Rear lights problem

[sansvalo]

Hello. Could you help me please. I have just came to the part, when all wires needs to be put back where they belong... I lost the photos however, and I'm not really able to remember how the rear lights were connected. I have 1970 Morris Minor, and the wires look like this:

http://puu.sh/bJQb5.jpg
G- green W - whire V - violet R- red B - black

Were they connected the obvious way, or was it like - red to green or something? I don't know what white green cable means either. I remember some of the front cables in total mess, and I just don't want to break something by trying them all randomly.

Thank you very much for your help.

[bmcecosse]

Wires always connect same colour to same colour.... They NEVER change colour at a junction....only at a switch or a fuse. Rear lights are RED - so connect red to red. Earth wire will be BLACK so connect black to black..... Simples!

[Trickydicky]

Do you have a multi meter to test the feeds? With a meter should be easy to trace the wires

[mike.perry]

Green/white, green/red are indicators, that just leaves brake lights - simples! Brakes and indicators only work with the ignition on

[sansvalo]

Hello, I have connected all lights like they should be, by color. Now it looks like that front right indicator + parking light are not working at all. Rear right brake light is not working. Indicating right makes all rear indicators turn on. Left rear indicator stop light blinks like indicator sometimes, but does not work at all when signaling left. Also rear registration plate lights are not working at all. Headlights are working well, and left front indicator + parking light are ok. Also rear parking lights seem to work ok. This seems to be a total mess, and I don't know anyone in Stockport / Manchester area who touches Minors. Of course tried replacing bulbs, I have ton of them, some even not unpacked from original boxes.

[andy.pointeer]

A bad earth can cause all sorts of problems. make sure all the black wires are making a good connection to the body work.

[bmcecosse]

Well done ! At least the headlights are working !! It is almost certainly down to 'bad earths' now.

[sansvalo]

I secured earth near right rear lamp, the one from boot cable and one from registration light to the car body. Made sure that amp meter one is tight too, because I fiddled with it. No changes. Just realized that speedometer light blinks with indicators...

[tysonn]

The volt meter suggestion would be worth acting on.Very cheap on EBay.Or make yourself a test lamp with one of your spare bulbs.Disconnect the wiring again at the rear and using the wiring diagram on this website then test each circuit one at a time.

[sansvalo]

Hello, I bought the multimeter, and found the source of the problem in the rear. There was random fluctuations of voltage in one of cable section, so I cut the cable sleeve apart and found various cable cases melted and glued to each other (What is the reason of that happening?). I cut the bad parts off and reconnected them using the terminal connectors I bought earlier - result:

Rear lights are sorted, indicators work well and fully bright. Stop lights are working as well.
I have checked the output of the red cable going to the registration light, and it is barely 0.89 V. Does it mean that they have melted somewhere as well? It is the same with front ones, but there is like 0.05 V detected.

[bmcecosse]

Well done ! Yes - there must be problems along the way. There's either been a short circuit - or an external heat source applied to the loom..

[mogbob]

Trace back the wires.The rear number plate wiring ..given it's route, is possibly chaffed.Pinched when the boot was closed one time in the past and got caught.Check out whether you have the full 12 volts at the bunch of connectors, drivers side of the boot, extreme corner below the suspended floor.It could also be a bad electrical contact in the connector ( clean off any rust with emery or sandpaper or replace the connector for a new one )
If you have 12 volts there, then you know the problem is in the metre of two of the number plate supply.

Apply the same method to the front sidelights although these are more likely to be suffering from a bad electrical contact at the connector.Same remedy / solution as above.The wiring is/ or should all be red.

Make sure all the repairs are protected against future damage by taping up the section of loom.

You're on the home straight now...nearly cracked it, well done.
Bob

[sansvalo]

Found the front light wires in poor condition, somewhere near this part http://puu.sh/c0poa.jpg, rewired and got like 10.98V - 3V when indicator is on. Realized that side light components are in poor state as well and bought new ones, as they are not earthing the bulbs properly http://puu.sh/c0ozS.jpg . So the only thing left is the registration light. The part of the cable in the corner of boot gives 0.89 - 1V again, so it seems that it broke somewhere deeper... Should I find the end of the registration cable, disable it, and put the new one inside the car, rerouting it completely? Or can I use the small boot light as a registration light, wiring it into the registration light case?

[bmcecosse]

Just wire it to the red light supply if that is working..

[mike.perry]

The number plate light earth lead should end in a ring terminal attached to a boot hinge stud. On my car this does not always earth properly causing the number plate light to go out when the boot is opened. The light instead earths though the boot lock as long as the handle is given a twist to ensure that is firmly closed

[sansvalo]

Ok, I have sorted registration lights as well... But problems did not disappear. Turning the new side light cover right makes the parking light blink with indicator on, turning it back left fixes the problem. In first case the amperometer goes crazy, and turning the main lamps makes indicator blink once per 3 seconds. Problem does not exist on passengers side. Also there is constant 12.63V in horn circuit, making it honk all the time. I have been fiddling with steering column,and just put everything back together. It seems ok for me, but maybe I have messed something with the horn pusher itself? The 12,63V is at horn cables no matter what I do with the pusher. Coil seems to be quite hot as well after a while...

[andy.pointeer]

The horn does have 12 volts all the time direct from fuse, see post titled no beep! for more information.

The horn push supplies earth to the horn

[bmcecosse]

You must never sit the engine with the Ignition ON - and not running - that will heat (and possibly damage) the coil.... The front lights problems are entirely 'earth' related, although you say the 'amperometer' reacts badly at one point - either a short to earth (usually accompanied by nasty smells and flames....) or bare wires touching and bringing other lights on.

[sansvalo]

Thank you for that one, I completely missed it.

[sansvalo]

Hello, it seemed that I fixed all the problems, but now flipped the parking light switch, turned indicator on, and everything came to life... All lights are flickering, rear and front, every in different way. I don't know what to do anymore.
Disconnected the front light, and they are not the case. Right parking light bulb blown for no reason as well. Should I remove panel from interior and try the rest of cables?