upholstery shop tomorrow and see what we can do with the drivers seat and the headliner. The interior is in pretty good shape, just the driver seat is bad. Wire frame is collapsed and the seat bun is pretty disintegrated. Passenger side and rear seats are almost perfect.
Theres still a few ghost in the dashboard-turn the wipers on and the signal lights glow. I'm sure it's got everything to do with ground or lack of it.I don't have my headlight switch in properly(lost the bracket somewhere) as well and I doubt it's grounding properly either.. I hope to take few photos tomorrow and add them to my profile.
So to follow up. My oil pressure switch/idiot light is still causing me grief. I do have the proper one and most likely the original 3 wire pigtail on the switch. From what I understand the 3 wire are as follows, brown-alt light,green/choke and blue/idiot light. This explanation came from
http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=25761#.UmUjgPmxeSp but the idiot light does not come on during start up which it is supposed to, I think.
I mean it's beyond my knowledge base and I'll have a professional look at it if I can't figure it out. But it's fun to try. Choke is working yet the the car almost stalls after warm up and will recover. My carb guy thinks there is something floating in the carb. Carb rebuild-I'll add it to the list. I have fixed a few things, door jam switches-corroded and broken-yeh I have interior lights, cleaned the carb and the engine bay, mocked up a air intake hose until I can find a used good one, rerun some new vacuum line, replaced the egr valve, couple of turn signal pigtails installed. My biggest challenge is the fuel filter , the nut is completely stripped and theres no way I can get it off.I may have to cut it. I'm sourcing out a new fuel line but no luck yet. If I can't find one I'll have to bite the bullet and cut the line and put a small rubber section in place. I don't want to do that but I doubt that fuel filter hasn't been change in years. I took it out for a good run today, put some premium gas in it and it feels like it's running much better. Going to see the upholstery shop tomorrow and see what we can do with the drivers seat and the headliner. The interior is in pretty good shape, just the driver seat is bad. Wire frame is collapsed and the seat bun is pretty disintegrated. Passenger side and rear seats are almost perfect.
Theres still a few ghost in the dashboard-turn the wipers on and the signal lights glow. I'm sure it's got everything to do with ground or lack of it.I don't have my headlight switch in properly(lost the bracket somewhere) as well and I doubt it's grounding properly either.. I hope to take few photos tomorrow and add them to my profile.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
