Most lights not working, but some are.

[TonyN]

Hello all,

This is going to be somewhat open and vague, but it's a start.

On my 69 Charger, I had to drive home from the movie tonight with just (just) the hazard lights.

No headlights, no brake lights, no reverse lights. No running lights. As mentioned, the hazards worked, as did the interior light (but not the dash).

There was no trouble starting (i.e. battery seems ok) and the Alternator gauge was 'right in the middle'.

One other symptom I can list: a couple of weeks ago, I was out at night (I very rarely drive it when it's dark) and the headlights wouldn't come one.
I hit the hi-beam switch, and all four came on. Hit it again, all four went off, but about 2 blocks down the street, the headlights came on and stayed on.

I honestly don't even know where to start looking. Fuse? Wiring?

[JB400]

Generally, you look at the fuses first.  It could also be that you have lost a ground connection somewhere.  Happened to me on my truck.  I had brake lights, but no other ones.  Turns out that I lost the ground from the battery.

[tan top]

check all fuses , &   firewall block connector  , how long have you owned the charger / has it been restored ? has any or the harnesses been replaced or repaired ?

[TonyN]

Thanks, everyone. I fear my other reply didn't go through.

It hasn't been restored, and the gent who owned it before me, ahem, 'meant well'.

Could I get one of you to tell me where the fuse box (boxes?) is, and the firewall block connector?

[tan top]

 be a good idea to buy a FSM , factory service manual ,  will show lots of stuff you need to know  


 this link shows where the fuse box is on a 69 , its inside the glove box , behind the glove box liner , accessed via a flap / door  on the left side of the liner  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,24393.0.html

picture below , is the fire wall block connector , with age the terminals can corrode / oxadise  good idea removing them to check & clean as nessary then coat them with proper terminal electric greese

[TonyN]

Update:

Working - signal lights, reverse lights.
Not working - headlights (lo/hi), brake lights, park lights.

Fuses - all check out OK.

Not surprising, but the block connector looks a little 'beat up'. When you talk about removing them, do you mean each block, or the individual wires in each block? If it's the block, is it a matter of just 'pulling', or are there tabs or something involved?

[MaximRecoil]

Update:

Working - signal lights, reverse lights.
Not working - headlights (lo/hi), brake lights, park lights.

Fuses - all check out OK.

Not surprising, but the block connector looks a little 'beat up'. When you talk about removing them, do you mean each block, or the individual wires in each block? If it's the block, is it a matter of just 'pulling', or are there tabs or something involved?

There are three "plugs" which go into the firewall/bulkhead connector, each plug having 8 individual wires/terminals. If you want to be extra thorough, you can take each individual wire/terminal out of each side of the plugs, but be sure you know how to properly do it first, or you could end up damaging the plugs.

What most people do is remove the three plugs (there is a locking tab on either side of each plug, use a screwdriver in the slot to flex them outward while you pull on the plug), and then use a brush and some contact cleaner (such as DeoxIT) to clean, as best as you can, the brass male terminals in the plugs you removed, and the female terminals in the bulkhead connector that's still attached to the firewall. Then pack all the terminals with dialectric grease and plug the plugs back in tightly, making sure the locking tabs are engaged.

By the way, dialectric grease is an electrical insulator, hence the name, but the terminals fit tightly enough together that it displaces the grease at the points of contact, so electricity still flows fine. You don't want to use conductive grease here because with all the terminals so close together, it could easily cause a short circuit if the grease touches more than one terminal at once. With dialectric grease you can just pack it in there, without worrying about it causing a short circuit. The grease seals the connections from oxygen, thus preventing future oxidation.

You also need to check all grounds, particularly the heavy ones in the engine compartment that ultimately lead back to the negative post on your battery. All of your lights are grounded to the car body/chassis, and if electricity can't properly make it back to your battery through the body/chassis, you'll have problems. It is a good general practice to remove any ground wire you can find, sand the area beneath it to bare metal, sand or wire brush the ground wire's ring terminal, grease both the ring terminal and the area of the body / chassis / engine that it screws/bolts to, and then screw/bolt it back down tightly.

[TonyN]

Excellent reply, thanks for this.

I am on my way. Will report back.

[TonyN]

I certainly gave it a go! I removed, cleaned and reseated the three junction boxes. Also, the connector for the headlight wiring group was very oxidized, and I cleaned that one up as well. I think I will have to turn this one over to the professionals, as I don't want to accidentally 'zap' something.

Thanks again for the guidance. At least I know a little more now than I did when I started.

[MaximRecoil]

I certainly gave it a go! I removed, cleaned and reseated the three junction boxes. Also, the connector for the headlight wiring group was very oxidized, and I cleaned that one up as well. I think I will have to turn this one over to the professionals, as I don't want to accidentally 'zap' something.

Thanks again for the guidance. At least I know a little more now than I did when I started.

Just disconnect the negative cable from the battery when you are cleaning electrical stuff, and that will prevent you from "zapping" anything (and clean and grease the battery cable terminals and battery posts while you're at it).

A multimeter will help you troubleshoot. If you don't have one, they can be had at Harbor Freight for about $5 (link), and they work well enough for anything you need to test in a car (I've had a cheap Harbor Freight one for about 8 years and I use it often, and aside from having to change the 9v battery in it about a year ago, I haven't had any issues with it).

You can use the multimeter to see if you're getting ~12 volts to where you should be getting ~12 volts, and you can use it to check continuity of your grounds back to your battery.

You might be having problems with your switches too. You said:

Not working - headlights (lo/hi), brake lights, park lights.

Those light are ultimately controlled by two switches: the headlight switch for the parking lights and headlights, and the brake light switch for the brake lights (and there is also the dimmer switch on the floor for switching between low and high beam).

I would start with your brake lights since it is an easier switch to access than the headlight switch, and it is a simpler switch. The brake light switch has two terminals. Short the two terminals together and see if your brake lights come on; for example, you could use a screwdriver and touch both switch terminals with it at once, or you could pull the wires off the switch terminals and touch them together. If your brake lights come on when doing this test, it means your switch is bad. It can be replaced for a couple/few dollars.

[gsniegow]

I had the same symptoms when I replaced my dash wiring.  Thing is I didn't properly connect the terminal which connects down by the brights switch on the floor.  I believe you mentioned you had turned the brights on and off.  Is it possible that accidentally knocked loose that connection?  Or that there is some other issue there?  I would take a quick peak and make sure that's all still in tact. 

Hopefully that helped.  I was perplexed for some time trying to figure out why headlights weren't working.  Hopefully it's something as simple as that for you as well...

[TonyN]

Alright, guys, thanks for the extra motivation/info. Some success! and a few more questions:

(I mistakenly grouped all of these issues into one big one. I assumed that all of these happened at once, and that was a bad assumption).

The brake lights are now working. The wire had actually come off the switch. Putting that back on resulted in the brake lights working again! That was really the most crucial thing I was concerned with.

The headlight switch, and connector, look to be intact. I used my meter, and got the correct readings from the terminals when the switch was in both positions. I reseated the connector (looked in fine shape, no corrosion) but to no avail. Still no headlights. I will start tracing the power etc. I think I am going to by one of those 'light-up screwdriver-looking' probe things to make it easier to test the power.

Some other questions, since I have you all here:

- the left front signal/park light is out, and I need to replace it. There is a clear lens, held in by two screws. I removed the screws, but wasn't able (easily) to remove the lens. How does one get to that bulb? I don't want to force anything there...
- where is the flasher component? I forget what it's called, but that solenoid looking thing that makes your indicators blink.

Thanks again for you time on this,

TN

[gsniegow]

- where is the flasher component? I forget what it's called, but that solenoid looking thing that makes your indicators blink.

Mine was tucked up in the dash right near the steering column.

[Dino]

Tony,

First of all, make sure the brake lights and turn signals work AND stay working when you wiggle the stalk.  The old contacts are prone to failure and you may as well fix it now if needed.  $50 for the new switch + cancel cam at megaparts. 

I may have missed this but did you check the headlight floor switch?  If that one has issues then the dash switch won't do much either. 

The parking lamp lens is stuck because of the gasket.  Remove the whole unit from the bottom and carefully twist the lens off.  It'll work, not to worry.

[TonyN]

Thanks again, everyone. Off to Canadian Tire tomorrow to get some bulbs and related. I think it's good now!