I was never standing behind my Opel when it was put in gear. I was always in the drivers seat. Have NO idea if it delayed, or if they ever came on to be honest. Didn't care. Sorry, no help mate.

 

There should not be a delay. The mechanism inside the gearbox, or the switch itself, might be a little stuck and need a little vibration and a few seconds of time to get activated.

Dieter

 

Contacts in the switch would be the area to look at, it may get better with use. Check the ground wire at the backup bulbs, as a poor or weak ground can cause a problem or delay also clean bulb sockets.
HTH
John

 

Not a bad question at all Dan I'm having an issue with mine as well I repaired some bad wiring while I had the fuel tank out and realized I had no ground going to the light, found a stray ground back there not hooked to anything so I assumed it was for the reverse light. I hooked it up but still no light. I will address it though when I pull the trans for leak repairs as the switch is covered in fluid. I think I would have to second guyopel a delay sure seems like some sort of bad contact. I think I would start at the switch and see if the delay is present here first,(would seem unlikely since it's new but sh$$ happens) if not then you know you need to look back to the light or ground I had the same issue with one of the running lights and found the bulb was loose in the socket . I may address mine as well sooner if I'm at a stopping point with the front end and let you know

 

Not a bad question at all Dan I'm having an issue with mine as well I repaired some bad wiring while I had the fuel tank out and realized I had no ground going to the light, found a stray ground back there not hooked to anything so I assumed it was for the reverse light. I hooked it up but still no light. I will address it though when I pull the trans for leak repairs as the switch is covered in fluid. I think I would have to second guyopel a delay sure seams like some sort of bad contact. I think I would start at the switch and see if the delay is present here first,(would seem unlikely since it's new but sh$$ happens) if not then you know you need to look back to the light or ground I had the same issue with one of the running lights and found the bulb was loose in the socket . I may address mine as well sooner if I'm at a stopping point with the front end and let you know

When I rewired my Gt, I had had such a problem with grounds, I ran a dedicated ground from the ground wire, down the passengers side, and put a ground to the rear lights, and stopped. So long and short, everything goes to a dedicated, soldered ground. The main grounding wire is a 12 gauge wire. Remember, this car is 49 years old, a 1972.
Take care, Jarrell

 

Thanks to all who gave input :yup: I was pretty sure there wasn't suppose to be a delay and more than likely its the contacts in the switch, even though its a new one from OGTS. Also, as we all know the ground on those cars are notorious for issues. I'm confident I have addressed any ground issues. Fortunately it does work, just a short delay. Maybe as it gets used more it will respond more appropriately.

I tested it several times and each time it was the same consistent time delay of 5 seconds. I would think that would be more of a switch problem than a ground problem. My experience with a ground issue, is it either will work or if you wiggle the connection or move the car, shut a door, etc. you get a contact.

Anywho, I was just curious if anyone else has had that issue or if Opel did make a delay :no:

 

Assuming it's an incandescent light, it could be drawing current right away but, if the current is low, it will take some time to warm up to full brightness. It's probably just a grounding and connection issue. If you clean all the connections and grounds it may start working as expected. Doesn't hurt to put a little dialectric grease on those connectors to keep oxidation away.

 

If it is the "newer" style switch, which screws directly into the transmission, pull the wires off of the switch and connect them together. If the light comes on immediately(ignition on), then the problem is in the switch. If it is still slow, then you have a wiring problem.

 

...wiring problem...or just integrity issue with the reverse bulb and socket itself.

 

Thanks Jeff :yup: didn't think about that. I will try it and respond with the results.

 

I don't really think it is all the things that others have brought up. I believe your GT has gremlins. They do all the things mentioned, but they are still around after you "fix" the problem. Contact a good exorcist, and get rid of the gremlins. Oh, wait Halloween is over........nevermind.

Bob

 

I have a 1970 GT and one of the first things I tackle was the back up light. The back up switch on the 1970 is located on the exterior of the shifting arms side of the transmission and is activated by the shifter. The switch was pretty dirty so I cleaned it up. It seemed to be working but still no backup light so I checked the input wire for power and it was good. I then jumped the switch and joined the the two wires...still no backup light. The next step was to dismantle the backup light. It had only the power wire so I deduced that the body of the back up light and the screws that held it in place would complete the ground. After cleaning up the bulb socket and buffing the attachment screws on a the grinder wire brush I reassembled everything. Low and behold I had a backup. In other words check the ground.

 

So I did what Jeff suggested and remove the two wires at the switch of which my switch is a screw into the transmission style and directly connect the two wires. The reverse light activated instantly. I reconnected the wires to the switch and retested only to have a five second delay. The problem must be in the switch itself. The switch is brand new from OGTS, however, just because a part is new doesn't mean it will be defective.

You are all correct about the ground issue. I thoroughly cleaned all the wire connections to include grounds. The reverse light only has a power wire and the ground is the screws that hold the light housing to the body. I did find the screw holes had paint around the holes, so I removed the paint so the screws touched bare metal. I thoroughly cleaned the light socket as well. When the light is activated, it is very bright and no flickering thus good contact.

One thing I did change and that was the wire connections to the switch. I replaced with protective wire connections in order to help prevent and/or reduce dirt and grime from collecting on the connections. Before I started the cleanup, the two wire connections were completely filled with dirt, oil and grease thus creating a bad connection.

Bob I would agree with you, I think the switch is infected with some sort of gremlin and needs to be purged :yup::yup::yup:

When I started this process, I was fairly confident the issue was either a wire connection, ground or the switch. I was just curious to see what other Opel owners have experienced. Thanks to all for sharing and for any who care to continue to share experiences. This is how we all can learn and adjust to future dealings with our Opel's :yup:

 

Just out of curiosity were you having similar issues with the old switch?
Without raining on the victory parade I think I remember reading somewhere about something internal not making good enough contact/or lining up properly to fully energize the switch.
I hope I'm getting this confused with something else for your sake.

 

Kind of along these lines, I was wondering when the switch is in the circuit are you starting out with the car in reverse and turning on the key or do you turn on the key and shift into reverse? If you are turning the key and then shifting, there would be a mechanical issue in the mechanism that pushes the button internally. If you start out in reverse and turn on the key then it would be the switch.

Can you unscrew the switch and manually push the button? It seems strange that a sticking button would be so consistent

 

Tim I'm turning the key to on and then shifting to reverse. I wondered that as well, but if so, what would be the cause mechanically in the transmission. I have had no issues with my transmission thus far. Terry the old switch was bent and leaking oil, so I don't know if it actually was functional. The PO had disconnected the wires. I never gave it a chance, I just replaced so the leak would stop. That was a few years ago and until recently, I just hooked the wires up and discovered my dilemma :yup:

 

I would try putting it in reverse and then turn on the key. If the delay is still there, it would be an electrical issue with the switch. If not, then there is a mechanical issue and I would try to test the switch by itself. I'm no expert on what is going on inside the transmission but I'm sure others do and could better explain what could go wrong inside.

 

Maybe your issue is different, but I noticed with mine that you have to push the gear shift forward nearly as far as it will go for the reverse light to come on. If you just put it in reverse until it holds in place, and don't push it forward a bit, the light doesn't come on.

 

Tim that is another good idea to try as a troubleshoot fix. I have not tried that. Eric also a good idea to try since it happened to you. Come to think of it, I believe that might certainly be the problem. Cant say for sure until I try it, but when I was testing, I think there was one time the light did come on quicker when I actually engaged the gear shift further forward. Must have something to do with the mechanism in the transmission that is activating the switch button. Just wonder if others have experienced the same.

Either way I will try both ideas and let everyone know the results. I realize this issue is not a major crisis with our Opel's, but something that is interesting to diagnose and correct :yup: or it could just be me :ugh:

 

but something that is interesting to diagnose and correct or it could just be me

Not at all Dan I'm a little corky about the little stuff as well. Maybe I just like the troubleshooting to repair. How things work Well I'll just tear it down and find out

I've said before and will gladly repeat and I quote

( my wife calls me anal I say not at all just curiously detail oriented) until it's her project and I have to do it her way LOL:haha:

 

Nicely said Terry, there is a lot of truth in that. I bet all of us that own a Opel are little anal when it comes to our Opel. Nothing wrong with that :no: I have been fighting a head/chest cold recently and not able to get out and work on the Opel. Hoping soon to trouble shoot a couple of ideas that have been posed on my issue. Its always a joy to be able to find the problem and tell others for future diagnosis.

 

A shot a whiskey A tea spoon of honey and hhuummmm never made it passed that.
Hope you get to feeling better soon Dan. Nothing worse than having the drive but not the energy.

 

Okay finally I have had some time to work on my delay issue :yup: I did what Jeff suggested and removed the two wires at the switch and connected directly together. I turned the ignition to on and the reverse light activated immediately :yup::yup:

The good news is: the wiring and ground is working properly. Bad news is: has to be the switch. And that is a brand new switch from OGTS with very little use. Certainly new parts can be defective :ugh: Have to decide do I remove the switch and see if I can repair it or just order another one from OGTS.

 

I have had a couple things that went bad that I got from Gil. He usually sends a new part if the part you got is defective. Call Gil and see what the options are, or maybe he has the answer for you.

Bob

 

I wonder if you can pull the switch out and manually activate it by hand and determine if it just has a bad spot or misalignment internally?

 

Should be able to as it is only completing the connection between the two wires attached to it. Use an ohm meter if you have one and push the plunger to see if there is a slow response. All you are looking for is continuity with the plunger depressed.

Harold

 

I may try that Terry, I don't remember how much transmission oil escapes when you remove the switch. I don't have a plug, but I'm sure its minimal. You are correct Bob, Gil is awesome to work with and he does compensate fairly. I bought the switch a few years ago more for stopping the leak when I first got the GT. I just recently started to work on that project by hooking up the wires.

I'm probably going to pull the switch and see if I can fix the problem and if not, oh well I buy a new one and the issue should be fixed :yup:

 

FWIW... I had an original switch fail similarly in the 80's... it got erratic, odd delays, etc. Seems to be in the nature of the switch design.

 

Thanks for the info Manta Rallier, that makes me feel better knowing it’s very likely the switch. I have my Christmas list when OGTS releases their sales and I will add a switch.

 

hhuummm I got to thinking about this subject last night and I may check mine this weekend
Does anyone know the ohm value for this switch?
That may help to uncover the delay part

 

Interesting Terry, I never thought of that :no: I wonder how many others experience this issue. I would have to agree with what Chuck said in his post #2. How often do we check the reverse light, unless its at night and were expecting the light to activate. In my case its a solid 5 second delay before activating. I think a lot of folks can have that short delay before actually moving the car, thus never knowing they have a delay issue. Or as Bob put it, I just have some gremlins to get rid of :banana:

Terry you might be on to something, or the switch has a malfunction from development. That's why I like this forum, so many folks that are knowledgeable in so many different ares. As simple as this issue is, it brings out the best in all of you :veryhappy

I will be purchasing a new one soon, and once installed and checked out, I will report my findings.