Undertak8184

I just purchased a 66 Olds Hearse and I cant get the cornering lights to work. I have changed the bulbs and traced the wires to the firewall and from the firewall to were they go into the steering column. I ran a hot wire to the light to make sure the lights and sockets were good and they worked. I have power coming through the fuse box which is a black wire that follows the cornering light wires to the steering column. Is there a switch in the steering column? The steering is a non tilting column.

copper128

The switch is part of the turn signal switch. You'll need a switch specifically for cars with cornering lights. I had a NOS one, but need a turn signal switch for my '67 Delmont, so I (cringe ) cut off the extra leads for the cornering light function and used it.

You might want to check with Shee-Mar to see if they have one or can rebuild yours.
http://www.shee-mar.com/contact.html

Undertak8184

My turn signals work, would the cornering not working affect the turning signals?

copper128

My turn signals worked too. But the brake lights didn't when the turn signal was on. The switch is the most common issue with these circuits. Since you have power & ground and the lights test OK, there's not much else to look at.

m371961

Cornering lamps work off of the turn signal switch but have a separate power supply and use separate contacts. Sometimes you can repair the contacts once you get to them. Don't know about replacement switches for a non-tilt w/ corner lamps, but tilt are hard to find.

bigoldscruiser

Non-tilt switches are also very hard to find. If you still have the original switch, it can probably be fixed without too much trouble. I have found that the original switches have gone bad over the years and the owner has replaced it with a standard turn signal switch just to have that function. I don't remember seeing it mentioned above but the cornering lights only work when the parking or headlights are on. They get the power from the wiring that feeds the under-hood light.

casketmaker

Cool, I also have a 66 Olds hearse and from what I have been told, there are only 10 of these known to exist. Mine is a Seville model so it is sitting on a stock size Olds 98 frame. I would love to see pic's of yours. Mine was found in a junk yard missing drive train and several interior parts but I am working on getting her back together now. I plan on driving her to hearse con in 2015 (doubt she will be ready for 2014). You can see what I am working with at http://www.66oldshearse.net