Headlights dont work :(

[grinder]

stuck on main beam - im sure thats a different relay

not sure what the sparky cut - it could be any number of wires

im just trying to work out a logical process for working out what went fault

i know for a fact that when i cut one of my wires - i couldnt get full beam to that is piggy backed onto the other relays

i wonder if you have some how jammed the relay open - hence it being stuck on full beam

what i would do i remove the relays from the front of the car - and then plug them back in one at a time and see what happens

right then - mine wouldnt pop up at all - i traced this to a bad 12v feed and added and extra feed

i ran this to a relay and another to the back of the switch loom - this sorted my probs out straight away

you need to find out if you are getting 12v at the switch then work from there

its the fact that they are stuck on is very stange - i would have thought that they would have been OFF all the time

[doddy]

I think that as you say main beam is the default then the dipper relay cuts into that.

This is the relay wire that was cut which stopped the ignition switch bypassing the up/down jobbie i.e. I can drive with lights down now (or up if I switch the up/down switch).



I can\'t find \'RG\' near the retractors in the Haynes wiring diagram, although I was wrecked last night and contemplating chucking the whole project in and getting a C36 Merc instead!

The Haynes is American so who knows what\'s different in there eh?

btw are those periodic white bands marked on the wiring diagram?
Like RG[W] for that cut wire up there?

[doddy]

PS I should have manually switched the compact camera to F7.1 to give that shot a bit more depth of field, but that\'s not really important here.

[Prof]

From memory - Red/Green wires carry 12V in the lighting circiuit - so they are connected to the big 30A lights fuse in the engine bay, or if it\'s the retractor relay then to the 30A retractor relay.  The ends should be taped or you will get shorts to ground :eek , but really they should not be cut as the lights won\'t operate correctly - unless you were going for that look

[doddy]

yeh - they were taped up.

I just removed all tape to get photos of the colour coding

I\'m gonna stop worrying about this until after Monday when the (2nd) auto spark sees it.

Just ordered the lights though...

This car could well end up as a track day car for someone else!

I mean why bother with all this hassle when Jimmy\'s has a black cab for 1500!?

[doddy]

Car is with Lisburn Auto Electrics, on recommendation.

No news yet but some encouragements:

- When I arrived there was a 360 Spider and a 540 BMW in the yard, the beemer getting work done.

- I tried to explain the symptoms and they weren\'t that bothered, preferring to get stuck in.

- They\'ve stripped the wiring apart to get at the problem.

Basically if they can\'t fix it, I\'m gonna sell it as is I reckon.

[grinder]

sounds like you have the right guys on the case at least

[doddy]

still no joy today - although Belfast was flooded today which took their electric out for half the day. Which is ironic.

Just had a go at FC3S forums - some people mentioned problems with Main Fuse.  Mine is pretty much corroded in, with broken plastic where someone\'s tried to remove it before.  

This could be relevant - I\'ll ask them to sort that out tomorrow...

[grinder]

i didnt think the main ( 80amp ) fuse did anything with the lights to be honest ??

[doddy]

Yeh but if it\'s corroded in who knows where that blue stuff has travelled to in the main fuse box...

Another day done and the owner of this Auto Electrics joint is getting pee\'ed off with it.

These guys are a professional outfit, wiring full kit cars etc.  I do believe they know what they\'re at.  If he doesn\'t find the problem tomorrow then he\'s gonna give up.

That will be the death knell for the car I think! No MOT means it will have to be a track car or drift machine or something.

The motor is strong too (as in keep up with a Clio Sport strong). That\'s the whole point of this exercise.  Not sure what I\'ll do if it isn\'t fixed tomorrow.

I might ask them to string in some new wiring...

[grinder]

humm i cant think back how i tracked the probs with mine

it was a case of checking that stuff had 12v , checked that wires had continuety ( not broken ) then just went around checking that the relays clicked as they should and that the lights worked

then susses out that i wasnt getting 12v at the switch - once i had fixed that it pretty much sorted itself out

have you checked that the light switch isnt broken ??

[doddy]

Well the whole lighting system is a-okay with the ignition switch off so I think that means the switch is fine?

Update to the Saga is this: when I went back to get the car last Thursday it wouldn\'t start, as in wouldn\'t even fire once.

They were holding the ignition on for about 30secs at a time with not one fire.  I left it with them to fix themselves.

It worked when I took it in now it doesn\'t so they\'ll have to work that one out I think.

[grinder]

ekkkkkkkkk thats not good at all

sounds like they have flooded it thats all

and you should never crank for more than 15 secs at a time - it will kill the starter motor eventually

[doddy]

okay car is running again. "a wee bad connection" is all it was.

looks like I\'m just going to have to figure it out myself then.

Gonna start with the dodgy main fuse and see what shape that main fuse block is in. Then start tracing everything from the switch down.  Since the lights are faulty only with the ignition switch on, I guess the problem could be anywhere from the switch down.

The Haynes wiring diagram is the best I have I think, but I\'m still trying to get more!

[grinder]

i have some diagrams at work i think

its just strange that you get the light on with the ignition on ??

first thing i would do is

1 - remove the headlight switch

and then see what happens

you can then look at the all the connectors and i can tell you what most of them do

then we can work from there

if the lights stop playing around with the switch out - it could just be a knackered switch