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Weird Headlight Problem


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I finally got my turn signals to work when I find another problem. I only have high beams and when they are on my turn signals lose almost all their power. Sometimes they will blink once and thats about it. When the switch is on low beam they work but they flash much slower than with the switch out of either beams. Please help me

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Did the 240z headlight relay mod because I figured it would fix it all. Definately made my high beams brighter but still no low beams. I am thinking there is corrosion in the connector up there so I am going to break out the ammeter and figure that out. Then it get to see why my marker lights flash with the turn signals. This car is a wiring mess!!!!!!!!!!!11

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Are you blowing fuses when you try your low beams?

 

I have issue with lights as well some time ago. It was a turn signal lamp that was messing up the whole system (modified to be Euro legal ;I took the ground of the side marker as ground for position lights located in the headlight housing.

When I was turning my headlights on, the fuse was blowing before the lights starts to work.

 

My advice, would to open your headlight system by removing all your lamps & reinstall them one by one, check your system until the problem you're encountering happens again. It could help you to spot the issue. then you'll have to find the reason (bad ground, bad lamp - even if it still works, bad cable, bad fuse, etc.)

Edited by Lazeum
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Got the headlights to work... Now my markers still both blink with either right or left signal engaged. And the turn signals in the back do not work with either headlights engaged. I think a ground is messing up somewhere

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  • 4 weeks later...

I agree it sounds like a ground issue. I would clean up the body ground connector in the engine bay, the one below the battery. Then run jumpers from the Alt case to ground and battery neg to this ground. if that does not help, problem is in harness.

 

Do you have a schematic for the stock headlight circuits?

 

Edit:

Here is a diagram I made up, as well as a description of the system.

 

 

Introduction:

The 240z uses “A side†switching to get power to the headlights, and “B side†switching to ground them through the dimmer switch.

 

Description:

Power comes from batt/alt to headlight switch. From headlight switch power is routed to fuse block across 2 fuses, one fuse for the left headlight, and one for the right. From the fuseblock the fuses are connected to the left and right headlights common/ ground terminal on each bulb. From the bulb the High beam “ground†is connected to the dimmer switch, as is the low beam. The common side of the dimmer switch is connected to ground.

 

Problems with this System:

1. The headlight switch is NOT fuse protected, and is a single point of failure for the entire system.

 

2. This setup requires full current be routed from:

* Alternator to Fuseblock (fuseblock used as a juncition point, not going through fuses yet )

Fuseblock to headlight switch

Headlight switch to fuseblock (this time through 2 10 amp fuses)

* Fuseblock to common terminal on headlghts.

* Headlights to dimmer switch via high and low beam circuits.

* Dimmer switch to ground.

Items marked with a * represent a circuit running through the firewall.

 

3. The long lengths of wire reduce overall performance of the lighting system.

 

1972%20240z%20Headlight%20wiring%20diagram%20per%20FSM.jpg

Edited by rejracer
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  • 4 weeks later...

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/240z/71_Aus_240z_lights.pdf

 

I plan to do this to my 76. I found this link, and even though I know how to wire relays and everything, its always nice to see it laid out.

 

I've also swapped my combo switch for a 78 version. My old one was all kinds of hosed, and I had a 78 column. Spliced some wires etc.

 

Add this to the list of odd issues:(and no-not related to the above combo sw swap!)

 

My car in particular has an issue where it pulls so much current with the headlights on that a power wire on top of my column un solders itself. I resoldered it and off it came again. All my interior and marker lights went out, on the highway, in front of a state trooper. ASked him to hold his flashlight for me while i found the offending wire, temp fixed it so i could see home. He still gave me a fix-it ticket :-)

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