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O-D is right. I once had a dead short in my '47 electrics somewhere that would blow the circuit breaker located somewhere under the dash up by the wiper motor (47's had electric wipers). If I waited a few minutes the breaker would rest intself sp perhaps you should locate the breaker and find out if it needs replacement. Good luck.

That is what I figured. Fix the short, and the breaker would reset and not trip.

I'm pulling the front seat now. Amazing amount of stuff underneath!

Thanks!

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Found the original owner's manual.

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Joey,

Good to see you're back into the '48.

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Joey!

Glad to hear you're working on your '48. That owners manual looks like a good Saturday night puzzle to piece back together, definitely not beginners level though.


-Garrett

I think that puzzle is going in the trash.

Rewired the tail lights, replaced the fuse, and they work just fine. Turn signals too. The problem now is with the brake lights. I got them working, but I encountered a short and tripped the breaker, because my interior lights don't come on now. I waited for the breaker to reset, but decided to go on home and check it in the morning.

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Lights all working great after adding new female bullet connectors and replacing about eight inches of wiring to the stop light switch on the master cylinder. I've found that the wiring that is still wrapped up, if the black tape is removed, is usually pretty good underneath, albeit a bit stiff. If you carefully cut away a few inches of wrap you can expose some fairly good wires to splice into. That is what I've done in the trunk, ignition, and the stop light wiring. All of my splices and connectors are soldered and heat shrink tubed. I'm using cloth covered 14 gauge, that I'm color coding with dyes and basecoat auto paints. Probably overkill, but I happened to find a 100' roll of Standard Plus cable in my shop.

I am considering adding a mechanical switch for the brake lights actuated by the pedal. The pressure switch doesn't come on soon enough to suit me. Has anyone done this?

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Hey Joey!

The pressure switch on my '52 would keep the brake lights on so, I went to a mechanical switch. Mine came with power brakes, so the setup is a little different from yours, but it works pretty darn well. I used a plunger style switch behind the brake pedal, don't worry, I checked to make sure there was full pedal motion before I went out on the road. Using a continuity tester I set the switch at a desirable distance to get the lights to come on with light braking.

-Garrett

It's a strange thing but modern brake fluid seems to affect those switches. In the old days they were very reliable.

I have a vile of 60 year old brake fluid. When exposed to light it turns brown. It has a totally different odor than the new stuff - very distinct and unforgettable.

I am considering adding a mechanical switch for the brake lights actuated by the pedal. The pressure switch doesn't come on soon enough to suit me. Has anyone done this?


There was an install on a slightly later car which may be similar enough to yours that you can get some ideas.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=9253#forumpost9253