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04-23-2016, 06:18 PM | #41 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Hi Craig, sorry for not responding to your problem but have been in New Zealand for several weeks and then to our national V8 meet in Echuca for a week. I got your PM. I would be replacing your headlight bulbs or sealed beams one at a time to see if that resolves the issue. I have struck it where conductors or filaments inside the bulb itself are touching together sometimes intermittently and feeding back into the other beams circuit, maybe with road vibration adding to the equation. I doubt water would cause a shorting effect between circuits on a 6 or 12 volt system. Just do one thing at a time so you know what has fixed it. Regards, Kevin.
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04-23-2016, 06:43 PM | #42 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
I think the wires from switch to headlight bucket are touching.
Look at every inch for bad insulation could be under fender or along inner fender maybe under a fastener. |
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04-23-2016, 07:13 PM | #43 | |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Quote:
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04-23-2016, 07:17 PM | #44 | |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Quote:
We have rain forecast every day this next week here so I'll be putting on some miles out on the wet roads to see if I've got it fixed yet. Thanks again for everyone's help.
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Prof. Henry (The Roaming Gnome) "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness Last edited by Old Henry; 04-23-2016 at 11:31 PM. |
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04-28-2016, 01:10 PM | #45 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
The saga continues.
After all I've done so far I still had a short between the high and low beams after driving in the rain for a while. So, I first disconnected the high beam circuit where the vehicle wire connects to the right headlight pigtail while it was still wet to see if the short was in that pigtail. It wasn't. Then, after everything was dried out, I watered down that area in front of the right tire. No short. I then watered down in front of the left tire. The short occurred. I felt the wiring and connections where the vehicle wire connected to the left headlight pigtail. (Good old Koates trick.) The low beam circuit was hot indicating that it was powering both circuits through there. I cut the connection of that low beam circuit to the headlight pigtail. The low beam of that bulb went off and so did the high beams of both bulbs that were being powered by it. So, the short is in the pigtail of that left headlight. I'll order new pigtails for both lights and cross my fingers.
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04-28-2016, 01:55 PM | #46 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
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04-28-2016, 03:50 PM | #47 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Some things just can't be fixed and must be replaced. But, I give my full effort to fixing before biting the bullet and replacing.
This is the inside of my left headlight bucket showing the pigtail wiring coming into the bucket with insulation worn out and gone. Could be the location of the short or could be further into the pigtail. Because of the near impossibility of fixing this I'm just replacing both headlight pigtail assemblies. In all of my investigation and finding this is the first possible location of a short that could really be triggered by water. Hopefully, this will be my last and final repair.
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Prof. Henry (The Roaming Gnome) "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness Last edited by Old Henry; 04-28-2016 at 03:57 PM. |
04-28-2016, 04:09 PM | #48 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
I don't know Henry, you may have to bit the bullet on this one and buy some new harness pieces! If the rest of the harness is anything like that part, I'm thinking a new harness would be a good investment.
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04-28-2016, 04:42 PM | #49 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
You may be right. It's not the cost of a new harness that's holding me back. It's the labor to remove the old one and install a new one. I have a real hard time working under the dash where most of that harness would have to be changed over. That, along with just preserving anything original as long as I can, is still holding me back. Friction tape is still way easier than all of that. But, when it no longer is sufficient, I will bite the bullet.
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04-28-2016, 07:19 PM | #50 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Craig, unless you already examined it, the under dash wire harness may be in pretty good shape for it's not normally exposed to the elements unlike your lighting and generator harnesses. Those are fairly easy to change out-especially if one of your kids or grandkids lend you hand routing the replacement wire.
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04-28-2016, 08:06 PM | #51 | |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Quote:
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04-28-2016, 09:29 PM | #52 | |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
The trick to working under the dash is to remove the front seat. Then you can lie down with lots of room and no twisting and turning to get at things.
JSeery is right. 68 year old wiring, cloth at that. For all that you use your car and under some of the conditions you use it, the current wiring is a problem waiting to happen Quote:
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04-29-2016, 08:47 AM | #53 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
As King Agrippa said to Paul on Mars Hill after Paul's dissertation about the virtues of replacing his old decrepit wiring, "Almost thou persuadest me to get a harness." Acts 26:28
I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for all the input.
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04-29-2016, 09:21 AM | #54 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
When I replaced the harness in my car, I also could not visualize myself trying to get at stuff under the dash.
What I did was disconnect what ever was necessary to loosen the dash and move it away from the firewall. That gave me easy access to everything from above (and mostly in a seated comfortable position) Don't know if it will work in your situation but it may be an option.
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04-29-2016, 01:26 PM | #55 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Get someone to help remove the seat. You can lay down with a pillow and between naps you can rewire.
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04-29-2016, 03:16 PM | #56 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Drove 30 minutes in the rain today with no shorts. (I never wear shorts driving anyway. )
I took the special non-conductive gum that I chew - Double Mintsulated Gum - out of my mouth and shoved it in between the two bare wires coming into the headlight bucket and molded it around to hold in place. (Had to say that for all who abhor "farmer hacks".) I actually taped the two bare wires to keep them from touching just to see if I had finally found the real true water activated short. It worked. So, I hope that was it and look forward to putting in the new headlight pigtails when I receive them. I'm still seriously considering a major wiring harness transplant so keep the encouraging words and installation tips coming.
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Prof. Henry (The Roaming Gnome) "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” *Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness Last edited by Old Henry; 04-29-2016 at 03:22 PM. |
05-02-2016, 06:16 PM | #57 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
I got the headlight pigtails in and, of course, they were authentically cloth wrapped. I didn't like the idea of those cloth wrapped wires going through the fender area where they would be blasted by water, ice, mud, gravel, etc. etc. So, I got some 1/2" double wall heat shrink and covered them. Is that OK?
Picture shows original cloth wrapped, shrink wrap, and one wire covered.
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05-02-2016, 06:20 PM | #58 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Looks good professor. That job should satisfy everyone.
Bruce
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05-02-2016, 06:23 PM | #59 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Henry, most of them are made with modern wiring covered with the cloth on the outside. The cloth is purely cosmetic and nothing like the originals functionally. I wouldn't use the shrink wrap that way myself, but I don't see how it would hurt anything, just overkill.
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05-02-2016, 07:10 PM | #60 |
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Re: High Beams stick on.
Is that like asking permission after doing the deed.
Should be a grommet in the fender hole? I picked up a grommet pack off fleabay, fairly cheap with variety of grommet sizes. agree it shouldn't hurt anything. Last edited by Tinker; 05-02-2016 at 07:43 PM. |
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