• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

General TR Headlight going out

KVH

Darth Vader
Silver
Country flag
Offline
I have a headlight that is cutting off and then back on. Is that a good sign of a bad headlight, or just as good a sign of a loose connection or bad generator? I'm looking but no luck yet. Another clue--it was off without the engine running. Seems to me I have a bad wire somewhere.
 

Alfred E. Neuman

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
Check the ground for that light. If all other lights are working, and your ammeter isn't showing a high current draw off the battery with the car running, it's highly unlikely that it's with the electrical system as a whole, more likely an issue with the ground or the lamp itself.

Test for battery voltage at the light with the light switch on. Wiggle the wire during testing to make sure it isn't broken and making intermittent contact. If 12 volts, problem isn't the switch or any wire up to that point. Then check ground, specifically where it attaches to the body. Probably will find a bit of corrosion there. Quickly remedied with a file or some sand paper. A bit of dielectric grease around the ground point (if that turns out to be the issue) will help keep the corrosion from returning.
 

Geo Hahn

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Does it affect both high and low beams (main & dip)? I would expect a ground to affect both. I have never had an intermittent failure of a head lamp, just the usual 'sudden unexpected darkness' as invented by Joe Lucas.
 

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
I had new working headlights go out one day. It turned out to be the lucar connectors. Once I cleaned them and used some dielectric grease the problem was solved.
 

Sarastro

Obi Wan
Silver
Country flag
Offline
You have a bad connection somewhere. It's really that simple.

The solution is to troubleshoot the circuit. Use a voltmeter or test lamp, trace through the circuit methodically, measure at the lamp, the switch, and any other connection and try to find where you are losing power. It might well be a ground--but also could be any connection. As an electrical engineer, I have nothing but contempt for those bullet connectors used everywhere in LBCs. And <rant_warning> those ground connections consisting of a bullet connector plugged into a little curl of metal, which is screwed to the body, are, in my opinion, beneath contempt. </rant_warning>
 

DavidApp

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Having just installed said ground connectors I can certainly agree with you. A very poor connector but they do seem to hold up for a while. Did the dielectric grease thing.

You have a bad connection somewhere. It's really that simple.

And <rant_warning> those ground connections consisting of a bullet connector plugged into a little curl of metal, which is screwed to the body, are, in my opinion, beneath contempt. </rant_warning>
 

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Yeah, for a 3 cent part intended to have perhaps 10 year lifetime, there are still a lot of them doing their job 60+ years later. In my 40+ years experience with TR3s, I'd have to say the 'Lucar' connectors on the later cars are far more troublesome than the 'bullets'. Among other things, it's a lot more hassle to replace the springy portion than it is with the bullets.

If you really can't stand those ground clips (or don't have a replacement handy), you can make a substitute with a short length of black wire and a 4-way sleeve.
 

Sarastro

Obi Wan
Silver
Country flag
Offline
There are plenty doing their jobs 60 years later. Problem is, there are plenty NOT doing their jobs, even a couple years after installation, and it only takes one to create a problem. As for grounds, I don't know why someone thought it necessary to have a quick-disconnect ground--we all have screwdrivers, and an eyelet and screw would be much more reliable.

When I get to the point of doing the electrics in my TR4A, I plan to use modern connectors, probably Molex. Not original looking, but sometimes reliability is more important, and most connectors will be out of sight, anyway. As for the grounds, I'll do what I did in my MG, return them all to a common ground point.

There's a lot you can do to improve the electrics in these cars without compromising them.
 

Alfred E. Neuman

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
I've been wondering if it's worth it to invest in an updated wiring harness when I do my restoration. I've never had too much trouble with the Lucas gremlins, but I've always maintained my cars really well.
I saw a harness from Revington and a few others that update the car to use modern relays for the lights instead of running all the current through the switches. Also makes it easy to wire in a switched aux. fan or fog lights, etc. Expensive, but maybe worth it?
 

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Depends on how neat you want it to look. All those things are fairly easy with the original harness (eg I have relays and seperate circuit breakers for each headlight all added to original harness) but the mix of old and new might not look right to some.
https://i.imgur.com/gJhWc1C.jpg

I also like to allow a certain amount of evolution as I try out ideas I find interesting. For example, I want to build a variable speed fan controller, that will also allow the fan to run for a variable time after shutting down.

I've been wondering if it's worth it to invest in an updated wiring harness when I do my restoration. I've never had too much trouble with the Lucas gremlins, but I've always maintained my cars really well.
I saw a harness from Revington and a few others that update the car to use modern relays for the lights instead of running all the current through the switches. Also makes it easy to wire in a switched aux. fan or fog lights, etc. Expensive, but maybe worth it?
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Hangtown Healey Cibie Z Beam Headlight Repair Austin Healey 0
F TR2/3/3A Headlight bucket color Triumph 22
F TR2/3/3A Headlight bucket clip Triumph 2
Healey Nut Headlight buckets Jaguar 3
B Headlight Dip Switch Austin Healey 4
D TR2/3/3A headlight question Triumph 8
P TR2/3/3A TR2 Headlight Trim Question: Triumph 8
Rob Glasgow Wanted Headlight Lucas Austin Healey Classifieds 4
Bocaray TR2/3/3A Headlight Dimmer conversion to dash switch Triumph 6
RJS General TR Warm White H4 LED Headlight Bulbs Triumph 1
Rob Glasgow For Sale Used headlight rims for sale Austin Healey Classifieds 1
AngliaGT For Sale Lucas Headlight - used MG Classifieds 0
Guido36 LED Headlight Upgrade Austin Healey 1
Healey Nut TR6 Headlight size Triumph 58
D BJ8 Headlight Rims Austin Healey 0
D TR2/3/3A snap on headlight rims restore Triumph 10
steveg TR6 Headlight switch - can it be rebuilt? Triumph 4
dbenichou289 TR2/3/3A Headlight outer trim ring Triumph 6
K TR2/3/3A Headlight Hi beam floor button fail? Triumph 5
dbenichou289 TR2/3/3A headlight switch removal Triumph 10
Spock TR6 '72 Headlight Relays Triumph 4
Upland 3 position headlight switch is now 2 Spridgets 1
AUSMHLY Led headlight conversion kit with Lucas headlight bucket Austin Healey 37
D TR2/3/3A Headlight Trim Triumph 17
P TR6 ^%$#headlight rim Triumph 4
Rob Glasgow Weird Lucas Headlight Austin Healey 7
D Wanted TR3 Headlight [lamp] chrome rim Triumph Classifieds 1
P TR6 Headlight problem Triumph 3
M Headlight relays Austin Healey 17
T TR4/4A Attaching headlight trim ring Triumph 6
S TR4/4A Headlight switch wiring. Please help Triumph 2
GTP1960 TR2/3/3A LED headlight question Triumph 11
K TR4/4A 4A chrome headlight rim installation? Triumph 2
T Question regards headlight ring 'thickness' for bugeye Spridgets 3
S TR2/3/3A Tr3 headlight buckets Triumph 3
healeyblue XK 120 headlight mounting Jaguar 1
Jim_Gruber Headlight Trim Rings on my BE - Removal - Best Methods Spridgets 5
4tecdog Headlight relays the easy way Austin Healey 13
M For Sale E-Type S1 Plexi Headlight Covers Jaguar Classifieds 0
Rut Headlight relay question Spridgets 3
JPSmit Question four - headlight trim ring Spridgets 9
princetn1 MGB Headlight Grille MG 7
TomMull General Tech Headlight upgrade Triumph 9
S Replacement Headlight Switch Spridgets 4
jaegzie Headlight buckets Spridgets 3
B Sizes of Headlight Bucket Recess Austin Healey 8
CJD TR2/3/3A Headlight bulb rating Triumph 18
Tinkerman TR2/3/3A 1960 TR 3A square spier nuts on headlight assembly Triumph 2
C TR2/3/3A Weak headlight Triumph 7
J TR2/3/3A Headlight choices, Carillo shells Triumph 1

Similar threads

Top