Why will the brake lights on my 1964 Thunderbird not work?

bad break light switch,is mounted on steering collum at bottom.

Want to guess one of the changes made during production that still bewilders 1964 Thunderbird owners today? A relay was added to the brake light circuit during production, and a kit was released to retrofit cars without the relay. Many an owner scratches their head in wonderment after replacing the brake light switch only to find the lights still don't work! After verifying the bulbs are good, they fear the turn signal switch has gone bad, and sometimes even replace it only to discover that...you guessed it...no brake lights. The secret is the relay, located in the engine compartment, cleverly located behind the windshield washer fluid bag! So, if you have a 1964 T-bird without brake lights, check behind the washer bag to see if you might have a bad/missing/unplugged relay. And here's some trivia for you: Ford had originally planned on debuting the sequential rear turn signals for the 1964 model year, but had to delay it for a year because the new sequential turn signal flashing sequence had to be voted into motor vehicle laws in all states before the cars could legally be driven in them. And, typical of government, there were a few states that still hadn't made it legal when the time came to start building the 1964 models! So, the feature was delayed for one year, and got introduced on the 1965 cars instead.

I have a 1964 thunderbird and my reverse/backup lights are not working. when testing the replacement bulbs, I do not have power flowing to the two contacts in the bulb recepticle. This tells me that either I have the 1) the incorrect bulb, 2) that the wires to the reverse light fittings are disconnect, 3) that there could be a break in wire, 4) the ground could have been lost or 5) the fuse could be burnt out. My question - What are the easist solutions for problems 3, 4 & 5?

Backup/reverse lights are typically a single filament bulb and normally are an #1156 part number and should have only a single contact in the bulb socket and on the center of the bulb bottom since it's only an off/on type setup. The ground should be the actual metal socket itself, not like turn signal/brakelight bulbs that are dual filament and are on as a tail light and brighter as a brakelight/turn signal and will have two contact points on the bulb and the socket... if you are sure that you have the correct bulb (single contact #1156 ) then it's more than likely a bad ground so clean the contact points in the light socket with a fingernail file or 100 grit sandpaper or emery cloth or if completely rusted then you will have to replace them with a new aftermarket socket (readily available in the electrical dept. of any major autoparts store). Use a 12 volt test light to check power going to the socket but make sure the ignition switch is in the on position (not actually running) and the shifter is in the ( R)reverse position. have someone in the car wiggling the shifter in the reverse position as the backup light switch might be bad and need adjustment or even replacement also. this is typically located under the dash on the steering column with 2 wires going to it. One is hot and the other is a ground. (blk or brown wire is usually ground). Only other way to check all the wiring is to physically follow all the wiring from the bulb to the dash but most breaks are normally where the wire is able to be moved or disrupted so check in those places first like near the tail lights orin the trunk area where the ground wires attach to the body or where something could be layed on top of the wire or moved by accident. lso check under the dash where the wire might get bumped or moved by foot movement. With all the wiring that is in a typical car old or new cars alike, Electrical problems are sometimes very hard to find and repair and can take hours of labor or even days to find the problem. With an older or antique car usually it's a brittle wire that has broke in half or came loose from vibration over the years as wiring gets old and brittle and can easily break from the slightest vibration or movement. . good luck and let us know your results. Kenny / MrBlueOval

Did you ever fix the brake lights I got a 62 thunderbird brake lights won't come on all other lights work fine

Can you put 65 t-bird lights on th 64 t-bird?

Can you put 65 t-bird lights on th 64 t-bird? The sequence lights

Same problem and yes, it was the wire came loose from the master Cylinder