Nothing But Headlights Are On Now....

[dobie]

Unreal..... so tonight I'm out driving and I lost every light, interior and exterior, except the headlights.

Now what? Bulkhead looks OK..... where do I go from here??

 

[Basketcase]

fusebox. you must have a short somewhere. you need to take it out and put a long in......... :jester:
weren't you having trouble with the bulkhead connector before? did you try wiggling the connectors? you do have good clean grounds for the lights?(scraped off that new green paint where the grounds go, didn't you?) and if you do have some blown fuses, you got a bare/pinched wire. The dash and tail lights are on the same fuse. Do you have brake lights? different fuse. you had to adjust the brake switch, didn't mess any wires up when you did that?

 

[dobie]

Hey Dave. I checked the fuse box....nothing blown. I pulled out all 3 bulkhead connectors and adjusted all the wires. Still nothing. The grounds I'm aware of are all up front, where there isn't fresh paint.

I haven't looked at the wires inside the column, and the connection which connects the dash wires to the column wires.

I have nothing except headlights. No brake, tail, marker, dash, etc..... just headlights.

This is getting downright frustrating. Anyways, thanks so far!

 

[Basketcase]

there should be a ground in the trunk......on either side of the trunk latch IIRC. and isn't there a connector...on the left side of the trunk.?..around the wheel house. and since you don't have much interior in yet, trace the wires from you tail lights into where they go into the car, along the driver's sill plate area. And there is a connector behind the drivers kick panel. since you don't have any blown fuses, probably not a short. just for s&gs...are the fuse box contacts and the metal parts of the fuses clean and rust free(had that hapen on my Charger, the wiper pivots leaked bad enough the fuse box got wet, and the contacts rusted), and just for sanitey sake....make sure the light bulbs are good.
and did you have your dash apart? if so, check the main plug on the back of the cluster.

 

[moparchris]

Do you own a multi meter? Its time to get it out and the wiring diagram and trace through the wiring.

 

[dobie]

Yeah I do. My problem is that I'm an idiot and don't know how to read that stuff.

 

[Basketcase]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger there Deputy!
Wonder if the headlight switch went bad, might double check that the plug on the back of the switch is on all the way. And try moving the dimmer switch(on the dash), the cluster lights go out if that's acting up, and while you're under the dash double check the plug on that too.

 

[generaljmwlee]

when my dimmer switch went bad I lost all interior lights .I used a test light to find the hot wire and jumped it to the wire going to the fuse block. then I had all the lights . was able to narrow it down like that

 

[dobie]

Thanks guys. I may have found the issue earlier. I unplugged the middle bulkhead connector again and checked it again. After I plugged it back in, everything worked.

So, I'm thinking the issue is the bulkhead wiring.

 

[Basketcase]

bet ya got some paint/dirt from the body shop. take a small flat blat screwdriver and scrape the female ends, and sand the male ends. should take care of the problem.

 

[moparchris]

Yeah I do. My problem is that I'm an idiot and don't know how to read that stuff.

It can be confusing at times but with a little patience, you can make sense of it. Even if your a wiz at wiring you can still be an idiot.

 

[dobie]

Thanks! I'll start to clean them up a bit.

 

[Jim S.]

Hey dobie, remember this thread from a few years back? Damn bulkhead drove me so crazy I ended up changing every contact (male and female) with better ones and I also soldered them along with crimping because sometimes the crimp from the wire to the contact start getting flakey. Also used dielectric grease after it was all done.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1590&start=10

 

[A31PKG]

Regarding the bulkhead connection, I can't stress this enough: REMOVE the terminals from their housings and inspect carefully. Brittle? Corroded? Replace as needed. I believe - at last check anyway - that the correct terminals are still available. (If not, use standard terminals available at any auto parts house, and trim the plastic off. They will slide inside the cavities and will not be visible.) If needed, you can modify a standard pocket screwdriver with a grinder to make it thin enough to free the terminals from the connector housings. Then (before re-inserting into the connectors) give each side of the female terminals a gentle squeeze with pliers so they bite the male terminals better. As mentioned, also clean the male terminals... a very fine sandpaper works well...make 'em shine. Re-install all terminals into their respective cavities and pack the females with dielectric grease. When you re-connect the connectors you want to see the grease ooze out a bit.... it means that the stuff is doing what it's supposed to do. Just wipe it off as needed. The above sould be be practiced whenever dis-connecting, re-connecting, or servicing a 43 year old wiring harness, and applies to the dimmer sw, headlight sw, turn signal harness/column connector, fuse box, etc, etc, etc.....Good luck!

 

[dobie]

Ok. Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely look into this.

 

[moparchris]

Regarding the bulkhead connection, I can't stress this enough: REMOVE the terminals from their housings and inspect carefully. Brittle? Corroded? Replace as needed. I believe - at last check anyway - that the correct terminals are still available. (If not, use standard terminals available at any auto parts house, and trim the plastic off. They will slide inside the cavities and will not be visible.) If needed, you can modify a standard pocket screwdriver with a grinder to make it thin enough to free the terminals from the connector housings. Then (before re-inserting into the connectors) give each side of the female terminals a gentle squeeze with pliers so they bite the male terminals better. As mentioned, also clean the male terminals... a very fine sandpaper works well...make 'em shine. Re-install all terminals into their respective cavities and pack the females with dielectric grease. When you re-connect the connectors you want to see the grease ooze out a bit.... it means that the stuff is doing what it's supposed to do. Just wipe it off as needed. The above sould be be practiced whenever dis-connecting, re-connecting, or servicing a 43 year old wiring harness, and applies to the dimmer sw, headlight sw, turn signal harness/column connector, fuse box, etc, etc, etc.....Good luck!

Nice tip. Thanks. I never have had any problems with bulk head connectors, but now that I know I have been neglecting my connectors one will leave me stranded somewhere! :leave:

 

[A31PKG]

One other thing, while the males are out, slip the blade of a screwdriver into the slot and widen it a bit too...that way they will click into place and stay put when re-inserted into their cavities....same goes for the females, although the tab is a bit smaller and more fragile. You don't want your freshly dressed terminals backing out of their cavities when you plug the bulkhead connectors back together!