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Bugeye turn indicator light help please

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ichthos

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I put in a new wiring harness, and everything works great electrically except for one item - the left front turn indicator. When I turn on the headlights, the left front turn indicator comes on also. When I switch on the left turn indicator switch, it flashes even brighter. I am baffled and frustrated. What am I doing wrong?
Kevin
 
almost everything with these puppies is the ground - trace, clean, clean again reinstall and try again. (fresh paint can be a problem with grounds)
 
Yep,grounding has been a problem with the new paint, but in every case so far it that meant the light would not work at all. In this case the light is on when it shouldn't be. Is this still a grounding issue?
Kevin
 
ichthos said:
When I turn on the headlights, the left front turn indicator comes on also. When I switch on the left turn indicator switch, it flashes even brighter. I am baffled and frustrated. What am I doing wrong?
Kevin
Click to expand...

That is how it is supposed to work.
Parking lights when the light switch is on, and a brighter flashing lasmp when the turn signal is on.
So does your right front parking light not work?
 
I had a similiar problem with a 68 Midget. I have not idea if your is configured like mine, but I will explain my problem and fix

The turn signal wire and headlight wire went through a double insulated disconnect. The disconnect had a problem that cause the current of power to pass between the two at that point.

The fix was simply done by installing a seperate diconnect for each wire

Good luck with your problem, try to keep your head clear and don't assume anything. I found out to start at the source of power (Batt) and follow wire checking connections, bare spots binds etc until you get to the end source of power.

A volt meter is your best friend
 
I am confused. When I turn on the headlights, are you saying all four beehive lights should be on when I turn on the headlights? I thought they only came on when using the turn indicator.
Kevin
 
Kevin
On the Bugeye the front turn signal light has two purposes. It is a parking light and a turn signal light. The turn signal is an independent circuit--forget about it.


The knob that surrounds the ignition switch on the Bugeye has two positions. Turn it to the first and you get parking lights in the front and back, all the way around. Turn it again and you get headlights and the parking lights stay illuminated.

So, Kevin, if when you turn the knob to the first position and the left light comes on but not the right, then in the left one IS working correctly. The right one should also be illuminating too.

The problem could be a ground, disconnected wiring, or it could be a bad bulb.

Charlie
 
Kevin, I think if you are wired correctly the Beehive lights in back are turn signals only. The large fixtures in the back are parking lights and brake lights. On the Bugeye the front turn signal light has two purposes. It is a parking light and a turn signal light.
 
Seems like an odd set up to me that only the front bee hives come on for parking lights. In any case, I checked - when I turn the switch to the first turn, the larger tail lights come on in back and the left front bee hive light comes on in front. It seems very bright for a parking light. Then the real problem then (as a couple of you have pointed out) is the right front bee hive. As was mentioned too, maybe it is a grounding problem after all. I will get back to you and tell what happens. Thanks for all the help you guys.
Kevin
 
Kevin,
Sounds like your parking lights are working okay in back.

The bulbs in the front beehives have two filaments. A dim one, and a bright one. The bright one is for your turn signals. The dim one is for your parking lights. It sounds like on the left side that you have the wires reversed.

Now we come to the right side. If the right turn signal is working okay, then the issue is not a ground. The parking light and the turn signal use the same ground. The metal body of the beehive's socket is ground, by the way. It is connected to a black wire.

Now you are down to two possibilities.

The first is that the power is not connected to the fixture. Remove the glass beehive, turn the parking lights on and check using your meter, or simply trace back to where the right parking light connects to the main harness. It is a solid red wire.

The second possibility is that the second filament in the lightbulb is broken.



Charlie
 
Ok, I feel stupid. One of the lights was defective, and on one of the sockets I had the wires reversed. Of course it helped when I learned how the lights were supposed to work to begin with. Everything electrical now works! Thanks again for all the help.

Charlie, has your situation improved where you can work on your car a little bit more? As soon as I get my insurance forms in and am approved I'm off for a front end alignment. I still have a small punch list, but my car should be road worthy. I'll post picks on my first real road trial.
Kevin
 
Hey Kevin

Don't feel bad. What are the chances that you would have a bad bulb? They make millions upon millions of these bulbs and they are very heavy duty. And, how these things work is something one can't exactly visualize until you actually put it together and have the wires hooked up and the electrical system working. Getting it right, finally, is a huge thrill, isn't it?

I also agree that to have the beehives in back function as turn signals only is odd. But, isn't that quaint-ness what we love about our cars?

It would be interesting to have a pint with the engineers who designed the Bugeye and have them explain their reasons for doing certain things like that. Too bad most of them are probably long gone by now.

I presume by my situation you mean that I can't work on my car except for a few times a year because it is in a different state...well actually I could work on it more often these days but the reason isn't a very good one ha ha ha!! I GOT LAID OFF back in November!!! So there is more time now, but the car is still in another state. I'm getting by on severance pay and small projects (which there are plenty of) and applying for jobs here in New York City where I live. No chance I'm moving back to where the car is until retirement or else something very weird happens--my wife has a great job here and the kid is thriving in a great high school.

Hey, something good for me will come along. I'm highly qualified and extremely good at what I do. The fact is, sometimes the music stops and there are not enough chairs to go around. That didn't mean I was a bad employee. The construction business is just not very good right now. It will come back.

Meanwhile when I get bummed out I just log onto this website and think about working on my car!! Or your car for that matter.

Glad we fixed you up Kevin. Can't wait to see your pics!


Charlie
 
ichthos said:
Ok, I feel stupid. One of the lights was defective, and on one of the sockets I had the wires reversed. Of course it helped when I learned how the lights were supposed to work to begin with. Everything electrical now works! Thanks again for all the help.
Click to expand...

I went through the same thing - turned out to be a burned out bulb, but more to the point it took getting these to folk to explain how it was supposed to work for it to make sense. glad that is off the punch list.
 
Yes, I do like the little unique things about this car... once I understand how it all works. By the way, the light was not burned out. I could still see the wires intact - that is why I missed it. If course knowing how things were supposed to work was the biggest help.

Sorry to hear about your work, Charlie. Same situation here with many good people I know personally being out of work. Big pay reductions too. When I was unable to work on my Bugeye, I would do like you did too, Charlie. I would read the forum and dream about when I could work on mine. Best wishes on a better year and a job.

Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Kevin
 
I've seen some people put dual filament bulbs in the rear beehives to make extra brake lights.
 
Thanks for your good wishes, Kevin.

Trevor, that is an excellent idea. Although I wish I had the suggestion before I put that rear harness in. It has already been out once to add a dedicated ground wire. Going back under there and pulling it again would not my idea of a good time!!
 
Making my first post as a member: As a 35-year Bugeye driver and from experience in the family trailer hitch shop (lots of trailer lighting problems)I offer these hints:
1) With dual-element bulbs for tail/marker and stop/turn, The power comes in on two separate wires at the base. However, both elements use the common ground thry the bulb shell and socket. If that bulb does not ground, the current can pass thru one element, then go "backwards" thru the other and finally to ground in other bulbs on the same circuit! A typical case is one turn signal does not work, but all the taillights flash dimly... Any sort of "cross-connection" symptom should cause you to check grounds in dual-bulb sockets. Clean the bulb shell and socket with WD-40 etc and emery cloth or brush.
2)A suspect bulb can be given a quick check by tapping it with a pencil of your fingernail - you may see an element start to vibrate because it has broken off the support post. To be really sure, use an ohmmeter.
3) The new LED bulbs come on faster, brighter and give a crisper flash. If you want to try these, realize that the light is aslos quite directional and works beast when the bulb is horizontal. In a Bugeye taillight the LED would try to light the ground... Joel
 
Joel
I didn't know that! I had that exact thing happen in one of my left Bugeye tail/brake and turn signal lights when I put in a new harness. When I turned on the turn signal the brake light and running lights would flash. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Makes sense now.

Turned out to be guess what--a bad ground. Turns out that the two fixtures back there are grounded together with a single wire. But not to the rest of the rear harness. The fixtures are grounded to the body through the screws. No wonder...

Charlie

ps welcome Joel.
 
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