Lights, flashers, turn signals not working...

[DSol]

So, I have been getting my 8 back on the road after she had to sit in the garage for a couple of years. Rebuilt my Holley and got it tuned so she runs better than she has for years. But now, the headlights, turn signals and flashers do not work. I swear they did a few weeks ago when I started the carb work, but now they dont. I have been tinkering around inside the glove compartment, cannot see anything out of the ordinary, hear no relays clicking when I try any of the switches. Fog lights and horn work, didn't try the wipers.

Any suggestions? I have a factory manual and I suspect the headlamp circuit breaker, but cannot find the damn thing anywhere. The manual is woefully pitiful in the illustration and description.

If I were ever to meet any of Mr. Lucas's descendants, I would punch them in the nose...

Speed is your friend...

[Frank Thomas]

Dsol -

When I got my 7, I ran into some of the same issues (lights / hazards / signals) didn't work. At the time, I swore that the hazard relay and that the turn signal relay was faulty...However, it all came down to the hazard switch having a cracked "arm" in the dash. [B)]

My thought, for what it is worth - If you haven't already, take the switches out and check for corrosion on the switches. Also, if the arms on the switch are cracked or broken, that can cause the issues you are seeing. Most specifically, if the hazard switch is not making good contact it can throw off the signal lamps....One other thing - the wiring going to the back of the headlamp switch likes to be at a certain position (at least in my car). Take the switches out of the dash and move the wires around and see if the lights will pop up.

I agree - a good sock in the nose would be in order. But there is no sense of joy (and relief) from hitting the light switch and seeing those lamps pop up...[:D]

Good luck - keep us posted.
Cheers-
Frank






1980 TR7 Spider

[mb4tim]

pull out the hazard switch, take it apart, clean it up, grease it (electrical grease), and put it all back together.

Takes less than an hour, and is almost fun.

-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[FI Spyder]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mb4tim</i>

pull out the hazard switch, take it apart, clean it up, grease it (electrical grease), and put it all back together.

Takes less than an hour, and is almost fun.
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Repeat with main light switch and clean contacts of wiring in the main light switch harness (both sides) for good measure. It wouldn't quite be the same if everything worked perfectly all the time. [:)]



TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[DSol]

Thanks, I honestly hadn't thought about the switch being the culprit as all three made me go to the wiring diagram to look for something in common to all of them. I will pull the dash switches and clean them up and post what happens (or doesen't). It has been a long time since I have worked on this car, she has been neglected the last several years and it is time I got her back in shape.

Speed is your friend...

[Hasbeen]

DSol, also clean, & grease all the mostly three pin connectors up
near the lights, at the front of the engine bay.

With my 7 these were the usual culprits, about once a year, until I
relayed everything out near the lights.

I hope yours dont take as much effort to get working, as my 8s did,
after 10 or 11 months at the painters.

Hasbeen

[DSol]

What connectors are you talking about? I have taken out the dash switches, cleaned the contacts and still no joy. I am having a hard time figuring out from the wiring diagram what the emergency flashers, light motors (the lights will come on by pulling on the brights but not come up) and the turn signals have in common. Driving me nuts it is...

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Hasbeen</i>

DSol, also clean, & grease all the mostly three pin connectors up
near the lights, at the front of the engine bay.

With my 7 these were the usual culprits, about once a year, until I
relayed everything out near the lights.

I hope yours dont take as much effort to get working, as my 8s did,
after 10 or 11 months at the painters.

Hasbeen
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Speed is your friend...

[FI Spyder]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DSol</i>

What connectors are you talking about? I have taken out the dash switches, cleaned the contacts and still no joy. I am having a hard time figuring out from the wiring diagram what the emergency flashers, light motors (the lights will come on by pulling on the brights but not come up) and the turn signals have in common. Driving me nuts it is...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

The turn signal routes through the hazard switch as well as the turn signal switch.

The connectors mention in previous posts are those in the engine bay behind the light pods where the headlight wiring harness has connectors that can be separated so headlight pods can be removed with their wiring harness. Pretty much easily accessible on most cars, pretty much not on FI cars with A/C. If these connections are not clean headlights may not light or pod motors may not lift.



TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[DSol]

I hate electical troubleshooting! I am awful at it!!!

I will take a look at the headlight pod connections and clean them up to see if it makes a difference.

Anyone, should I be looking for something common to all three items or should I take it as a coincidence that the three things stopped working at the same time with two different problems? The only thing I have done to the car was remove and reinstall the Holley, so that should not be related.

I hear absolutly no clicking noise from any of the glove compartment relays so I suspect no power is getting through to them. I cannot for the life of me, find the supposed circuit breaker that is referenced in the manual wiring diagram.

Speed is your friend...

[FI Spyder]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DSol</i>

I hear absolutly no clicking noise from any of the glove compartment relays so I suspect no power is getting through to them. I cannot for the life of me, find the supposed circuit breaker that is referenced in the manual wiring diagram.
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The headlight circuit breaker should be found lower left of fuse panel area. Grab OEM pdf manual from jclay's site if you haven't already.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[DSol]

No joy so far (partial joy in a way). Got the LH turn signal flashing slowly, RH just stays on and doesnt flash. Still no headlights but if you pull the brights on, you can see them light up under the car. No emergency flashers either. I have pulled every relay and switche out to clean the contacts. I also noticed that a lot of the caps on my fuses turn easily, so I probably need replace them all but am having a hard time finding the right length of glass fuses.

Speed is your friend...

[FI Spyder]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DSol</i>

I also noticed that a lot of the caps on my fuses turn easily, so I probably need replace them all but am having a hard time finding the right length of glass fuses.
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If caps turn we're probably NFG. Tou can see if they are contiuous with meter. I give a dab of crazy glue on mine as old fuses tend to do that and break the connection to the metal cap. Be aware that Brit and USA fuses are rated differently and apparently different sizes so be sure to replace them with British fuses.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[saabfast]

To mention the obvious, slow indicators are normally due to low power, is the battery OK? (Ideally change to an electronic flasher unit which is not susceptible to low power). Constant on is a failed bulb, are they all OK?
When you said you had cleaned the contacts on the hazard switch did that include taking it apart and cleaning the internal contacts, not just the rear connector ones. It is the internal ones which tend to get mucky and make a bad contact.

Alan
Saab 9000 Stg 1
Saab 9000 2.3 FPT Auto
'81 TR7 DHC