fuses 56 ford customline

56yblock

56yblock

Senior Member
hello guys..
i have a probleme with my back lights i think it's a fuse but i don't find where are located
thanks for help me
 
My 55 didn't have a fuse block, and I believe your 56 is the same. I would check the connections on the back of the headlight switch first, then the connections where the wires for the directional lights connect near the steering column. Also, check for good grounds at each light.
 
I am restoring a 56 Crown Vic and have removed all wiring. There was not a fuse box anywhere in my car. I will probably put an aftermarket harness in when I reassemble.
 
I know there are fuses on the HL switch, mine went in the trash when I rewired the car. I ran into more than a few fuse holders under the dash too. You'd have to trace the wires back from the lights, good luck!
 
Originally, only 2 fuses: 1 on the back of the Headlite switch & another in an inline holder for the clock, if so equipped.
 
Also, the only other fuse I'm aware of is on the overdrive relay on the firewall under the hood (if so equipped).

Sal
 
Tail lights, brake lights or backup lights?

There is a fuse on the back of the headlight switch and check the bulbs too, they could just be burned out.
The 50's Fords don't have a fuse box, just a few inline fuses and some thermal circuit breakers, especially for power options like seats & windows.
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The fuse on the back of the headlight switch is for the interior lights. There is no inline fuses for other lights in the wire harness.
If both lights do not work, there is probably a single bad bullet connector where one wire feeds both lights, could be the one that is located in the harness just above the transmission hump (behind the radio). Sometimes the connector gets a little loose, dirty or corroded.
Body ground is important. I ran a separate ground wire with green insulation from the firewall ground screw under the dash all along the rear bumper harness to the back of the car and used it to make ground connections to the taillight housings, backup light housings, license plate light socket and the fuel sending unit.
 
thanks for the answers
my probleme are the back lights and the license plate light don't work now, it works good before
the brake lights works good
 
The back-up lights are powered by the neutral start switch (located at the base of the steering column on the engine side of the firewall). The switch could possibly be out of position (it can be adjusted by rotating in the mounting slots) or there could be a wiring problem between the switch and the lights. The best way to trouble shoot it would be to check the voltage at the switch (with shift lever in reverse) to be sure it is closing and in proper position. If there is voltage at the switch and not at the light, the trouble is somewhere in the wiring between the switch and the back-up lights.

The license plate light is part of the tail light circuit and has power when the light switch is turned on (powered by either the parking light or head light position of the switch). If your tail lights work (not the brake lights, but the tail lights) then the light switch is probably okay and there might be a wiring problem between the tail light wiring and the back-up light socket.

Good luck. Wiring can be a very frustrating thing to chase down.

Dave
 
I think 56yblock is talking about the tail lights when he says back lights, and not the back-up lights.

Sal
 
Reading a wiring diagram can be its own brand of torture. Just be glad you aren't working on a newer car. These oldies are really simple in comparison.

Tail lights ~
There is a black wire that runs from the "R" terminal of the headlight switch to the left rear tail light. Near that tail light there will be one or two connections for black wires to the license plate light and right rear tail light. Use a volt meter or 12v test light to check for power at each connection, starting at the "R" terminal of the headlight switch.

The '57 wiring diagram at this link should be 99% the same as a '56, which does not have a dash gauge voltage regulator.
http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/tOCMP/wiring/5765wiring diagrams/Ford/MWire5765-195.jpg

Daves55Sedan said:
... Body ground is important. ...
Click to expand...
Yes it is...
If the light fixture mounting screws or light sockets are loose or rusty, not well connected to the body of the car, the bulbs will not work.

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dmsfrr said:
Tail lights ~
There is a black wire that runs from the "R" terminal of the headlight switch to the left rear tail light. Near that tail light there will be one or two connections for black wires to the license plate light and right rear tail light. Use a volt meter or 12v test light to check for power at each connection, starting at the "R" terminal of the headlight switch.
Click to expand...

And I am beginning to think he is talking about the taillights also, because the license plate light is powered from the same black wire that feeds the taillights. At the left taillight where dmsfrr is talking about is the only place on the whole car where Fomoco crimped two black wires into a single bullet connector instead of using the double barreled shotgun like they did so many places under the dash for multiple connections. Anyway, that connection feeds the left taillight and the third wire goes on to feed the license light and on again to the right taillight. It is a good bet that this connection may need cleaning or tightening, or that spot under the dash where that same black wire originates at the beginning of the rear bumper wiring harness.
 
thanks for help me
i think the probleme is the switch
the headlights ,the brake lights,turn signal works good
tail lights,license plate light don't work
i've checked the fuse on headlight switch is ok
 
If there is no power on the "R" terminal (black wire) when the switch is in the 'on' position the switch is bad.
If there is power on that terminal, the problem is somewhere closer to the lights.
The fuse on the headlight switch is for lights inside the cabin of the car, not outside.
 
Funny this should come up right now. We just got the backup lights on my '55 T-Bird working. It has new aftermarket backup light housings, and when I looked, there were no bulbs in them. Looking further, the wires were not hooked up to anything. Looking really carefully, we found that there were no wires at all to hook the backup lights to.

No expert, but apparantly my car did not have factory back up lights. They must have been an option. What is strange is that there were no wiring provisions for them in the original wiring that is on the car. We installed wires for them from the new neutral safety switch that was just put on the car a couple weeks ago.

Whee! Now it starts in park and I have back up lights.
 
56yblock said:
when the switch is in 'on' position just the headlights works....
Click to expand...

That's the way the factory wired them. Parking lights on with the headlights didn't come along until sometime in the 60s, I believe. You can wire them to be on with the headlights but you should use a relay to keep them from stealing brightness from your headlights.
 
Dobie Gillis said:
That's the way the factory wired them. Parking lights on with the headlights didn't come along until sometime in the 60s, I believe. You can wire them to be on with the headlights but you should use a relay to keep them from stealing brightness from your headlights.
Click to expand...
True enough about the front parking lights, but he's trying to fix the tail lights.
56yblock said:
thanks for help me
i think the probleme is the switch
the headlights ,the brake lights,turn signal works good
tail lights,license plate light don't work
i've checked the fuse on headlight switch is ok
Click to expand...
Did you test for 12v power at the "R" terminal of the headlight switch?
You may have to release the switch, with all the attached wires, from the dashboard to test it.
There are a couple tricks for getting the switch out of the dashboard.

There are photos and some instructions at this link...
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220600&highlight=headlight+switch

Removing the switch isn't the easiest thing to do. To help make sure you do or don't need to take the switch out... first check for 12v power in the black wire connections at the left rear tail light. Use a volt meter or 12v test light. If tail light power is there you don't need to check the switch in the dash.


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