What the P.O. did? Mystery (1 Viewer)

[devo]

I was looking through the wiring on this 1980 and found this. And I really don’t know what was accomplished by this wire.
It is soldered in at the headlight plug then runs through the firewall and under the speedo cluster. It is soldered in at the plug for the wire harness that runs down the left side of the steering column.

Any Ideas?

devo

 

[devo]

Reposted

 

[cruiserkev]

P.O.s do some odd things. When I bought mine, every light in it would light up when I hit the brakes. It ended up being a poorly wired trailer light harness which I eliminated.
Do you have any auxiliary lights that come on with your headlights? Just a thought. Good luck figuring it out.

 

[devo]

Every light and switch and guage works perfectly.
I’m taking it as a hot wire and not a ground?

I could disconnect it and see what happens?



devo

 

[bikersmurf]

It appears that a jumper was run to connect either the high beam or low beam circuit to the dimmer switch. I’d suspect there was a break in the wiring, and it was repaired by running a jumper reconnect the light circuit. I’m not sure, but it appears the colour coding of both wires are the same.

The alternative would be to unwrap the harness and find the break in the wire in the harness and repair it. If you go this route, don’t use electrical tape to rewrap it. When I modified the wiring under my hood in ‘96 I used a product called ‘Magic Wrap’ it sounds cheesy but it’s still going strong 22 years later. I found a 3M splicing ‘tape’ that works the same way but it hasn’t stood up as well in my experience.

 

[Living in the Past]

Looks like there was a issue in the wiring harness and this was the PO fix.

 

[oregon fj]

Agree. Either a break, or possibly a short. If you disconnect it, one of two things is likely - either one of the filaments on that headlight (high or low) will not work, or the lighting fuse will pop when you try to use the affected beam (high or low).

 

[devo]

Oregon fj, bikersmurf I think you may have solved the mystery. It makes sense.
Could the the issue have been the guage cluster? I have replaced it.

So over all this was a good, smart fix and I should leave it? My other option would be to track down the wire break or short which may not be easy.

 

[devo]

Are there other ways to run this jumper so it would be more discreet?

 

[Bear]

For me personally that type of electrical work does not inspire confidence. Why not dig further and test to find what was the problem, correct it, and return to the correct factory layout? Wiring safety is important. My 2 cents.

 

[bikersmurf]

To be more discreet... open up the wrap and repair just the length of wire that’s broken. Solder, heat shrink, and rewrap and it’ll be as good as new.

Currently it’s more like the repair I did on my tail light circuit when I needed to get somewhere... the original wire shorted out, and I couldn’t find where. I cut the original wire at both ends and ran a new wire. I didn’t worry about making it too pretty since I have a complete new harness for the truck... and the original is quite hacked up.

 

[devo]

I agree with you bear. I’m good at at hard parts and electrical issues freak me out! I don’t even know where to start to chase down a bad wire. It a running vehicle so I don’t want to pull,the harness?

 

[Bear]

Understood. Been there. Here's my opinion: I personally won't ignore a problem that won't fix itself. When you've had a previous owner with little knowledge tweaking on your electrical system, there's cause for concern--just how much did they tamper with, what circuits are now overloaded, what did they bypass or delete-- a lot of shady work can be hidden under miles of sticky black tape. As with most everything on a vehicle: it may run okay for now, but what about when your family is driving with you--do you really trust the previous owner(s) work? With no obvious signs of tampering and a history of good maintenance, there's less urgency to explore. But when you see some iffy items, you really should dig deeper.

You need to know what you've got and what you're dealing with. And that will take some of your time--to read-up and learn the basics, to crawl around and inspect. The wiring schematic diagrams at the back of the factory shop manuals are a great help. There are also more expansive factory wiring diagram booklets for each specific year if you prefer. They both show components, wire colors used on your specific model, and where wires begin and end. And despite occasional errors in the diagrams, overall they are correct. Just focus on the general area and function of your problem and backtrack--you don't have to do the entire vehicle or be overwhelmed by the entire system.

If you don't already have one, I find the inexpensive voltage type meters are great for checking voltage, and broken wires, and lots of other stuff, if you come across electrical issues.

Don't cut any wires; first just learn what goes where, and what the diagrams say should go where. Most folks avoid electrical because it takes time, it's awkward to get your head and light up under the dash, and the maze of wires is overwhelming. But the good news is that you're working on a fairly simple vehicle with 40-year old technology; plus there are some great electrical wizards here on Mud willing to share their experiences.

At the bare minimum, make sure your fuses are the correct amperage, that you have no wiring patches that are unwrapped, no bare insulation or rubbing on metal areas. Then look for crappy splices in the middle of a wire, twisted together wires, soldered patches, unraveled electrical tape, etc.. The more things you see that are obviously altered, the more you need to be concerned. A long list of owners over 40 years can wreak havoc on your truck.

Only when you feel comfortable understanding the basics of your electrical system should you start actually repairing it. Continue asking for help and advice. Your aim should be to put it back the way it was originally manufactured--along with checking to see that it's still in good condition. If you want to add-on something not original, make sure you know how to do it correctly, and how fusing, relays, breakers, and the correct wire gauges interact.

It's really not rocket science, but also it's not Kindergarten scribbling. Every bit you learn will be valuable--it's not wasted time at all.

I say give it a shot. Apologies in advance for the pep talk. Best of luck.

 

[devo]

Thanks for the pep talk Bear! Yes I have my multi- meter. I place it here and there and I’m not sure it’s telling me anything?

What I could do in January when the snow starts flying is to drive it out to your house and get an education?


By the way I did get a hold of the PO and he did say he was having issues with the left headlight blowing out.
He did not do the fix though, an auto electric shop did.


Thanks for everyone’s help and input.



devo

 

[Living in the Past]

Thanks for the pep talk Bear! Yes I have my multi- meter. I place it here and there and I’m not sure it’s telling me anything?

What I could do in January when the snow starts flying is to drive it out to your house and get an education?


By the way I did get a hold of the PO and he did say he was having issues with the left headlight blowing out.
He did not do the fix though, an auto electric shop did.


Thanks for everyone’s help and input.



devo

A auto electric shop did that repair and still in business?

Had a friend wanting a picture of a few fuse blocks on my cruisers. I replaced fuse blocks with ones I reconditioned. Looking at this picture appears I have a bit of tracking on a wire myself.