headlight .16 volts little to no power... - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

mattrobertsxn · 11-13-2018, 10:18 PM

Been trying to solve this issue for so long now. Figured i would take it to the forums where all the smart guys with experience dealing with this are... Want to drive my damn car at night.

Ive read a couple threads, but it seems like most problems people have are with the motors. Not the actual lights.

I have taken a look at the FSM a couple times for the wiring diagram, and well, im not the best at reading these, but i printed it out and have been trying to use it to diagnose my problem.

All motors work as they should.

Details / Backround Info :

- I have replaced the combination switch - it didn't change anything, so i returned it.
- I have repeatedly checked the two fuses in the engine bay & replaced...
- I have tested the resistance for the ground on the headlight pin, I got close to zero, somewhere around like .2 from what i remember. Need to re-test it because I didnt unplug the battery when i did it.
- Looked at every fuse in the in-car fusebox kickpanel.
- I havent bothered to replace my bulbs because i dont have any power to them in the first place. Only have one headlight sitting in the car for now so i can test the other empty slot plug whenever needed.

*Way back when i had my mb battles for like 30-50 miles, I rubbed through my harness a bit. I wrapped each wire in electrical tape and put everything back how it should be, and tucked further up the fender.*

*I have not tested or looked into the headlight timer assembly thats near the in-car fuse box. From what ive read they dont even sell them or nobody makes aftermarket ones.*

I have .05 volts to the fuses for the lights ( The 15 amp fuses in the engine bay.) Need to re-check that, but its either .05 or .16 i believe.

I have a steady .16 volt supply to the headlights, Im pretty sure even if the combo switch is off, it still has the .16 volt reading. I tried pulling each relay out of the front of the car 1 by 1 until I didnt see a .16v reading, but it kept that reading no matter what relay I pulled. I pulled two relays out from inside the car in the kickpanel, but couldnt get the top (brown) or the bottom one off.

Tomorrow I will move a bunch of headlight relays around to make sure none of them are bad... Almost positive all of them only have to do with the motors, but I would think at least one of them has relation to the lights themselves...
I may also put myself through hell and unwrap every single wire that i taped back together, and check to see if any of them lost some of the wire itself or chipped off.

Is there another headlight relay besides the ones for the motors? Im not educated enough on electrical systems to diagnose or solve this apparantley, and would be glad to take any advice some of you have, as long as you actually know what your talking about.

Syrussilvia · 11-13-2018, 10:44 PM

You have high resistance somewhere in your wire loom, probe from the problem back one foot a a time. Also check the connection at the batter you’ll see 2 connectors one green one black mine came loose at one point and didn’t have lights at all.

mattrobertsxn · 11-13-2018, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syrussilvia

You have high resistance somewhere in your wire loom, probe from the problem back one foot a a time. Also check the connection at the batter you’ll see 2 connectors one green one black mine came loose at one point and didn’t have lights at all.

Hold on a second. Im thinking back to when my battery use to have the red loop on the positive terminal, it had two slots for plugs, one of them was for alternator i believe... Was the other one for headlights???? Im bout to get so hyped if thats the case... Would make sense *facepalm*

If thats the case can u send a pic of it so i can get a glance of what the plug looks like?

Syrussilvia · 11-13-2018, 11:03 PM

Yup those are the ones I’m talking about. It sends voltage to your fuses right next to the batter hence why you’re seeing low voltage at the fueses.

Syrussilvia · 11-13-2018, 11:11 PM

And I don’t have a pic currently but yes those are the two plugs, the red plug has a male terminal that comes loose from time to time, start there definetly

mattrobertsxn · 11-14-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syrussilvia

And I don’t have a pic currently but yes those are the two plugs, the red plug has a male terminal that comes loose from time to time, start there definetly

Tried to take a good look at all of it today... will get a better look this weekend when i wont need my car and can really pull harness apart.

I couldnt find the plugs you were talking about, and traced the red wires out the bottom out of the fusebox. Looks like it just goes somewhere else in the car for power.... do the white cables coming out of the other side for fuses go to the battery???? I just realized the red cable goes into one side of fuse and then the other cable (white) coming out of it is grounded to the chassis... did i seriously somehow mistake those for chassis grounds rather than the actual power for headlights??? Holy shit lol. Ill find out tomorrow i guess.

But if that was the case, i would just be grounding out all of the power for my headlights to the chassis... wouldnt that just shut my entire car down or something? Please insult me if i sound stupid i probably should research this a bit more before i post this.... but im stubborn and like talking to people rather than google lmao

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Syrussilvia · 11-15-2018, 01:35 PM

The red plug goes on the battery terminal and the black and green plug go into that red plug which provides power to the entire car/ fuse box which power the headlights, I believe the switch in the car just grounds it.

Syrussilvia · 11-15-2018, 01:37 PM

You probably did confuse the white wires for chassis ground.

11-13-2018, 10:18 PM	#1
mattrobertsxn Zilvia Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Mission Viejo CA Age: 21 Posts: 209 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	headlight .16 volts little to no power... Been trying to solve this issue for so long now. Figured i would take it to the forums where all the smart guys with experience dealing with this are... Want to drive my damn car at night. Ive read a couple threads, but it seems like most problems people have are with the motors. Not the actual lights. I have taken a look at the FSM a couple times for the wiring diagram, and well, im not the best at reading these, but i printed it out and have been trying to use it to diagnose my problem. All motors work as they should. Details / Backround Info : - I have replaced the combination switch - it didn't change anything, so i returned it. - I have repeatedly checked the two fuses in the engine bay & replaced... - I have tested the resistance for the ground on the headlight pin, I got close to zero, somewhere around like .2 from what i remember. Need to re-test it because I didnt unplug the battery when i did it. - Looked at every fuse in the in-car fusebox kickpanel. - I havent bothered to replace my bulbs because i dont have any power to them in the first place. Only have one headlight sitting in the car for now so i can test the other empty slot plug whenever needed. Way back when i had my mb battles for like 30-50 miles, I rubbed through my harness a bit. I wrapped each wire in electrical tape and put everything back how it should be, and tucked further up the fender. I have not tested or looked into the headlight timer assembly thats near the in-car fuse box. From what ive read they dont even sell them or nobody makes aftermarket ones. I have .05 volts to the fuses for the lights ( The 15 amp fuses in the engine bay.) Need to re-check that, but its either .05 or .16 i believe. I have a steady .16 volt supply to the headlights, Im pretty sure even if the combo switch is off, it still has the .16 volt reading. I tried pulling each relay out of the front of the car 1 by 1 until I didnt see a .16v reading, but it kept that reading no matter what relay I pulled. I pulled two relays out from inside the car in the kickpanel, but couldnt get the top (brown) or the bottom one off. Tomorrow I will move a bunch of headlight relays around to make sure none of them are bad... Almost positive all of them only have to do with the motors, but I would think at least one of them has relation to the lights themselves... I may also put myself through hell and unwrap every single wire that i taped back together, and check to see if any of them lost some of the wire itself or chipped off. Is there another headlight relay besides the ones for the motors? Im not educated enough on electrical systems to diagnose or solve this apparantley, and would be glad to take any advice some of you have, as long as you actually know what your talking about.

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11-13-2018, 10:44 PM	#2
Syrussilvia Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2018 Location: Westminster Age: 29 Posts: 78 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	You have high resistance somewhere in your wire loom, probe from the problem back one foot a a time. Also check the connection at the batter you’ll see 2 connectors one green one black mine came loose at one point and didn’t have lights at all.

11-13-2018, 11:03 PM	#4
Syrussilvia Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2018 Location: Westminster Age: 29 Posts: 78 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Yup those are the ones I’m talking about. It sends voltage to your fuses right next to the batter hence why you’re seeing low voltage at the fueses.

11-13-2018, 11:11 PM	#5
Syrussilvia Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2018 Location: Westminster Age: 29 Posts: 78 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	And I don’t have a pic currently but yes those are the two plugs, the red plug has a male terminal that comes loose from time to time, start there definetly

11-15-2018, 01:35 PM	#7
Syrussilvia Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2018 Location: Westminster Age: 29 Posts: 78 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	The red plug goes on the battery terminal and the black and green plug go into that red plug which provides power to the entire car/ fuse box which power the headlights, I believe the switch in the car just grounds it.

11-15-2018, 01:37 PM	#8
Syrussilvia Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2018 Location: Westminster Age: 29 Posts: 78 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	You probably did confuse the white wires for chassis ground.