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Wedge A test for the Wedge heads

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PATR8

PATR8

Jedi Knight
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I have the engine in, running ok, need to work on tuning it up, one part of the conversion that did not suceed is the tach. I have a MSD set up with the tach converter but I can not seem to find the wire from the original 7 wiring that I need to hook to the Tach converter. The book seems to say white with a slate stripe but it doesn't work. Suggestions? MY MSD is a 6200 series for those of you who want to look the hook up instructions up on line. THanks

Edit one, While I am challanging you I may as well throw out my other two pesky lucas related problems. All of a sudden my wipers will not shut off, I tried swapping out the stalk and that did not do it, next step?

And those pesky pop-up lights. They were working great, one was a little slow. But after the swap, they do nothing. I Never touched the wiring to the lights. Any ideas?
 
Did you hook up an engine ground strap to the body?


PATR8 said:
And those pesky pop-up lights. They were working great, one was a little slow. But after the swap, they do nothing. I Never touched the wiring to the lights. Any ideas?
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I've had trouble before with the MSD not putting out what the tach wants. Not on a wedge, tho. You might try temporarily putting the stock ignition back to check if the white/slate is really the right wire. If so, I'd drop a note to MSD's tech support (including which tach adapter you have) and see if they have a solution.
 
Ground Strap is connected, and re-checked...

The MSD experts assure me that it is the cars wiring not their tach adapter...
 
do the headlamps light up while in the down position? i spent a long time working on my headlamps, the last problem i had was no low beams or left turn signal. replaced the combination stalk on the steering wheel. I had to replace the limit switch assy on the headlamps (both) because they decided not to pop up. They are easy to take out and work on a bench to troubleshoot.
 
The lights do light up in the down position, I wonder, do the lights have a voltage sensor? I wonder if maybe the fact my battery is so low I need to jump it each time may be the issue. I am getting a new battery tomorrow to see if that solves the issue.
 
the motor power goes through relays in the fuse panel to a connector near the headlamp assembly. you should hear the relays click when you turn on the headlights. separate connectors for motors and lamps. if the battery doesn't work try putting 12v directly to the motors connector. do you have a wiring diagram? I am writing this by memory and early cars have different connectors than later cars, if you need a diagram I'll dig one up and email it to you.. i also ran an additional ground strap from the headlamp assemblt to my ground point on the frame. nothing too large, 14 guage.
 
I get the clicking from the fuse panels, I have cleaned all the connectors. I have the wiring diagram from my 8's service manual, do you think there is a difference between that and the 7 DHC?

I still have my 8 FHC shell and I know the lights work on it si I may look at swapping out the lights, I just think it looks like lots of work and would actually like to solve the problem.

I am off to get a new battery and hopefully it will solve the problem. If not it is back to part swapping
 
i don't think there is much of a difference between the tr8 and tr7. I swapped the motor assemblies from my tr8 parts car into my tr7 FHC during troubleshooting and they seemed to work properly (aside from creating an adapter plug.

The headlamp assemblies are easy to remove, a couple of conectors and four nuts on the front bulkhead. Have you tried to manualy raise the headlamps? If the circuit is intact the headlamps will cycle back down if the master light switch is in the off position.
 
I have cycled the lights up and still nothing. I really think it may be my battery. I have not got a new battery yet.

I did run the 8 yesterday and it was charging but I think that there is a drain on the battery (trunk light I beleive). I will get the battery tomorrow and hopefully the header gaskets will be here before the week end.

Then I will have a week end of cruising and fixing all the stuff I either broke or forgot to tighten up during the swap.
 
PATR8 said:
I have cycled the lights up and still nothing. I really think it may be my battery. I have not got a new battery yet.

I did run the 8 yesterday and it was charging but I think that there is a drain on the battery (trunk light I beleive). I will get the battery tomorrow and hopefully the header gaskets will be here before the week end.

Then I will have a week end of cruising and fixing all the stuff I either broke or forgot to tighten up during the swap.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you're narrowing down the problem.

As for header gaskets, you can get them at most supply houses - they're the same as early 60's Buick/Olds 215. I bought some Fel-Pro gaskets - the kind with "open" bolt holes that are easier to maneuver into place.
 
just a silly question, you have the jumper plugged in? my '76 has a jumper you unplug to manually raise and lower the headlamps. i think my '81 and TR8 also have them, but the circuitry is slightly different and the plug is supposed to be in a different place.
 
It is pretty amazing, my donor car has a November 79 build date, my DHC i am swapping into has a Mar 80 build date (I am pretty sure). Being so close together you woudl think there would be very littel difference in the cars. I have found the reverse plug on the tans into the harness is different, the drive shafts were different, the dashes were just slightly different (the 80 build had a small BL relay on the days (.5 inches by 1.5 inches with 4 wire running into it on top of the dash) and the head lights acutally loook like they have different plugs. will get teh battery tonight to try to diagnosis that, if not I start swapping lights motors our tomorrow
 
Well I ended up swapping more parts out yesterday. It was the ingnition (where the key goes in) The DHC's key would not stay forward and was shutting the eletronics off after it started. The key was just not staying far enough forward. I am not sure what I would have done if I did not have my FHC to swap parts from. Once again I am feeling that the person I bought this off of may have been less than honest. The ignition was 1/4 of the way unscrewed so either he knew about it and tried to fix it or he swapped the ignitions out and put the bad one in the car and sold the good one. It was not a hard swap but time consuming. Still have yet to figure out the lights (Probably another swap).

I was taking the kids for rides last night when I lost spark. Too late to start tearing things apart so I parked it for the night. WIll work on it today when I get home.
 
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