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Electrical Troubleshooting Advice Needed

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N233TX

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'75 Midget 1500 Starts and runs fine but turn signals went out recently and checking found most everything, save headlights, was a no-go. Stoplights are on bright anytime battery is connected. Looked like a ground problem but main ground on firewall checked out. Battery at 12.7v but only 11.7 showing at fuse box.

My eyes are really not up to reading that electrical diagram so I would appreciate any TS shortcuts you may have. Having this much stuff on the fritz simultaneously must mean something. Thanks in advance. Jim
 
You need to start by pulling apart every bullet connector and polish up with a Drexel Tool and wire Brush. Females side an 1/8” drill bit on low speed. Get both sides nice and shiny. Sane for fuse box. Clean the green off with wire brush and sandpaper. Same for every ground connector. Headlights ground IIRC to the bolt that Holds on the Heater Duct Tube. Clean up the ground strap where it attaches to the firewall. It needs to be shiny.

When end I got my Sprite not a single lamp, headlight, not any Instruments worked. I went through over the course of a week and cleaned every single connection and got the green off. Every single item in the car worked when I was done. Clean the green off.
 
Jim_Gruber said:
You need to start by pulling apart every bullet connector and polish up with a Drexel Tool and wire Brush. Females side an 1/8” drill bit on low speed. Get both sides nice and shiny. Sane for fuse box. Clean the green off with wire brush and sandpaper. Same for every ground connector. Headlights ground IIRC to the bolt that Holds on the Heater Duct Tube. Clean up the ground strap where it attaches to the firewall. It needs to be shiny.

When end I got my Sprite not a single lamp, headlight, not any Instruments worked. I went through over the course of a week and cleaned every single connection and got the green off. Every single item in the car worked when I was done. Clean the green off.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that response. Been there before for that drill; was hoping for a targeted quick fix, but alas... I have had good luck using a product called Deoxit spray on fussy connectors on aircraft; anybody here use it on those bullet connectors? I believe I will use it this time and hope for the best. Again, thanks.
 
That 11.7 at the fuse box is not a good sign and I agree with the others that you need to clean all the connections.

I have used small wire "bottle brushes" on a cordless drill for the female connectors and ScotchBrite to clean the males. I use Vaseline or dielectric grease (depending which is at hand) to coat the parts prior to reassembly.

As stated above, cleaning ALL the connectors makes a big difference. Be aware that the female connectors tend to fail inside the rubber sleeve so it is a good idea to buy new ones and simply swap them out. I get mine from britishwiring.com
 
Loosen all grounding bolts and retighten.
 
N233TX said:
Thank you for that response. Been there before for that drill; was hoping for a targeted quick fix, but alas... I have had good luck using a product called Deoxit spray on fussy connectors on aircraft; anybody here use it on those bullet connectors? I believe I will use it this time and hope for the best. Again, thanks.
Click to expand...

Deoxit is good stuff. I've used it on all kinds of music and sound gear, and yes, I've used it on my Sprite. Depending on how much is on the connectors, you might be able to get away with hitting it with Deoxit if there's not much goop on the connectors, but failing that, the Dremel and wire brush will definitely work. My thought is, if you're going to be digging into the wires and pulling all the bullet connectors, take the few extra minutes per connection to clean them up properly with the dremel tool.
 
Mission accomplished. Three hours with test light, multimeter and Deoxit has all necessary functions operative. Bullet connectors were not too gooped up so the Deoxit did the trick. Had to sand tail light bulb contacts. Interestingly the always-on brake light was not a ground issue as I suspected but a broken return spring on the pedal. It let the pedal droop about 1/8" which was enough to activate the switch to the tail lights. Thanks to all for your helpful suggestions. Jim
 
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