68 4x4 Burb wiring problem?

[vectorit]

Hey guys, I am at the end of my rope here and I hope someone can help me out...
I have a 68 K20 4x4 Suburban with a manual transmission:
All new wiring harnesses front to rear.
All new ground straps along the frame, and in the engine compartment.
All new switches.
New fuel tank, and gauge that is grounded.
Headlights work - high and low beam.
Turn signals do not work
windshield wiper motor does not work
fuel gauge moves, but shows full but there is only a gallon or so in the tank.
Amp gauge does not look to be working
Tach works
vacuum gauge works
Oil pressure gauge works
Temp gauge works
Horn works
Tail lights are not working properly. (Only 1 works, but just stays on)

I can not turn the motor over using the ignition switch, when I turn it to on I do get power to the gauges.
I have set up a remote starter switch on the "S" terminal of the starter selonoid, and to the positive battery cable. I CAN turn the motor and start the engine with the key in the on position using the remote starter switch. I can also turn off the running engine with the key.

I have compared my new dash harness with my old one, and everything is the same except for two plugs hanging down at the steering column. One is a plug with two purple wires going to one plug end, and the other is another plug with two dark and two light green wires going to one plug end. These two plugs are the only thing different, and I have no idea what they are for? I was told that the purple plug is probably for a auto trans neutral safety switch, and so I jumpered the two together but with no results.

I have gone cross eyed staring at the shop manual wire diagrams, and everything seems to check out as far as grounding and connections.

Any comments and input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[oldiron]

With out me having pictures to show you this may be confusing but here it goes.
The two purple wires and the two green wires are for a neutral safety switch.
Connecting the two purple wires was a correct thing to do. Now down on the starter there are three places to connect wires to. The biggest being the battery cable from the battery. The two smaller ones are where a misconnection can be made.
The terminal on the starter solenoid next to the engine block is where the purple wire is to be connected. This is the other end of that connection that you made under the dash.
The other terminal on the starter solenoid that is closes to the frame is a electrical feed by a yellow wire to the points style distributor to feed 12 volts when cranking the engine over. If these two are switched then the truck will not start. By the way if you have an HEI dist. this yellow wire is not needed.

Now for the green wires. These are for the backup lights. There should be a switch on your transmission so when you are in reverse this switch makes the curcuit complete and turns on your backup lights.

For your tail light problem if the bulb is good take a test light and check to see if you are getting power to the terminal. Make sure that the test light is well grounded. If the test light works you might have a bad ground in the light structure. If the test light doesn't work then check the wiring for a loose connection.

Hope this helps.

[vectorit]

Update: I was able to turn the engine over with the key, only after I discovered that the wire harness plug was wired incorrectly by the builder. I am suspecting that the other issues are related, in that the rear harness plug is probably incorrectly pinned out as well...

[72LoBurb]

Originally Posted by oldiron

...Now for the green wires. These are for the backup lights. There should be a switch on your transmission so when you are in reverse this switch makes the curcuit complete and turns on your backup lights.

If the truck/'burb is an automatic, isn't the switch for the reverse lights in the steering column?

[oldiron]

Originally Posted by 72LoBurb

If the truck/'burb is an automatic, isn't the switch for the reverse lights in the steering column?

But his suburban a manual transmission.

[Musclerodz]

The purple wires is your neutral safety switch. Without those hooked up, truck will not start with the key. hook those up or bypass the switch.

[vectorit]

I called the place where I purchased the harnesses, and they were absolutely no help what so ever! They told me to call the company that sells to them... So much for standing by what you sell, and making the customer happy.
Well, I did call the company that built the harness, and after going over the colors going to each plug it was obvious there was a problem. They were happy to try to make things right with me, its just lucky for me that they are driving distance.
The plan is that I am going to pull out the new harness from my truck, and bring it along with my original harness to their shop. The wire shop said that they will either re-pin the plugs, or they will swap it out for a new harness out right. Just depends on how many are out of place.
I know for a fact that the ignition switch plug is incorrectly pinned out, hence the reason why I could not turn over the engine via the key. I am also willing to bet money that the plug for the rear harness is also pinned out incorrectly, since my lights and fuel gauge are not working correctly.
I am most likely going to push for a whole new set up, since I don't like the idea of AT hook-ups being in my harness. Plus the whole idea of having to jumper the two purple wires together just bugs me, since it just seems like a mickey mouse fix for a harness that is supposed to be "right".

[72LoBurb]

Originally Posted by oldiron

But his suburban a manual transmission.

Good memory, it just doesn't last long...sorry...I'll remove my foot from my mouth now.

[vectorit]

Just as I thought... I took the dash harness out today, and the rear harness connector is wired backwards! I am going to try and get to the place that made this harness tomorrow, and I will let you all know what happens.

[vectorit]

I took the harness to the builder today, and they were apologetic about the whole issue that brought me there. They admited to the mistake on the ignition plug, but stood by the fact that they wired the rear harness plug correctly. Saying that they checked their GM wire schematic, and it shows that they wired it correctly. I brought my old harness, and the rear harness plug to prove my point. They basicaly said that mine had to be a one off... Being that I was in no mood to argue, since I snuck away from work to get to this place. They repinned everything for me, and provided the proper jumper for the purple AT neutral safety plug.
Well... I put that harness back into my truck bout an hour ago. I am still having issues I think, since my rear running lights do not work but they do up front. The ignition works properly now though.
I will work on it again tomorrow when I have a fresh head, since right now I am on the verge of going crazy!

[vectorit]

Well, here is the punch list as of today. I am still not out of the woods!

1. Break lights only work when headlights are off, and even when the light switch is half way out.
2. No rear running lights
3. No turn signals, or hazards to the rear. Front running lights blink only on the hazards.

Everything at this point seems to be related to the brake lights, but only when the headlight switch is pulled to either accessory or headlights on.