Electrical conundrum...to me

[UpNorth]

Hi all,

It’s your favorite Pencil Pusher again with another « call me stupid » question:

Ron Francis wiring harness with a GPS Vintage gauge kit

I put the power on my electric system today.
But without a key in the ignition switch.
The gauges went alive with retro light.
I could push the horn button and get a honk.
Hazard switch is making the marker on the speedo blink.
High beam switch activate the blue led on the speedo.
If I put the key in and turn it a little to the right I can ear the fuel pump.

I unscrewed the red wire coming from the battery to the ignition switch.
Same thing happened after re attaching the cables to the battery: so it’s not a bad ignition switch...
Any idea were I fumbled in my wiring? Any idea would be welcome to try and find the gremlin...

Thanks in advance.

[Ducky2009]

Assuming you do not have a Master Switch, or it's in the on position.
Yes, the horn and lights (including high beam) will work without the key on. Yes, you should hear the fuel pump when you turn the key on.
The gauges should not function without the key on. I'd start there.

[UpNorth]

Thanks Ducky,

Found out that my headlight switch was in the on position without the knob installed...meaning it left factory like that without me able to know it until I installed the knob in this evening.

[P100DHG]

Sounds right without a master switch. Frustrating and frankly not the way I would have wired it. One of my major gripes with this build is the wiring. Frankly I have wished I did it on my own. I wired my VW on my own and it worked perfectly.

We would all assume that when the key is turned off no power to any portion of the car except for hazards would be customary. My friends roadster has no key and just the removable master switch and hidden kill switch. I thought about going that route but I wanted the FFR key

[edwardb]

Sounds right without a master switch. Frustrating and frankly not the way I would have wired it. One of my major gripes with this build is the wiring. Frankly I have wished I did it on my own. I wired my VW on my own and it worked perfectly.

We would all assume that when the key is turned off no power to any portion of the car except for hazards would be customary. My friends roadster has no key and just the removable master switch and hidden kill switch. I thought about going that route but I wanted the FFR key

Actually all daily drivers are wired exactly like the Ron Francis harness. In addition to hazards, headlights/running lights/gauge lights, horn, interior/courtesy lights, and brake lights work with the ignition turned off. All for safety reasons.

[Nigel Allen]

Do you really want your headlights to turn off with your ignition? This would be dangerous if you had to shut your engine off during night driving. Also, a fault in your ignition circuit could take out your lights and engine in one go.

[AC Bill]

All sounds normal to me, and you now know the headlight switch was in the on position, so that explains your gauge lights, hi beam indicator, etc.

[UpNorth]

All sounds normal to me, and you now know the headlight switch was in the on position, so that explains your gauge lights, hi beam indicator, etc.

Yes thanks!
By the way that headlight switch feels very vintage...Borderline flimsy...but what do I know...

[P100DHG]

Do you really want your headlights to turn off with your ignition? This would be dangerous if you had to shut your engine off during night driving. Also, a fault in your ignition circuit could take out your lights and engine in one go.

But it’s more likely you’d walk away forget to turn off you’re lights and come back to a dead battery. Or at least that’s the case for me.