In a message dated 5/3/00 11:15:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ernestern@home.com writes:
<< After having it hybernate all winter for wiring problems, I've
finally gotten it on the road again, but wiring problems still abound. No
horn, no signals, heater fan, brake lights, the battery will drain if it
sits for more than three days, etc. Being that I'm neither a mechanically
inclined man (although I can read a shop manual and have surprised myself
with some of the repairs I've made) nor a rich man, the car's desire to sit
broken seems to be prevailing. >>
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Although wiring gets a bad rap as being substandard, it really can be
repaired and will work properly, if you don't try to get around the way it
was designed to work. To make the troubleshooting job easier, get a wiring
diagram, the one in the Bentley manual is good, and photocopy it to an
enlarged size. Make several hundred copies! (Well, a dozen or so.) Make
copies of the legend that lists the components and the wire color code too.
Now you are ready.
Break the "I gotta fix ALL the wiring" job down into smaller pieces so it
doesn't seem like it will drive you to drink. (Which may only be a short
walk, but...) Let's say you want to fix the horn today. Find the horn on
one of the big copies of the wiring diagram. It will be listed by number, so
you need the legend. Get a hiliter pen and hilite all the wires from the
horn back to the battery. This makes it easier to see. Now figure out what
color the wires are and start tracing them until you find a bad connector or
a broken wire. Start at the horn and work backwards. Open each connector
and make sure it isn't green or rusty, and that it is a tight fit. You will
find a lot of bullet connectors that are loose. Also, check each ground
point and make sure the screws to the body are clean and tight.
Before you start the troubleshooting part, it is a good idea to make sure the
fuse block is in good condition. (Mine was rusty when I bought my car.)
Make sure the fuses are good. Check the cables on the battery. Clean them
if they are green, and make sure they are tight. Look for the other end of
the ground cable (negative on your car) from the battery. It is bolted to the
frame or body somewhere. It should also not be green or rusty, and it should
be tight.
That should get you started. Let us know how you do.
Allen Hefner
SCCA Philly Region Rally Steward
'77 Midget
'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
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