'73 Europa headlights

[bobbythejudge]

Has anyone ever had a problem with the headlights such as the right one is dimmer than the left and I replaced it with a new sealed beam and it still is dim. All the rest of the lights work just fine,I'm thinking that the mice that had been living in this car before I got it had eaten the insulation on the wires as they did to the ignition wires. Has anyone have a solution to fixing this by maybe adding a new wire or bypassing the present ones? Any ideas will be appreciated, Bobby

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by bobbythejudge

Has anyone ever had a problem with the headlights such as the right one is dimmer than the left and I replaced it with a new sealed beam and it still is dim. All the rest of the lights work just fine,I'm thinking that the mice that had been living in this car before I got it had eaten the insulation on the wires as they did to the ignition wires. Has anyone have a solution to fixing this by maybe adding a new wire or bypassing the present ones? Any ideas will be appreciated, Bobby

Ahh, Lucas electrics......... You have a classic case of either a corroded ground, connectors, or fuse block that are causing too much resistance to that headlight. Trace and clean all the connections from that headlight socket all the way to the dash switch and the fuse block as well as the pertinent ground connection to the frame. It doesn't hurt to buy some electrical contact cleaner and spray all the connectors (Wurth makes an excellent product that will miraculously bring Lucas wiring back to life) before reassembling them. Good luck!

[kestrel74]

Heyy... I was going to say the same thing !! ( yeah right ).good advise... I've never turned on the headlights in my Europa.... I have no idea if they even work ..... or the windshield wipers... no idea..

[khamai]

As others have said it is most likely to corrosion/bad connection. In either case find it quickly. It means there's resistance somewhere and resistance = heat = fire hazard!

Cheers,
Kiyoshi

[bobbythejudge]

Thanks for the advice, I did find a broken ground wire that looks like the mice chewed on it. I'll need a connector as the wire is short on one end and hard to get a grip on it. It does lead to the front lights on that side. I'll need the headlights to pass inspection for registration. The car will be ready for the road now and is running great after getting the carbs cleaned out. So far I used 2 cans of penetrating oil on a lot of parts that need working on. Thanks again for the advice, Bobby

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by bobbythejudge

Thanks for the advice, I did find a broken ground wire that looks like the mice chewed on it. I'll need a connector as the wire is short on one end and hard to get a grip on it. It does lead to the front lights on that side. I'll need the headlights to pass inspection for registration. The car will be ready for the road now and is running great after getting the carbs cleaned out. So far I used 2 cans of penetrating oil on a lot of parts that need working on. Thanks again for the advice, Bobby

Most of all the electrical faults I found with my old Europa were poor grounds. This is most likely due to the ground wire runs being very long due to the body being made of fiberglass. It also doesn't help that the ground connections to the frame are poor and love to corrode. At some point I would recommend you find all the frame grounding connections, remove the ground wires, and clean everything up. The other problems I had were due to corrosion in the wire connectors and fuse box. Like Kiyoshi said, as the resistance builds up from corrosion, the connections get hot when the circuit is energized. My fuse box actually melted into a blob one day when I turned on my heater fan. I would actually recommend that you just replace your fuse box whether it looks good or not. The holders for the fuses tend to weaken with time and make poor connections to the fuses. IIRC the fuse box is the same as a MG Midget, but if you search the Moss Motors, Victoria British, and Roadster Factory sites you should be able to find the right one and they are not expensive. After replacing mine, many poorly or non-functional items came back to life. I should have done that long before the melt down! Definitely repair that ground wire and any others that look suspect and let us know what happens.

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by tesprit

... My fuse box actually melted into a blob one day when I turned on my heater fan. I would actually recommend that you just replace your fuse box whether it looks good or not. The holders for the fuses tend to weaken with time and make poor connections to the fuses. IIRC the fuse box is the same as a MG Midget, but if you search the Moss Motors, Victoria British, and Roadster Factory sites you should be able to find the right one and they are not expensive. After replacing mine, many poorly or non-functional items came back to life. I should have done that long before the melt down! Definitely repair that ground wire and any others that look suspect and let us know what happens.

The Morgan guys have done some investigating with fuse boxes because, umm, wood frames are almost as conductive as fiberglass!

Not that newer cars are immune...I owned a 94 Volvo that fried it's fuses.

IIRC British Wiring - harnesses for classic cars and motorcycles is a good source for modern fuse box conversions. They can talk to you about your problems also, as they are quite knowledgeable about different solutions.


HTH

Atwell Haines
'88 Esprit (one main fusebox with several other fuses hidden in random places)
ex-79 Spitfire (three fuses for the whole car)
ex-57 Morgan (two fuses for the whole car...and cloth wiring, probably not flame retardant)
Lotus Enthusiast's Organization
NJ

[bobbythejudge]

Thanks for the info, I found the broken wire and that was the problem. I will do as you all suggested and start tracing the ground wires and cleaning them up. I got some dieletric grease and have been putting that on the connections as I go along. The car is now ready for the road, inspection will be done this week and registration and I'll be taking it to work a couple of times a week when I go back in Nov. I believe using the car will help keep it in condition and it has been sitting for 5 years and needs running, Again Thanks, Bobby

[qball]

did you post pics yet? If not, please do!

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by bobbythejudge

I will do as you all suggested and start tracing the ground wires and cleaning them up. I got some dieletric grease and have been putting that on the connections as I go along.
Bobby

Not to rain on your parade, but dielectric grease is an INSULATOR. Yes, it will prevent further corrosion because it resists moisture, but unless a sound mechanical connection is made, you will not get any "connective help" from the grease.

I like to use CONDUCTIVE grease on the ground connectors. Unbolt the wire rings, clean up the metal mounting surfaces, and smear a little conductive grease on them. Not only will the connection resist corrosion, but those pesky electrons will "jump" to the chassis like nobody's business.

You can get conductive grease in the electrical department at Home Depot or other home or hardware stores. It is used in the home for joining aluminum wires.

DON'T pack multi-pin connectors with conductive grease for obvious reasons. There, Dielectric is the way to go.

HTH

[bobbythejudge]

I'll get some of that conductive grease and do that. I'll also post some pics of the car soon as I get another polish job on it. It will be black later on probably sometime around January or so. Bobby

[elise/europa]

The big trouble with the europa and as well many British car is not really Lucas, but meanly how the wiring is assemble.

On the Europa, the power is going through the light switch on the dash, and the switch can become warm, too much current in it. The best is modifying the wiring to put a relay and use the switch to power up the relay.

Also, all female connector are built with very flexible steel, and when you insert the male on it, the female become loose and the press fit is lost. Solution for that? not really good one except modifying all end and use modern female and male connector.

[tesprit]

Originally Posted by elise/europa

The big trouble with the europa and as well many British car is not really Lucas, but meanly how the wiring is assemble.

On the Europa, the power is going through the light switch on the dash, and the switch can become warm, too much current in it. The best is modifying the wiring to put a relay and use the switch to power up the relay.

Also, all female connector are built with very flexible steel, and when you insert the male on it, the female become loose and the press fit is lost. Solution for that? not really good one except modifying all end and use modern female and male connector.

Ah yes, I remember those switches well. The contacts get burned in them, the resistance builds up, they heat up, and eventually they fail. The only cure if you want to stay stock original is to purchase new ones. Not even the Wurth cleaner will save those switches. As far as the female connectors go, you can buy new ones now from the vintage British wiring loom vendors as well as most British parts vendors. They aren't that expensive and it is a great idea to have a dozen or so of both the single and double connectors on hand to replace your bad ones as you work your way through the harness. Another source of poor connections and corrosion eliminated!

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by elise/europa

all female connector are built with very flexible steel, and when you insert the male on it, the female become loose and the press fit is lost. Solution for that? not really good one except modifying all end and use modern female and male connector.

No, leave it original.

Originally Posted by tesprit

As far as the female connectors go, you can buy new ones now from the vintage British wiring loom vendors as well as most British parts vendors. They aren't that expensive and it is a great idea to have a dozen or so of both the single and double connectors on hand to replace your bad ones as you work your way through the harness. Another source of poor connections and corrosion eliminated!

YES!

The connectors are relatively cheap, and easily replace. I bought a kit a while back that included a selection of plugs, the female connectors in various combinations, spade terminals, boots, etc. And the special crimper for the Lucar connectors.

Note that I said Lucar connector as they are a specific type. The standard bullet connectors that you can buy at your local auto parts are not the same. The bullets will plug in, but you won't get a good connection. The Lucar "bullets" are slightly different shape. Get the proper Lucar connectors (have I said "Lucar" enough times?).

If you really want a good fix, squirt dielectric grease into the "barrel" connectors before inserting the plugs. The grease should be displaced as you plug in the plug allowing a good mechanical connection (and electrical). Then the dielectric grease keeps things from corroding.

[bobbythejudge]

After reading your comments I can see now why when we tried using a jumper wire connection it would not work. After taking out the headlight, we just twisted the 2 wires together and capped them and the headlight works just fine. As I am doing this I noticed the panel or dash lights are not bright either and am tracing the grounds for the reason why. Before this I had not tried them and that will be the next fix along with checking out the fan for the compartment, it seems to be a little weak. Thanks again for all of you for the advice, Bobby

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by bobbythejudge

I noticed the panel or dash lights are not bright either and am tracing the grounds for the reason why.

No experience specifically with the Europa dash/instruments, but on my Elan, the dash lights (panel lights) have two settings - Off and Dim. It is that way by design (they use low wattage bulbs), in that bright lights mess up your night vision for driving at night. I have no trouble telling where the instrument needles are pointing, but I can't read the numbers on the instruments. But after you drive for awhile, you don't need the numbers, you know where things are supposed to point.

[bobbythejudge]

Okay,Thanks for that on the dash lights being dim,I thought there might be a problem. I'll still check the wiring for any more chewed up ones.

[bobbythejudge]

To QBALL, I have some pics posted on the Lotus Buzz site under beware of the scammers forum, Bobby

[lotustype74]

Bobby, I sold my TCS in April after 3 month int redo. I did not try to trace and fix the grounds but added at least 3 new grounds. it was easy to do. The black trim at the bottom of the dash is metal and a source of grounds so I ran 2 or 3 grounds from the bolts on the shifter under the carpet to the bolts holding the trim to the dash. I ran a ground to each end of the dash. I also then ran a extra ground to the tach. You my want to replace the voltage sabalizer. I added an extra grounding strap inthe engine bay. The cost was very little and it helped with brighting the das lights a little. Also replace all of the gauge bulbs they do get weaker with age. I think a couple of my bulbs might have been original to the car from 74.

[bobbythejudge]

Thanks for the info are adding new grounds using the bolts and the trim under the dash. I'll try that this week, Bobby