Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[bob2]

I have connected all the electrics on my hillman hunter resto project, on the front side only one indicator and one side lamp on the opposit side are not lighting therefore I suspect blown bulbs, on the back side its another story altogether, nothing is actually lighting!!!
I am a bit lost when it comes to electrics and usually have no clue what to do, the fact that nothing is lighting might suggest poor earthing but where should I start checking?

HELP PLEASE!!!

[victor 101]

Buy yourself a cheap 12v tester, any motor shop or ebay will have one, clip the croc clip onto a good earth and stick the point on the offending contact/wire and see if it lights up.

[PAUL BEAUMONT]

Do you have a wiring diagram? This will give you a clue as to where to start. For there to be no lights at all - and I presume you mean no rear light, brake lights or trafficators you need to identify somewhere where all if the power could be disconnected. As you suggest, maybe earthing. Has it had the sills replaced? Some motors run the rear wiring inside the sills and it is very vulnerable when sills are being cut out or welded in. Electrics are pretty much common sense and as bob2 says, get yourself (or make) a tester and trace all of the wires till you discover where the volts went!

good luck!

Paul

[bob2]

No paul the wiring passes in a slot in the inner sills and only a small part of the outer sill (approx 4/5") at the front has been replaced, therefore shouldnt have messed the wires!!
But if it has what should I do?

Oh and yep ur right I hve nothing lighting on the back, no indicators, lights, brake ligghts, number plate light or reverse lights, nothing is lighting and when I connected the drivers side indicator I noticed the indicator light in the dashboard lighting when the ignition was on so maybe its worse than an earth issue, maybe something is shorting!?!

[PAUL BEAUMONT]

Bob, it sounds to me as though there is a big plug somewhere that is simply disconnected or corroded to hell!!
It is difficult to think of a single point where all of the services could get lost.
I am afraid that you have got a big wire tracing job on your hands.
I ask again, have you got a wiring diagram? it will give you some clues even though the latest Haynes ones are rubbish!
I would be tempted to make a simple low voltage tester - simply a torch battery and bulb and lengths of wire. Start at the rear lights and disconnect everything then chose one wire and trace it backwards through the loom - by its colour - checking that you have continuity all the way. I suspect that you only have one fault, so if you find it on one circuit you will find it on all. Happy to help more if I can. Feel free to PM me.
You are on Malta??
Paul

[bob2]

Thanks paul
Problem is I will have to take off the carpets again, or at least the parts on the inner sills to trace the loom but its got to be done.
I might call a friend of mine for help today, he's an auto electrician by trade and although its been quite a long time since I spoke to him, I am sure he will find the time to help (or at least thats what I am hoping).

I have a haynes (an old one bought second hand off the bay) so will refer to it for the diagram.

[Nic Jarman]

Make Paul's low voltage tester with a long wire on one side. Trace the suspect wires from front to rear - use the colour codes, then connect one end to the long wire of the tester then have a hunt around at the rear end for the other end of the wire. Touch the testers other wire onto it and see if it lights up. You can use this method for checking earths as well, infact while you are there just whip off the earths and give them a clean.
_________________
1936 Morris 8 Series 1
1973 MGB roadster
1977 MG Midget 1500
Dax Rush

[bob2]

how can i make Paul's tester I mean how to connect the parts to each other??
and btw Paul, yes I am in Malta

[peter scott]

Earthing faults are very common. Put your lights on and try connecting a wire between some nice shiney bit of chassis metalwork and the tubular body
of one of the bulbs. A chromium bumper generally serves as a good earth.

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[bob2]

thanks will try it out but my friend will be coming next saturday so hopefully we will be fixing this, in the meantime I have been doing the brake caliper on the driver's side since it started leaking and tried setting up the carb but it is still smoking a bit, its running rich although the black smoke might also be the deposit of carbon in the silencer!!
Also have to order some parts for it mainly a timing chain + tensioner cause its making a bit of noise and it also needs the valves set correctly!!

So in the meantime I am doing these small bits and not caring a lot on the lights, since I am not that confident in my electric fault finding capabilities!!

[pryantcc]

Any luck here Bob? As has already been said, it sounds like one problem rather than several.

[bob2]

No luck yet cause my friend did not turn up (actually he informed me on the day that he could not make it) and I did not have any spare time
Will talk to him again and see whether we can agree a date and time!!