Why no mkr/pos. lights on my 740?

  • Thread starter Thread starter geronimo
  • Start date Start date
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geronimo

My 92 740 turbo wagon seems to have a strange configuration on the
light switch.....

I thought there was a wiring error (someone screwed it up) because
when I go to the middle switch position, which seems to be for
marker/position lights, those lights do not come on. If I go to the
righthand/clockwise switch position, then the headlights come on, and
also the pos/mkr lights come on. So I looked this up in the Chilton
manual, and it shows that the mkr/pos lights are hot at all times when
the headlights are on! I checked the light switch and there is one
white wire that, sure enough, turns on all lights together...
headlights, and pos/mkr lights. Well, I can mod the wiring easy
enough by separating the marker light power wires out on the bottom
side of the fuse panel, and running them separately to the middle
contact on the switch.... but I just wanted to know if all the 740s
were made this way, and why an why on earth not be able to turn on
mkr/pos lights only? I go through a security checkpoint every night,
and I need to be able to turn the headlights off, but keep marker
lights on.

Thanks, Geronimo
 
Hi Geronomo,

Does the middle switch position give you "pos/mkr" (parking) lights alone
(no headlights) with ignition turned off?

Andy I.


: My 92 740 turbo wagon seems to have a strange configuration on the
: light switch.....
:
: I thought there was a wiring error (someone screwed it up) because
: when I go to the middle switch position, which seems to be for
: marker/position lights, those lights do not come on. If I go to the
: righthand/clockwise switch position, then the headlights come on, and
: also the pos/mkr lights come on. So I looked this up in the Chilton
: manual, and it shows that the mkr/pos lights are hot at all times when
: the headlights are on! I checked the light switch and there is one
: white wire that, sure enough, turns on all lights together...
: headlights, and pos/mkr lights. Well, I can mod the wiring easy
: enough by separating the marker light power wires out on the bottom
: side of the fuse panel, and running them separately to the middle
: contact on the switch.... but I just wanted to know if all the 740s
: were made this way, and why an why on earth not be able to turn on
: mkr/pos lights only? I go through a security checkpoint every night,
: and I need to be able to turn the headlights off, but keep marker
: lights on.
:
: Thanks, Geronimo
 
geronimo said:
My 92 740 turbo wagon seems to have a strange configuration on the
light switch.....

I thought there was a wiring error (someone screwed it up) because
when I go to the middle switch position, which seems to be for
marker/position lights, those lights do not come on. If I go to the
righthand/clockwise switch position, then the headlights come on, and
also the pos/mkr lights come on. So I looked this up in the Chilton
manual, and it shows that the mkr/pos lights are hot at all times when
the headlights are on! I checked the light switch and there is one
white wire that, sure enough, turns on all lights together...
headlights, and pos/mkr lights. Well, I can mod the wiring easy
enough by separating the marker light power wires out on the bottom
side of the fuse panel, and running them separately to the middle
contact on the switch.... but I just wanted to know if all the 740s
were made this way, and why an why on earth not be able to turn on
mkr/pos lights only? I go through a security checkpoint every night,
and I need to be able to turn the headlights off, but keep marker
lights on.

Thanks, Geronimo
Click to expand...

The middle position should be live at all times. The power for this
comes from a different place than when they're on in the headlight
position. Look for a wire at the headlight switch that has power at all
times.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
 
Oh.....OK, then the middle position is supposed to give you marker
lights even with ign switch off. Should be simple to wire that up, now
that I know what normal is supposed to be. Guess I will just
round-file the Chiltons' manual ;-)

On second thought....that is an invitation for a dead battery.
Maybe I won't. thanks geronimo
 
geronimo said:
Oh.....OK, then the middle position is supposed to give you marker
lights even with ign switch off. Should be simple to wire that up, now
that I know what normal is supposed to be. Guess I will just
round-file the Chiltons' manual ;-)
Click to expand...
On second thought....that is an invitation for a dead battery.
Maybe I won't. thanks geronimo
Click to expand...

Well if you don't there's no way to leave the parking lights on when parked on
dark roads at night, which is why the switch position exists.

Admittedly, more than a couple of hours will probably flatten the battery.
 
geronimo said:
My 92 740 turbo wagon seems to have a strange configuration on the
light switch.....

I thought there was a wiring error (someone screwed it up) because
when I go to the middle switch position, which seems to be for
marker/position lights, those lights do not come on. If I go to the
righthand/clockwise switch position, then the headlights come on, and
also the pos/mkr lights come on. So I looked this up in the Chilton
manual, and it shows that the mkr/pos lights are hot at all times when
the headlights are on! I checked the light switch and there is one
white wire that, sure enough, turns on all lights together...
headlights, and pos/mkr lights. Well, I can mod the wiring easy
enough by separating the marker light power wires out on the bottom
side of the fuse panel, and running them separately to the middle
contact on the switch.... but I just wanted to know if all the 740s
were made this way, and why an why on earth not be able to turn on
mkr/pos lights only? I go through a security checkpoint every night,
and I need to be able to turn the headlights off, but keep marker
lights on.
Click to expand...

If you turn the switch off, you'll get marker lights and the headlights on
dim, which may be ideal for your purposes. Or do you need to cut the engine, too?

Has somebody really gone to that much effort to mess up the wiring? There are
no wires on the parking light switch contacts? Have you checked that there
isn't a fuse out that would normally power the parking lamps?
 
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