martin hughes Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Hi Folks,, Im in need of some help folks as I’m completely lost as i’ve tried everything I can think of. I wired in a tow bar socket onto my 13/60 Convertible. When it came to testing it i found that I had no rear lights. Indicators and brake lights working but no rear lights, The front lights were fine. As a result i removed the wiring for the tow bar and re connected the wires. Even after doing this i still haven’t got rear lights. I’m useless at looking at wiring diagrams so that didn’t get me anywhere. i’ve tested the power going into and out of the light switch and that all seems fine. When i test power from the the loom from the boot (Two red wires) there is NO power. I ran a wire from the switch directly to the rear light on both sides and that illuminated the bulb.I just can’t get any life running through the loom. Am i missing something simple? Very great fun for any advice, many thanks. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 dont remember and wsm is out in the cold , but i would start with the fuse box ,think the reds for the rear harness comes from the dreaded blade which is connected by the cap on the fuse Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 I don't think there is a fuse box on a 13/60 - just a single in-line fuse for the headlamp flash circuit. It's most likely a dodgy bullet connector somewhere. There's a 3-way bullet connecting the light switch feed to the front and rear looms, then a four-way one connecting the rear feed to the two tail lights and the number plate light. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 9 minutes ago, NonMember said: I don't think there is a fuse box on a 13/60 - just a single in-line fuse for the headlamp flash circuit. It's most likely a dodgy bullet connector somewhere. There's a 3-way bullet connecting the light switch feed to the front and rear looms, then a four-way one connecting the rear feed to the two tail lights and the number plate light. +1... Dodgy bullet connectors are responsible for many unexpected electrical troubles in electrical systems that are now 50+ years old, and can be hard to trace. You can guess how I know this!. Nigel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted March 30, 2020 Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Hi Have you broken the earth connection in some manner?. Looking at the above. If you lose fuse (19) Everything 20 through 30 is lost?. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin hughes Posted March 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2020 Thanks for your replies guys, really appreciate your help. A dodgy earth is my thinking but I can’t suss our where the dodgy earth would be? Iv cleaned all the earth points I see but this has had no effect. The three red wire bullet connectors in the boot all seem to be ok. I’ve taken all three out and cleaned them up but still no joy. any thoughts in where the dodgy earth would be? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi You can "prove" the Earth, by taking a long length of wire directly back to the battery. But according to the wiring Diagram I posted above there is a fuse (19) which is the supply for the whole of the rear lighting. I have a 13/60 under full refurb:, and the wiring is removed. I will look at the loom later and see if the fuse location is correct?. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Test for power at the bullet connections - keep going back till you find some and then work out where the break is........... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 52 minutes ago, PeteH said: But according to the wiring Diagram I posted above there is a fuse (19) which is the supply for the whole of the rear lighting. Unfortunately your wiring diagram is not the one in the official WSM. Where is it from? Dodgy earth is probably the most common cause of mystery electrical problems BUT... Martin said: 13 hours ago, martin hughes said: When i test power from the the loom from the boot (Two red wires) there is NO power. I ran a wire from the switch directly to the rear light on both sides and that illuminated the bulb That would not tie up with a dodgy earth. If there's no power on the red, that's not an earth problem, and if bypassing the red makes it work, it's not an earth problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 agree its not an earth its the reds that have the failure martins bypass test proved the lights will work so it... hunt the feed check back through the harness , easy bullets yes but did that include the ones up above the fuel tank/ rear deck have a look in the NS door pillar/bulkhead zone where the roof harness and tail harness congregate do you have a fuse box behind the battery ..or not ?? didnt some herald have a hidden inline fuse on the red wires under the dash Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 12 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: didnt some herald have a hidden inline fuse on the red wires under the dash The Diag; Is from the internet and allegedly for Herald / Vittese 6. The fuse shown is fed from the Ignition Switch, So logically If feeding with a bypass wire from the switch brings power? then said fuse is my favourite target? I am making an assumption here that the O/P has NO power to any of the rear system? When I get in the garage later I will look at the Loom (its in a large Box!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 yes the inline fuse 11is between the brown off the solenoid and the purple which changes to a brown at a bullet which connects the column switch 6 a brown /red from the column switch feeds a bullet and then red to the next bullet where the front sides are taken from the next bullet is in the boot where the sides ans reg plate are split so not that many bullets do check the the brown/blue from the control box to dash switch 10 as from this comes the brown/red feed to the bullet above down stream of the column sw bullet it is here thats the common connection to the red for the rear lamps so have a good look where the column harness meets the dash harness its the only bullet common to the rear lamps it has the 2 brown /red and 1 red in a double bullet hope this diatribe makes some sense Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin hughes Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Thanks so much (again) for all your help guys. When I get out there today I will go through everything you’ve said Pete. Hopefully I will find the lose/bad connection that is stopping the power getting to the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 19 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: yes the inline fuse 11is between the brown off the solenoid and the purple which changes to a brown at a bullet which connects the column switch 6 That is correct but not relevant here. The rear light feed doesn't go through the column switch - it's fed off the bullet connector where the NR wire from the master light switch to the column switch joins to a R wire. The inline fuse only feeds the headlamp pull-to-flash, nothing else. As I said way up thread before the wrong diagram got posted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi Wiring loom!!. The door is a work in in progress but makes a good platform!._ This line fuse IS the only one I can see and would be situated in the region of the battery tray? The Haynes wiring Diagram shows only one fuse. My suspicion is the diagram I had before is for USA Models?. The connector below is the supply to the rear of the Car. Rear view of Start key switch. Main Lighting switch Connections Suggest, a break in the feed, between Main Connection under dash and Rear?. I would be checking that one of the connections (say) under the dash was not disturbed when feeding the cables for any Tow Indicator device?. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Martin wondered about a 'dodgy earth'. TRiumphs earth through the lamp bracket, the lamp housing (made of potmetal that corrodes in contact with bodywork), the bodywork and chassis. Multiple places for a bad earth. ,Run a jumper from the lamp bracket, the actual bit the holds the bulb, to the battery earth. Betcha the lamp wil light up! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 John, re-read the thread. Martin had established that the lights light up if he actually feeds 12V to them, and that the red wires are not doing so. So I bet that improving the earth will make no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 37 minutes ago, PeteH said: This line fuse IS the only one I can see and would be situated in the region of the battery tray? There is only one fuse on the 13/60, which is one more than on the 1200; it's a 25amp for the headlamp flasher circuit and lives near the coil on the bulkhead. 13/60s had a headlamp flash, which meant that if you flashed it while the lights were on, you drew a lot of current to both dip and main beams together, so needed a fuse to avoid melting the loom. It's not in any way connected to the rear lights. After reading the thread I believe Martin has inadvertently pulled the wires in order to stretch to the towbar wiring and has either dislodged a connector or has shorted out against a sharp edge of the bodywork (be careful with that, just in case!!) so it's going to be a laborious task of checking every inch of the loom from the rear forwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin hughes Posted March 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Thanks Colin,,,, Just going out to the car now. I will follow the link from the light switch (in and out is live) to where ever the break occurs. It has to be a bad connection or break somewhere. I’ll let you all know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 I reckon it would be quicker to start at the rear, where you took the feed for the rear lights, and work forward. (I'm assuming the feed was from the rear loom?) Just check and squeeze / move each part of the loom in case it's a breakage of brittle wires inside the outer coating. Here's hoping it's something simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 3 hours ago, JohnD said: TRiumphs earth through the lamp bracket, Some Triumphs. Others have earth wires, so there are two sorts of lamp holder. One wire and chassis earth and two wire. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi Don`t know if this will Help at all. But when looking for any fault. I try and go back over exactly what I did Before the fault occurred to see if anything done has caused said issue?. Happy hunting! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Caswell Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Some cars have a line fuse to the rear lights that lives in the left corner of the glove box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 Incidentally, is your number plate light working? Is that on the same circuit as the tail lights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted March 31, 2020 Report Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 hours ago, dougbgt6 said: Some Triumphs. Others have earth wires, so there are two sorts of lamp holder. One wire and chassis earth and two wire. Doug Some Triumphs. But no Heralds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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