Headlights no workee.

[Tom]

Well, kinda. They only seem to turn on when the fuel pump is energized. They do not turn on with the switch. The front parking lamps or turn signals do not work either. The two ground wires on the rad support are hooked up, same with the ground for the a/c comp and the orange ground wire with the sleeve on it near the heater hose area. Is there another harness ground I may have missed? Or is there another cause for the problem besides a missing ground?

p.s. I put the car together from roller status, so I don't know if they worked before.

[Greg@GLD]

This will be hard to diagnose over the internet Tom. When I do electrical work (circuit analysis and troubleshooting is one of my specialties actually) I arm myself with a good VOM and if at all possible a diagram of the harness. If I don't have the latter, I figure out the proper path the "hard way" which can be complicated. It might be a bad ground, it might be a connector that has corroded and shorted, allowing multiple paths back to the battery. Places to look are the headlight switch itself (very common on fox cars) and the harness between the firewall and the engine compartment...

If it's a ground problem, you should still be able to trace the "hot" side back to the switch, which is not hard to do with a VOM.

[Tom]

Thanks Greg. I have a good VOM and a test light. Just no GOOD diagram to work with. Maybe I'll cheat and bring a light switch home from work. :D

[MAT88GT]

I pencilled out a diagram last year, but can't seem to find it :(

here's what I did when my lights didn't work:
probed leads at the headlights
double checked the grounds on the rad bulkhead
pulled the headlight switch and tested all leads there
wasn't getting a 12+ at the switch, traced it back under the dash and found a loose connection
probed the switch again
tested the lights

[Tom]

That sounds pretty much like what my plan of attack was going to be later tonight when it cools off a tad.

[MAT88GT]

if you need help with this, and pictures would be handy, let me know

My 88 is sans interior and front clip, so I can nab a few harness pictures for you

[Tom]

I have power coming out of the multifunction switch, but nothing at the connecter near the master cylinder. Time for supper now, I'll look between the m/f switch and the firewall.

[Tom]

It's fixed. There are TWO pairs of eight wire connectors that fit together. :mad: I ASSumed that the plugs would only fit the appropriate mate. Thanks for the tips.