Oops, nearly set fire to the Safari - new smoke fitted to loom

[DSdriver]

The headlamps would come on with the switch and not go off again until you disconnect the battery. My reckoning was that it was the relay so I swapped it for a new one at which point all the smoke started escaping from the wires.

I swiftly disconnected the battery and waited for the smoke to clear.

I am now having lunch while I pluck up the courage to reconnect the battery and see what still works. The fuses seem to be OK which is a shame because it would have been handy if one had blown instead of the loom going into meltdown.

Any suggestions from those that have walked this path before?

Stand by for further updates.

[anonymous user]

 

Any suggestions from those that have walked this path before?

When my Frogeye did that (problem with the dynamo regulator) I disconnected the battery and ran away.

 

Commiserations, hopefully it is something as simple as a melted switch contact.

[johngarty]

Pictures or it never happened 

 

[DSdriver]

News update #1

Battery reconnected but relay removed, one wire is burnt right through. 

Turned light-switch on and it appears that the offside works without fine without the disconnected wiring. Nearside has no sidelight, dip/main or driving lamp.

Analysis: On a forty-six year old car it is quite likely that someone has bodged something in the past. The question is WHAT.

Stand by, I'm going in.

[DSdriver]

News update #2

There is power to the n/s sidelight but bulb is blown.

Reconnected the old relay to the three good wires and dip/main works but not directional driving lamp. Could it be that the relay was just wired up to that? Next check: see if there is power at the driving lamp.

This is baffling me. Why would a relay that is only connected to one spot lamp cause the headlamps not to dip?

[DSdriver]

Update #3

No power to nearside spot (directional driving lamp).

Pressed switch to turn off spots and all lights go out. Dodgy switch or are all lights being powered through the offside spot wiring?

I suspect the latter but am not sure how to find out.

I have also found a redundant relay behind the dash with no wires connected but the same colour code as the relay that I thought was faulty.

Which I am now beginning to suspect might be OK.

[johngarty]

Its fucked. 15 24 and 32 please

[forddeliveryboy]

You seem to be progressing pretty well without us, sorry but I'm not intimate with DS light wiring and can't really help. All I'd say is have a fire extinguisher at the ready and make sure you know how to actuate it swiftly.

 

Try this: 

http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/citro%EBn-forum/115742-ds-21-dashboard-3.html

 

No idea why its showing as three dots, it's the aussiefrogs forum

[Squire_Dawson]

A multimeter could help to see where you are getting voltages and if any volts have dropped. Hopefully its not been bodged, I hate bodges.

[Squire_Dawson]

Do you have the wiring diagram?

[For Fiats Sake]

Cut the blue wire first to stop the large led clock counting down (ideally it should stop with 0.00.02 showing). 

 

I learned everything I know about wiring from filums.

 

Good Luck.

[DSdriver]

You seem to be progressing pretty well without us, sorry but I'm not intimate with DS light wiring and can't really help. All I'd say is have a fire extinguisher at the ready and make sure you know how to actuate it swiftly.

 

Try this: 

http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/citro%EBn-forum/115742-ds-21-dashboard-3.html

 

No idea why its showing as three dots, it's the aussiefrogs forum

Thats excellent, the pics look just like mine i.e. an explosion in a multicolour spaghetti factory.

 

The relay looks the same with exactly the same shonky green wire except mine is now frazzled.

I need to digest what I have read, my brain aches (and check the fuses!)

 

Squire Dawson yes I have checked with a meter and 12V where it supposedly should (or shouldn't) be - that's what I am not very good at.

 

The wiring diagram is a typical piece of French surrealism, it only shows four fuses instead of the eight under the bonnet so who knows what else it fails to mention.

[Timewaster]

Too late now but in these situations of which you are unsure, I reconnect the battery through a fuse holder with a 5 or 10 amp fuse to start with.

 

I once acquired an AX which was virtually free as the wiring behind the dash was one solid molten blob and it saved me from more fire

[DSdriver]

Fuses: apparently I should have 10 amp and 15 amp, in the car they are all 15 amp.

There is a bloke on ebay selling 10 amp fuses which he says are for cars but the picture shows they have 250V stamped on them (as do some of mine). 

Does the voltage matter?

[DSdriver]

Also, headlamp main and dip have separate fuses, a pair for each lamp so 4 fuses. Indicators and sidelights have a fuse for left and right side of car. EVERYTHING else through the two remaining fuses. There must be some logic to this but it seems a bit strange.

[Timewaster]

Voltage doesn't matter.

 

As for logic?.....

 

French!

[DSdriver]

Slow progress being made trying to work out what is working and why.

The light switch is a multi function jobby, the bit that operates the spot lamps doesn't work but has failed in the on position. Which leads to the question: Why is the offside spotlamp powered by a bit of wire bridging from main beam? A fault in the loom I suppose. 

So everything on the off side works of a fashion but not through the relay. 

On the nearside all the lights (except the side light) function but are not connected to the switch because of the frazzled wire at the relay.

Once I have a better idea of things I think I will get Curds, the auto electricians to do the rewiring.

The side light bulb holder has a healthy 12 volts across it but refuses to make the bulb light up which is a mystery. Tried a separate earth to battery but still no joy.

I have a spare light switch which I will have to check over and make sure that it all works before cleaning it up.

[Squire_Dawson]

Have you substituted the bulb, as although the filament may look intact, they can be faulty.

[DSdriver]

Have you substituted the bulb, as although the filament may look intact, they can be faulty.

 

Yes, bought two new bulbs and tested them to see if they lit up ok. That is why I am baffled.

[dieselnutjob]

There are different pinouts for relays.  Make sure that the new one has the same layout as the old one.

I fitted the wrong relay in the 806 once and it powered the load off of the signal to the contacts rather than the battery feed.

Fortunately the circuit was fused.

[vulgalour]

Rather you than me, though it does make for some interesting reading.

[DSdriver]

Dieselnutjob

Yes I didn't foresee the potential for it to go disastrously wrong. The original relay being for a Citroen just had coloured dots, instead of code numbers. The fuses were wrong ampage and are on the downwind side of the switch and relay. Fortunately some bodger had found a new feed for the offside (which I have yet to discover) which bypasses the relay and it's wiring.

[DSdriver]

News update, I eventually realised that the problem was way above my capabilities and saddled our local autoleccyman with the car.

It only took him a week to sort, most of the time was spent scratching his head, muttering about the French and fending off people asking him if that is the ghostbusters car. 

He has done an excellent job, even bothering to use the original size/style electrical connectors I supplied him with. And he didn't charge like a wounded rhino.