electrical death

Maclab58

Maclab58

Well-known member
ok, how many problems must one have before i can drive my A without fear? three times now in the last 2 weeks I have had my car crap out on me. I have finally put the pieces together as to what triggers the failure.............. Turning on the headlights! I was driving through the neighborhood tonite and I kicked on the lights and the car died. no lights, no horn and no fire but the starter will turn the engine over. what gives? im a new A owner and have only had it running for a month so please keep it simple.:o
 
Probably an electrical short in your light circuit. When you turn on the lights the high current draw to ground robs the ignition circuit of currnet causing the engine to stall. I had a similar problem caused by a bad ammeter shunt.
 
the starter is before the fuse when fuse blows every thing else is out short in lights.
If there is a fuse
 
OK lets keep it simple,how old is the wiring harness? Do you have a fuse? most owners put it on the starter. It protects the wiring harness from overheating during a short to ground. If you don't have a fuse holder, get one. Next, with a good fuse, try your horn, it should work. Next try the brakes for about 30 sec.both should come on, the upper lamp in the assembly. Next try your parking lights, turn the light switch on the steering wheel to the left, if this works, then the tail lights are OK. now go to the headlights, see if the low beams work. If the fuse blows, take one headlight apart at a time and disconnect the lamp and try again. Some of the re pro wiring connectors don't work as well as the originals. There are other ways to trouble shoot with out waisting a few fuses, but you said keep it simple. Ed Saniewski.
 
You didn't say that you are using a fuse, but I'd gues you are and the fuse is blowing when the lights are turned on. If your headlights have a short, it's likely due to poor reproduction parts, like the 3 teminals fitting too loosely in the headlight socket. They can easily touch each other or touch ground when they fit so loosely. Check there first, as it's a common cause of trouble. Also if you are using a fuse, make sure the clips are soldered and make a good connection. I don't use a fuse, but have heard lots of complaints of loose fitting terminals on the fuse block.
 
Head lights have been the number one cause of shorts for me too. Take the conduits off each light, inspect the wires to see if any are bare around the base of the connectors. I used electrical shrink wrap to make the repair. Just cut it to length, slip it over the whire and put a match to it for a second or two and it shrinks up nice and tight. Much easier than electrical tape. Good luck. By the way, putting a fuse in line, is a great idea if you don't have one. I'd rather have a fuse blow, than a fire in my wiring harness.
 
Reproduction headlight sockets can easily short out or contact each other (so the high beams and/or low beams and/or park lights come on at the same time). My solution is to use a cut off piece of a drinking straw to isolate each terminal. You have to play around a bit to get the right length.
 
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