Hello everyone. New to the site, been lurking for a while and have got some great info from you guys. I recently got a great deal on a '91 limited, 4.0 HO motor, I think it is a NP242 tc? Mechanically, everything works great. Motor is strong, tranny feels tight, t-case works great. However, alot of electical issues. I think the majority of the issues can be traced to the turn signal switch. Everything that is controlled by the switch does not work. The blinkers, cruise, wipers and washer. I tore the steering column apart yesterday mainly to tighten up the tilt mechanism, but wanted to take a look at the wiring inside also. Didn't see any problems when I was in there. I thought maybe the wiring was broke or something since the tilt mechanism was so loose. Is there a way to test the switch? I've checked all the fuses, relays etc. Did a ground refresh, however, I did not see the ground connections that were supposed to be down by the dip stick? It got late and I quit before I could trace down the ground wires on the motor. Anybody got any ideas where to look next. Thanks

 

you check fuswes in both places

 

I'm assuming you mean under the dash on drivers side and the one under the hood on the pass. side. Yes, I pulled and checked every fuse in both locations. Is there any other fuses anywhere that I don't know? I also tested every relay I could find. Everything checked out okay except the ABS pump, but that's another topic for another day. Thanks

 

I dunno if this will work for you or not.. Either way, look really closely at the multi-switch connector itself. I inspected mine and found a wire had come out of the harness itself. (it looked hooked up, but was disconnected inside) If you remove it to test, or just to inspect, you'll see what a jewel of a connector it is.

 

This is the connector down at the bottom of the steering column, right? Thanks, I will check that first thing friday when I have some time to work on it again.

 

That diagram is for a Grand. The 91's still had the GM-STYLE steering column. The connector is flat and male about 3" long one row of wires.

Double-check that the connection is in properly as the female side of the connection is shorter. Why? I have no idea but the female side CAN get pushed onto the column connector at the wrong spot. Especially if someone else worked on it previously.

The cruise control is on its own connector, a small rectangle. Light gauge wires also.

One thing you said made me scratch my head.
Please note: No sarcasm intended.
ABS PUMP? You are having these electrical problems on a 91, right?
If my memory is still intact...91's don't have ABS brakes.
If yours does, please snap some pics...I wanna see

 

Well mine certainly does. There is a warning light that is on on the dash saying Check ABS or something to that affect. And while checking fuses and relays, there are two or three relays in the box under the hood labeled ABS. I found one bad relay and replaced it and now the ABS pump runs and makes alot of noise. But now I have better brakes. Didn't I read somewhere that these are on a "lifetime recall" and I can get it replaced for free. I will take some pics and post.

 

Uploaded photo of ABS pump. Can't see it very well but that is what it is.

 

Okay, back to the original question, is there any way to test the operation of the switch itself. I will be taking the steering column apart again this weekend to finish the tightening job. While I have it apart I want to make sure the switch is good, so if it isn't, I can install another one while i've got it apart. Any way to test it, or just go ahead and put in a new one while im there? Thanks for any help.

 

Apparently I showed you the wrong switch diagram from my '93 manual.. I'm sure if you got a '91 manual it'd show you the diagram for your year/model

 

checking fuses also includes checking them for current on both sides ????

 

have you checked tosee if its plugged in ?

 

Yes, made sure the connector was plugged in. Have not checked power to the fuse yet. Will do that this weekend. I wanted to find out about testing the switch first since I will have it apart and can change it out if I find that it is not working. I found a nice write up about how to test the switch on a chevy site. And this is a GM column, right? so it should be pretty close. It's just a matter of identifying the right wires for the circuits and using the multimeter to check it. I will go through the procedures this weekend and make sure to check both sides of the fuse. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I went through the wiring this weekend while I was doing the tilt tightening (wow, what a job. just get a new column!). I saw a green wire going to the blinker switch that looked like it was pulling out of it's connector. I pushed it back in as good as i could before putting it all back together. still no luck. The testing method I found for chevy wiring didn't help. It was completely different. Made sure everything was plugged in and tight when I put it all back together. Still no luck. While checking the fuses I found that I have no power to several of the fuses. The turn signal fuse, the blower motor fuse and a couple of others. What would cause this, to not even have power to the fuse? Is there some relays or other fuses somewhere beside the Power distribution center under the hood?

 

Was your ignition turned to the ON position? Several of those fuses are only powered when the key is on. If it is ON and you're still not getting power then there could be corrosion on the fuse blade or contacts, a wire could have pulled out of the back of the fuse block, or a critter could have chewed through something on the other side of the firewall. I may go pull my blade connector and try to work up a testing procedure on the multi-switch this afternoon since everything on mine works as it should.

Of course it won't work after I go touching stuff and it will probably cause my rear diff to inexplicably eat itself but that's okay... I'm used to it.