Brake & Running Light Problem

[Krimany57]

Ok, a buddy tells me my brake lights don't work but my turn signals do. I get home, try the head lights and the rear taillights don't work either. I looked at the fuse box and found one fuse burned out, replaced it AND..... my clock now works but still no running tail lights. I did notice a fuse missing in the upper left corner but do not know if that is my culprit and if so what amp to replace with. It's probably something simple that I am not patient enough to figure out, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Dave:confused:

[r66ss]

dAVE,

YES,
check fuse's and check grounds , and make sure you check brake light switch under dash also, see if u have power to switch.

[finallyhavea57]

Seems to me the fuse that controls those light is 14 amps.

Don

[557B210]

Looks like two seperate problems....If the fuses are all good and your directions work, your brake switch may be faulty....Do you have running lights in the front?

[Krimany57]

yes the turn and running lights work in the front fine I think. I notice that the running lights for the front turn off when the headlights come on. Is that normal?

[557B210]

Dave...Yes that's normal for these old TriFives....Looks like you will need to get a multimeter or at least a test light to troubleshoot the system.....I believe the black wire from the light switch goes back to the rear running lights and the brake signal goes through the turn signal switch to the brake lights....Here is a link to the '57 wiring diagram:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.1957-chevrolet-alternator-conversion.com/images/1957-chevrolet-wiring-diagram-sm.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.1957-chevrolet-alternator-conversion.com/wiring.html&usg=__gMoCGPmyfBEr9qloGYQLnvjs5n4=&h=323&w=528&sz=42&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=FWrijghxo1FdxM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1957%2Bchevrolet%2Bwiring%2Bdiagram%2 6hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS256%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1