Author Topic: electrical gurus, need your help  (Read 11560 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #45 on: September 05, 2009, 12:22:35 AM »
1 bulb has 3 prongs and the other has 2. Not sure which is which (high or low beam)
Rene'

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #46 on: September 05, 2009, 12:25:15 AM »
Embarrassing as it may seem for someone who was a former educator with a graduate degree, I do not know how to use a volt meter. No, I don't have one. I just like tinkering with these cars as far back as I can remember but NEVER with electrical.
Rene'

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #47 on: September 05, 2009, 12:27:19 AM »
Who should I look for when I call, your profile just says 78ta. Are you sure it's okay to call?
Rene'

Offline brian c

  • Lifetime Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4880
  • Ohio Firebirds Member
    • Y88 Resto
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #48 on: September 05, 2009, 09:34:35 AM »
Brian,
The schematic just shows the head light ground as a ground symbol. It doesn't show how the core support is connected electrically to the chassis ground wise. I haven't had my front end apart. Is there a ground wire that connects the core support to the front sub frame or fenders? Or did they just rely on the physical connection of the core support to the fenders and the fenders to the chassis for a ground path?

Randy,

The forward light harness has a ring terminal on either side near the side markers. The only place for those to connect on my car were on the radiator core support. Since my radiator core support was powder coated so I had to run a dedicated ground up there from the battery. It's a good idea to run one anyways...can't have enough good grounds :)

1978 Y88, '70 455 HO block bored 0.060, TH350, 3.42:1 gears...Oct '08 Fbodywarehouse Calendar - Woot!
1980 Firebird - no engine/tranny... to be pacecar clone

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #49 on: September 05, 2009, 07:47:42 PM »
Many many thanks to Randy!!!! He stayed up last night as he walked me through t diagnose my prblem. it was a blast, felt like he was right  there beside me trying to figure out what was wrong with the car.

Anyway, I still have to take the brake booster off the car enable to reach the harness. I'll update soon as we get this done.

Here's a pic of her finally up from hibernation of 25 years. I wish I took care of her better then but, good news is she's all intact.
Rene'

Offline 78ta

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 974
  • The 8 track and gauge/stereo console adapter guy.
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #50 on: September 05, 2009, 10:58:23 PM »
You're welcome Rene'. I enjoyed talking with you as well. Check the bottom of each post for the poster's name. A lot of people put there name there, me included.

For anyone following this thread that picked up on the 9v battery trick to test light bulbs, we discovered that trick does NOT work with Halogen bulbs. Apparently, they require much more current than the old T-3's of the 60's and early 70's. I've used it many times scrounging T-3 bulbs from junk yards. Saves you from removing and buying bad bulbs.

We suspect the problem with Rene's headlights to be that the bulk head connector did not get plugged in all they way when they replaced the engine harness. It's very difficult to reach with the brake booster installed so the screw was not reinstalled.

A little dusty maybe but the car looks like it's in great shape Rene'.

Randy

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #51 on: September 06, 2009, 01:34:13 AM »
Thank you once again Randy and to Brian as well. This is what a forum should be all about, people helping others who share the same interests.

By the way little dusty is an understatement. We just blew air on her and most of it seemed embedded onto the paint....hahaha.

We took her out and drove her 2 blocks and back. Ran GREAT! Although, we came back and it might have overheated or something because the coolant from the radiator just went spewing out (don't have a reservoir connected yet). Timing maybe???
Rene'

Offline 78ta

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 974
  • The 8 track and gauge/stereo console adapter guy.
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #52 on: September 06, 2009, 01:48:09 AM »
Didn't you say it had been sitting like 20 years? The thermostat is probably rusted shut. Did you change the antifreeze and oil before starting it?
Randy

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #53 on: September 07, 2009, 02:58:06 PM »
Motor is fresh, 0 miles. My concern right now is the radiator. I should have had it flushed or rodded out. I just stuck a water hose to it with the drain open, installed it and poured fresh coolant.
Rene'

Offline Joker (§ir£Ğragon)

  • Lifetime Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4994
  • When you think it can't get any worse...God laughs
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #54 on: September 07, 2009, 03:12:36 PM »
Remember, there's going to be some coolant loss without a reservoir installed. That's why they're there. ;)
Larry


Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #55 on: September 07, 2009, 05:03:39 PM »
I understand that but this one drained out my radiator completely.
Rene'

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #56 on: September 07, 2009, 10:46:52 PM »
Good news Randy!!! We have lights and you were right, the minute we bolted that screw on tight, the lights went on.

However, another problem arose. Only the high beams go on and the right (passenger side) will start to go on but doesn't stay lit. This is when I step on the dimmer switch. Is there a way to test this? When I step on it to change to low beams, the result is no lights at all.
Rene'

Offline 78ta

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 974
  • The 8 track and gauge/stereo console adapter guy.
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #57 on: September 08, 2009, 12:08:52 AM »
Did you just install the screw or did you take the booster off so that you could verify that the plug was installed correctly? Just wondering if the bulkhead connector is still not mated/seated well.

Other possibilities would be the dimmer switch. They can go bad but as I mentioned before, when something suddenly quits working, look over what's been done recently. You've had all the plugs on the light bulbs off testing the bulbs so double check to make sure they are all plugged in correctly and plugged in well.
 
The dimmer switch simply switches the voltage from the tan wire(low beams) to the light green wire(high beams-all 4 lights). I may have called the tan wire brown the other night. So the fact that you have no lights at all when you click the dimmer switch to "low beams" makes me think you've still got a bad connection on the tan wire for the low beams at the bulkhead.

As I said on the phone, the inner lights(high beams) get their voltage from a light green wire that simply jumps over from the driver side outer(low beam) light bulb. So if you have the two inner (high beam) lights coming on, then you're getting voltage for all 4 high beam bulbs to the front of the car. At least to the driver side outer bulb. So it sounds like you may just have a bad connection at the bulbs as far as the high beams go.

Again, if you have no low beams at all, it's most likely a bad dimmer switch or a bad connection at the tan wire in the bulkhead.
Randy

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #58 on: September 08, 2009, 01:54:30 AM »
No, we did pull the connector out to check and double check the pins. They were all intact and none of them were bent.
As a matter of fact, it went in smoothly this time around and we tightened the screw.

I was inside the car while my son was in front of the car to look at the lights and he said that every time I would step on the dimmer switch, the right side would light up a bit but not completely. Like it wanted to light up and stop.
Rene'

Offline 78cali

  • Jr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Awake after 25 years of hibernation
Re: electrical gurus, need your help
« Reply #59 on: September 08, 2009, 02:27:58 AM »
As I told you Randy I wanted to dedicate this build as a tribute to my daughter but I'm about to put her back into her cave again.

Now that we're getting close to remedy the electrical issue, my hood won't close completely, and it seems that she's heating up emptying the radiator of it's contents. I looked under the car and it was like someone opened the drain plug.

I purposely had the motor built professionally since I didn't want and screw-ups and now this..... I have built motors in my younger days and something like this didn't even happen. 

Arrrgg......getting really frustrated.
Rene'