19 replies to this topic

[thegreenhornet]

I'm a newbie here so hi to everyone :)

My 1979 Mini 1000 came back after having a new clutch and coil today, but I've found that none of the headlights, side lights, tail lights and dash lights are working. The headlights do flash from the column stalk though.

I suspected a dodgy switch so I checked it with a multimeter. The switch has power, but bypassing it with paperclips doesn't work.

Given that it's all of the lights that don't work apart from the flash switch, I'm stumped as to what it could be. Everything else electrical works fine and the fuses are fine.

Help?!

[KernowCooper]

as everything is gone I would suspect the light switch? but you saw you have bypassed it with a paper clip? well I would test it with a multimeter feeed in and feed out on the terminals, If the fuses are ok then its a case of following the wiring back.

 

I still suspect the switch

[Ipod]

Could it be an bad earth or earth not re connected after the work

[thegreenhornet]

Thanks guys. I tested it with a multimeter and there's definitely power to the switch. If it's an earth problem, where would I find the connection?

I tried the switch on the way to work this morning. The lights flickered and there was a fizzing noise behind the dials. Are there any connections back there that would affect all the lights at once?

[Bazooka Joe]

The switch on mine went a couple of years ago and sounded similar to yours, in that it would flash from the column stalk but that was it. Not ideal for me at the time bing around 30 miles from home and it being 11pm...But I did have a fizzing noise and I also had a "fishy" which was the switch burning out. Or the person who did the clutch and coil could have knock a wire off the solenoid or some of the bullet connectors under the slam panel (if that's what it's called) at the front?

[thegreenhornet]

Hmm, I've cleaned the bullet connectors down the front and wiggled them about. Nothing.

Then I delved about behind the dash panel and tried cleaning and wiggling the dim-dip relay. Nothing again.

I'm not sure which of the three brown wires on the solenoid it is though :/

[thegreenhornet]

Any more ideas guys? I'm pretty stuck on it and it's my daily driver :/

[KernowCooper]

You say you have power to the switch, is there power on the side and headlight outputs from the switch? if not its the switch which is faulty, if there is power in/out then its a case of tracing the wiring outwards to the fusebox and onward to the lights. I doubt its a single earth problem as so many things are not working and they have different earth points.

[thegreenhornet]

I'll have another go at testing the outputs from the switch this evening then. If there's power coming out of the switch, would a fault on the way to the fusebox affect everything? 

 

Also, would I be looking at the second fuse for the lights? It's a four-fuse box. 

[thegreenhornet]

I found a corroded brown wire this evening, which leads to the back terminals of the second fuse. It snapped of when I tried to unplug it.

Could this cause the whole lot to stop working? Or have I just created another problem? I believed that there shouldn't be a fuse that can take all the lights out.

Before this, I tested the switch connector again and there's no power to it now (hmm).

If I use the circuit test function on the multimeter, with the negative going to earth and the positive in the different contacts on the connector, I only get a circuit if I put it to the headlights (blue) contact. Yet surely the headlights would work independently of the side lights? Then again, I think the car's had a later wiring loom put in at some stage.

[tiger99]

You believed correctly. There is not a fuse that can take out the headlights, which would be illegal and dangerous. However, there is one, or on later models, two fuses feeding the side and tail light circuits.

 

If you are using the continuity test function of your multimeter, it may detect continuity through the headlights, which are only 1 ohm or less when cold, but may not detect continuity through the higher resistance side/tail circuit. Try the ohms range instead.

[sashafelix]

I had the exact same problem on my 73. Turns out the light switch has a fuse that was missing. I replaced the fuse on the actual switch and everything worked again.

[KernowCooper]

Browns are live feeds so that needs fixing where it snapped off from, investigate the corrosion on the fuse box and check the rear of the box if the connectons are that bad

[thegreenhornet]

Thanks guys :) I've repaired the connection on the brown wire and the headlights now work! The side, tail and dash lights are still out, but I've ordered a new fuse box, which I'm hoping will fix it. I'm not entirely sure I've put all the wires back where they need to go after fiddling with it. I'm not sure if it's one with a single fuse for the side lights or two. It's a '79 car but I think the wiring loom is later because it's got ballast ignition and dim-dip lights. 

 

I've also ripped out the bulkhead insulation, which I think might be the root cause of the corroded wiring since it's just a manky great sponge. 

[thegreenhornet]

New fuse box is in. Headlights are working fine. The side, tail and dash lights initially didn't work, but I gave the connectors to the fuse box another clean and they work now (although I'm not sure how long for). Even with the ignition on, though, it's just sidelights - no dim-dip. 

 

Does this mean I should clean the connectors more thoroughly (or replace them), or could it only be a fault with the dim-dip relay? Can the normal headlights and sidelights work independently of the relay if it sticks?

 

Thanks!