No headdlights

[wvo]

It was a stormy night . . . I was driving my '82 suburban on the highway in a heavy rain the other night and my headlight went out. I checked some of the obvious things. All the rest of the electrical stuff seems OK except the batteries don't seem to be charging properly. Fuses all OK. I don't think the headlight circuit is fused is it? I replaced the fusable link on the firewall a few months ago when it burned up. I think I had too many add-ons wired into the accesory circuit and after I installed some relays the new fusable link seems to be fine. checked some of the obviuos stuff and the headlights worked for about a minuet, then off again. I don't have a wiring diagram but could anyone suggest a next check.

Thanks in advance,

todd

[BobND]

1.) Connector burned at DIMMER switch.

2.) Connector burned at HEADLIGHT switch, or defective headlight switch.

[Subzilla]

Had this happen to me about 8 years ago. I seem to recall some loose connection at the starter. I think the headlight circuit runs through there then up to the battery. Make sense? Good luck.

[wvo]

Thanks BobND and Subzilla,

I checked the headlight switches this morning and they looked good, pulled the headlight switch and they lit up?? Then turned them off and tried again and they did not light. Checked for power and there was then no power at the switch.

It's almost halloween . . . a ghost in the machine!

I have looked at the wires on the starter but I will give them a proper check for power and resistance tonight.

It looks like I might have a wire or connection that's "semi-retired."

Thanks again,

todd

[Subzilla]

10-4 on those retired connections. 4 years ago, my Sub shut down electrically after a major power surge of everything. I had a huge cloud of burnt wire covering smell throughout the cab and thought I'm doomed. After hours of searching, it turned out to be a fusible link at the power lug on the firewall. Years of bumping and rubbing it had broken the strands one by one untill it broke totally in two. Somehow, this caused some excessive backflow of electricity through the system. I replaced the fusible link and everything has been just dandy. I can see still some melted wire covering mainly at connections but nothing was seriously damaged. Scary! :eek:

[wvo]

Well it was the wiring at the starter. I did not recognize the type of fusable link used. Everything looked fine but there was power in front of the link but not behind. I don't know if it is the original setup, but on my '82 Suburban there are two wires that come off the stud on the solinoid that receives the battery current. One of the wires splits into two wires, and that was the bad one. One of the two wires went to the back of the fuse box and took care of the headlights. The other wire went to the alternator and took care of the bad charging readings.

So for now, "Clyde" is back on the road (It reminds my wife of a clydesdale, so it works out, she gets the horse and I get the beer)

Thanks again

[Subzilla]

Glad to hear you found the problem! It's the simple things that make life fun.