Electrical woes

So we hooked up the battery to begin checking electrical.

The left turn signal blinks when you push indicator down, but the green arrow indicator on the dash flashes for the Right/passenger turn signal.

To make things even more entertaining I smelled smoke and there is smoke coming from the wad of wires on the drivers side.

Is it wrong that I want to sit in a corner and cry?

Pictures may or may not be helpful but here they are. I have the huge wiring diagrams. Gonna learn how to read one then try to figure this out! Complete novice here.

Uploading: 287BBCE9-3836-4011-919A-7CCB6F9922C7.jpeg…

Pics are not uploading. Will post when I get home.

That could be as simple as an incorrect connection - what happens when you signal right?

The smoke is worrisome. There is a fair amount of wiring that is not protected by any fuse. What I call the ‘white wire’ and ‘brown wire’ circuits. I actually took a B&W wiring diagram and highlighted all the places where the wiring loom is your ‘fuse’ should a short or overload happen.

There are several techniques for safely diagnosing this (e.g. adding a load such as a headlamp into a circuit as you test one circuit at a time) and for adding protection for those circuits (I added fusible links which at least put the smoke in a safe place).

The key IMO is a methodical and thorough approach - diagnosing electrical gremlins usually takes a lot of time & patience.

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Right turn signal not working at all.

The metal flasher (round thing in driver side) felt hot. Unhooked battery when I saw tiny bit of smoke. :frowning:

As annoying as it sounds, I think you’ll have to spend an afternoon going through the wiring diagram to make certain everything’s been connected correctly. Fortunately it really is pretty simple compared to modern cars. There really aren’t that many wires.

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Replace the flasher can with a new, modern one. Swap the left and right dash lights around, once you have checked that the wires are correctly coloured.

Anyone have any input as to the purple wires that go to nowhere?

After taking to the shop owner that worked some on the Jag with my dad, he said they had a hard time resourcing wiring harnesses for the S 1.5. He said the wiring is a combination of new and old. Should be an interesting hunt to trace down the issues.

Purple and purple /white should go to the map light attached to bottom of dash pad. Lower photo purple white probably goes to door switch.

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I suspect that both the Purple/White wire and the Purple wire go to the map light which is just under the front of the dash in the center. One would go to either side of the bulb. If the two touch (I see no insulation on either terminal) you will cause Fuse#8 to blow, or failing that smoke, if either door is open, or the map light switch is on.

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You may need to change the terminals on those wires or make pigtails to connect them properly. On my car the map light fixture takes bullet terminals.

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Candiece, Go slow…….
Buy the schematic that everyone sells IN COLOR
Next ring out 1 wire at a time….
From what I see you have a series 2 car so you have flashers as well
1 start with you left blinker, trace that color make sure it’s that color and remove the blinker light clean grounds
Make new grounds and do the same for all
Good luck
Gtjoey1314

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The ones in the dash…. Do they go to the map light under the dash pad?

The other probably goes to your door switch to switch on the map light when door is opened
With the indicators you need a good earth to ensure that the green lights work and the correct load ie 42w ( front and back lights) to make the can “flash” and the indicator arrows to flash and work properly

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Nice knob. Can I say that?

To troubleshoot wiring problems you first need a good wiring diagram. The Wiring Manual from XKs/Moss is great since they brake down wiring by system and actually show the physical location and color of the wires.

Next get a good volt meter/continuity tester and start at the battery and clip one wire there for the whole operation.

Then go point by point away from the battery looking for continuity and check to see if power reaches the point. You may need to remove each wire at the testing point to ensure.that continuity is over the wires being tested and not coming from the other direction

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My generic recommendation is:

  1. Take out all the fuses.
  2. Use a 12v lantern battery, not a car battery, for testing.
  3. Follow the wiring diagram and confirm the circuits that are the most basic, and then work your way out.
  4. At each fuse block, confirm 12V to the “feed” side, then check for a reasonable non-zero resistance on the “load” side. Then you can safely add the fuse back in and check the various loads on that circuit.
  5. Repeat for all the fuses.
    Easy peasy (not)

Actually, your wiring harness looks to be in fairly good condition.

Personally, I would take good photos, remove the fuse block, detail it, and put it back in. I have had good results giving the fuse blocks a light bead blast and then treating with your favorite perservative. A lot of people like ACF-50 but there are other options. I would treat all connections with Deoxit.

You haven’t asked but I would ask for some kind soul here that has a similar car to provide you some photos of the key areas.

Be glad you are not restoring a Porsche 928!


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It’s a big ball. Looks heavy too.

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Here are your options for the Purple and Purple/white wires.

The purple wires feed +12V (always hot- non-switched) from Fuse 8 to the items indicated in the schematic. The purple wire that disappears to the lower left of my screen shot above goes to the headlamp flasher switch.

I agree with recommendations above to not use a car battery to troubleshoot. I used a variable power supply set to 12 Vdc and 1 amp for early wiring checkouts. If good I increased the current to 5 amps to actuate whatever circuit I was checking. Just not the starter… :sweat_smile:

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Worth noting if it wasn’t abundantly clear from other comments… that purple wire will be hot anytime either door is open (which one often is while working on the dash electrics). I would at least put some tape over that connector for now because sparks are soooo distracting when you’re working in there.

Also - I cannot see your ring finger but just in case - no rings, watches and other jewelry when working around electrics (or anything else really).

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