Help!!!!

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plymouth67

plymouth67

It be a lot cooler if you did...
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So tonight I thought I would put my grille and headlights in....so I hook up bulbs to make sure they still worked and they did. I moved on and put in the grille, bolted everything all up and pulled the headlight switch and....nothing!!! Tail lights came on and, rear marker lights are working but nothing up front. Then I go start the car and it wont turn over until I shut the headlights off, then it fires right up. Turn lights while it's running and, it stays running but, shut it off with lights on and wont turn over. Now wont turn over at all unless you jump the relay. Is the starter relay related to the headlights in some way? Ground wise maybe? When I turn the lights on the bright indicator and, the turn signal indicators are both lit up in the cluster even though the actual bulbs are not on....not sure wtf happened here...never had an issue with this thing starting during this whole process until I start to put it back together...go figure!!! The only ground I see for the harness up front by the lights is one black wire up by the drivers headlight that is hooked up the negative battery cable....I think the dimmer switch is toast but, I have never had one do anything like this. I'm gonna get a starter relay and, dimmer switch but, if somebody has any info it would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Damn i had this same problem, but my car wouldnt start until i would turn the key then pull the head lights on and it would start. Had it like that for a year. It was because off the hot run and positive power going to the back off the key switch were all corroded, along with the back of the Alternator Amp meter. Lemon and grease fixed it.
 
Check your engine to body ground at the rear the ground usyall goes to the heater fan mounting nut.

The wire going to the starter relay to the bottom forward prong is the ground for the relay. 69 and earlier are permantly grounded on standard shift cars. 70 and newer it goes to the clutch pedal. All automatic cars the wire goes from the three prong or single prong trans switch to the starter relay.

It would have to be that the car is grounding the incoming ballast wire.. or positive coil. This wire is blue and is the same wire that operates the Alternator,electric choke, AC , and Ballast resister . You are shorting the this wire when the lights are on. This will prevent them from working. These are just some guesses. Without seeing the cars wiring these suggestions are just something to check. I believe you have something plugged in at the wrong location. Go get bulbs at NAPA. I have had problems with chain store bulbs they are so loose they go in the wrong way and short the system. Take the bulbs out and try it.

While the car is running unplug things and see if the lights still keep shutting the car off. unplug all the blue wires under the hood except the ballast. One at a time. something is shorting that wire or the brown wire coming from the ballast to the coil.


This would be just a guess but is this car 74-79? I pulled my hair out on several of these years losing spark . Including trucks and vans. It was always a ground shorted to Positive. Never walk away from this car or truck with the battery terminals on. They light on fire real quick.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
Check your engine to body ground at the rear the ground usyall goes to the heater fan mounting nut.

The wire going to the starter relay to the bottom forward prong is the ground for the relay. 69 and earlier are permantly grounded on standard shift cars. 70 and newer it goes to the clutch pedal. All automatic cars the wire goes from the three prong or single prong trans switch to the starter relay.

It would have to be that the car is grounding the incoming ballast wire.. or positive coil. This wire is blue and is the same wire that operates the Alternator,electric choke, AC , and Ballast resister . You are shorting the this wire when the lights are on. This will prevent them from working. These are just some guesses. Without seeing the cars wiring these suggestions are just something to check. I believe you have something plugged in at the wrong location. Go get bulbs at NAPA. I have had problems with chain store bulbs they are so loose they go in the wrong way and short the system. Take the bulbs out and try it.

While the car is running unplug things and see if the lights still keep shutting the car off. unplug all the blue wires under the hood except the ballast. One at a time. something is shorting that wire or the brown wire coming from the ballast to the coil.


This would be just a guess but is this car 74-79? I pulled my hair out on several of these years losing spark . Including trucks and vans. It was always a ground shorted to Positive. Never walk away from this car or truck with the battery terminals on. They light on fire real quick.
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The car is a 75 Duster, I unplugged the lights and still have the same situation, pretty sure the starter relay is bad so until I change that may not know much more until then. What's weird to me is the lights in the rear work fine. The headlights worked fine until I put the grille in....really!!! Then all this weird **** started going on.
 
Jadaharabi said:
Isn't there a ground wire on each side up front and on each side in the back for the lights.
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I thought the same thing, there is grounds that plug into a spade on the taillight housings, the only ground I see up front is one wire on the drivers side hooked to the negative battery cable. Do you have a car you can look at?
 
If you hadn't changed any wiring when doing the replacement then I would go to the battery. Clean the terminals and ensure its a good battery before messing with any wires. I had similar problems with mine, thought it was ground, then the switch, blah blah blah. It turned out the battery terminals, although to the naked eye looked clean, needed a cleaning. That fixed it temporarily. Then the problem started again and it was the battery itself that needed replacing.
 
69cudaownr said:
If you hadn't changed any wiring when doing the replacement then I would go to the battery. Clean the terminals and ensure its a good battery before messing with any wires. I had similar problems with mine, thought it was ground, then the switch, blah blah blah. It turned out the battery terminals, although to the naked eye looked clean, needed a cleaning. That fixed it temporarily. Then the problem started again and it was the battery itself that needed replacing.
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Thanks for the input but it's a brand new battery and both cables are also new...GRRR!!!
 
Really the reason I cheer you on is because how hard I was laughing halfway through your first post. Pulling the head light switches and turning the car off and stuff like that LOL but really knowing all along it's going to be just a couple wires.. This isn't something to get all excited and pissed about this is something you got to ponder...
 
Plymouth67, Jpar laughed while I worked through my electrical problem in my '85 Ramcharger too. Electrical problems gets Jaws's current flowing.... LOL
 
318willrun said:
Plymouth67, Jpar laughed while I worked through my electrical problem in my '85 Ramcharger too. Electrical problems gets Jaws's current flowing.... LOL
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Two years ago I put my Dash on my workbench and sorted that spaghetti...
IMG_20180302_165209.jpg
I've been there and back...
 
I am guessing you have a bad ground somewhere. Is your engine grounded to the frame? I added extra grounds to mine from the heads to firewall. Try using a set of jumper cables from the negative battery terminal to a solid (unpainted metal) surface. If the starter relay is bolted solid to the fender and it's free from rust and paint under it's mounting bracket then try connecting the jumper cable to the body of the relay. If this solves your problem then add a ground strap from the engine to the firewall. Good Luck
 
plymouth67 said:
This is where I dont want go.....send me to hell now, not pulling all the wiring out!!! Lol
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I had had it I was done done done!!
no more laying upside down on the floor board with a flashlight sticking out of my mouth trying to get a piece of duct tape around a wire! LOL I was pulling that sucker out on my workbench and soldering and shrink wrapping and properly doing every wire the way I always dreamed it to be....
 
j par said:
I had had it I was done done done!!
no more laying upside down on the floor board with a flashlight sticking out of my mouth trying to get a piece of duct tape around a wire! LOL I was pulling that sucker out on my workbench and soldering and shrink wrapping and properly doing every wire the way I always dreamed it to be....
Click to expand...
 
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