Thanks to everyone who replied. As I've said many times to people who ask about my car, I couldn't imagine owning a car like this without the help of the on-line community.
So the summary opinions are: the fuse block connection (middle fuse) Bullet connections (all) Ground at lights (all) The middle fuse has given me trouble before, so I'll look at that. Harness and lamp sockets are on the way, so hopefully that tackles the connectors. Paul F. Meyer Home Phone: 781-551-8574 Cell Phone: 781-801-3170 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Bill Gingerich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Paul Meyer'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]> Subject: RE: [Spits] Tail and dash light Gremlins Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:51:13 -0500 I'll second the fuse idea. As I recall the tail lights and dash lights are on the same fuse. It's the middle one. Bill G OKC, OK '74 Spit, etc. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Meyer Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 11:12 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Spits] Tail and dash light Gremlins Guys, When I first got my '78 Spitfire in 2000, I had intermittent electrical problems, most of which cleared up when I replaced the old frame ground strap. I later upgraded to a GM alternator which improved most of the remaining, occasional problems. I have had one issue, though, that got worse. Years ago, the dash and tail lights would go out simultaneously. The next day, they'd work. This happened 6 or 7 times in the first two years of ownership. So, I dismantled all the lights, cleaned the contact surfaces, applied dielectric grease and re-assembled. It appeared to solve the problem for a while. Then it returned. Recently I can't get the dash or tail-lights to work at all. Oddly, my left turn signal works in the rear, but not the right. I'd really like some feedback on this. Has anyone had the same problem? I've pored over the wiring diagrams in the Haynes manual, and a really great one that has the wiring in color that I found on-line. It appears that all the affected lights share one common red wire that travels from the body harness under the dash to the rear of the car. This doesn't explain the dash lights, though. I jumpered the red wire at the harness plug to the rear of the car, and it didn't improve. I unwrapped the tape over most of the harness wiring, but couldn't find any obvious exposed copper or damaged insulation. I'm stumped. There is a black wire, the ground, that runs from the tail lamp housings toward the front of the car, but doesn't seem to have a pin in the body harness connector. I tried tracing it, and I think it terminates at a nut on the firewall brace near the battery - several black wires join there and are linked by a cable on the same nut to the black Battery terminal. At the tail, some wires have power - specifically, the fuel guage sender. I was not able to get the light to come on at any of the lamp positions affected. I gently pulled the fuse box out to look over the harness connections. They all appear ok, but the middle fuse is connected to only one green wire with a red stripe. Seems odd. In desperation, I ordered a new body harness, 6 new lamp sockets, and new bulbs. I also ordered a new dimmer for the dash lights, as it's part of the same red-wire circuit. I hate taking the shotgun approach, but I'm out of ideas and will need an inspection sticker next month. _________________________________________________________________ Make every IM count. Download Messenger and join the im Initiative now. Its free. http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGHM_June07 _______________________________________________ Spitfires mailing list [email protected] http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/spitfires
