21 replies to this topic

[stevelane]

Having just put my engine back in I have turned my attention to the interior.

Before I took the engine out I took out the dash including the top and bottom rails as I had already bought a new interior and the old ones were taken in exchange.

As far as I can tell I have not disturbed anything other than the wiring to the back of the radio and taken off all the switches for headlights etc

However I have put the back in and nothing!

I know the battery is ok as it is turning over the engine but I also have no wipers or horn as well as anything these switches control.

Any suggestions of where I have gone wrong or what I should look for? Electrics is a bit of a jungle to me!

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[stevelane]

If it helps these are what's not working:

Windscreen wipers
Headlights
Indicators or hazards
Rear screen heater
Brake pressure test light
Rear fog light
Horn

I'm guessing they are all connected somehow and that I've knocked something stupid but I'm at a loss at the moment

[Minimad_Diver]

Obvious thing would be are the fuses OK?

[stevelane]

I've checked some of the fuses and they seem ok but just realised that I haven't checked the inline ones, would they go these things?

[stevelane]

Check all the fuses and they all seem fine if I'm checking them properly. I've used a multimeter and checked for resistance and they all have it which I believe shows they are ok

[tiger99]

Well, the headlights are not fused. Are all the brown wires (live feeds) correctly connected to the main battery terminal at the starter solenoid?

[stevelane]

I thought they were if you mean the wires that cam off the back of the starter motor? I thought I had put everything on that I had taken off, any idea how many leads connect there?

[stevelane]

This is what I have connected to the back of the solenoid.

There is two connected to the nut on the back of the solenoid each with two wires and then one to a spade connector. The spade connected did get paint on it but I have rubbed that off.

Does this look right?

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[stevelane]

Sorry to keep asking questions but I am at a complete loss and really get confused when it comes to them.

I have been trying to think of anything else that got disturbed that would be connected to electrics and the only other thing I could think of was the earth strap between the cylinder head and the engine steady on the body, could this have anything to do with it?

[stevelane]

Also, at the rear of the solenoid the Haynes manual says there are two spade connectors but I only have one, what colour is the other one?

[stevelane]

Getting a lot of silence on here tonight, seems electrics aren't people favourite subject lol

Well gonna add what's happened so far and hopefully someone will come along with some answers or suggestions.

I have been out tonight and took the live feeds off the solenoid and gave them a good clean. Wiggled a few wires around and I now have horn, tail lights and side lights but have lost brake lights! The rear screen heater switch lit up for a while and then went again!

I'm fairly new to cars and was rather smug when I rebuilt the engine on my own ( well, with a little help from my forum friends) but this has got me proper stumped.

[jamesy]

By no means an expert. i just learn as i go too. my first thought was is it all earthed ok?

[stevelane]

For the cheap price of it it may be worth trying a new earth strap and while its off make sure I haven't painted too much and lost the connection

[tiger99]

Your brown wires look ok, and if these are the only browns in the loom, we can rule that particular connection out. It is nice to see such cleanliness in that area!

The engine earth strap is not the main problem, but as suggested, check it anyway.

The simplest thing to fix first is the headlights, as there is no fuse involved. First check the bulbs, it is not unknown for two to fail. Check that at the light switch, the brown incoming wire is live (most likely will be, as it comes straight from the terminal on the starter solenoid). Now I assume that side and rear lights are working, as you don't mention those. Check that they work anyway. When you select headlights on the switch, check that the blue wire at the switch is now live. If not, check to see if the switch connector is reversible (some are), and turn it over and try again.

If still no headlights (check both main and dip every time), follow the blue wire to the dip switch. With headlights selected on, make sure that it is live. You should get voltage on blue/red or blue/white, depending on the position of the switch.

Now find the blue/red and blue/white at the bunch of bullet connectors behind the top of the grille. Same thing again, you should be able to make one or the other live by operating the dip switch. Check that the headlights are plugged into the bullets securely.

Now find the bunch of black wires at the bullet connectors, and check that with headlights on, none of them are live. If they are, you have a fault between there and the main earth point somewhere on the bulkhead, usually near the fuses. (I think they are not always in exactly the same place.)

Somewhere during this process you should have working headlights, or a clear indication of a fault. Report back with your findings, and we will carry on to check something else.

[stevelane]

Thanks for your comprehensive advice. I did get sidelights and rear lights but only after cleaning the contacts on the back if the solenoid and wiggling a few wires about. Unfortunately I only noticed they had come on afterwards so don't know which action did it

I won't be able to work on the car until tomorrow night but will follow what you have said and let you know

Thanks again