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MG MGB Technical - Wiring lights

This may seem like a dumb question but,

In order for my electrical circuits to work or test to see if they work, do all the connections need to be connected? The reason I ask, is that I cannot attach my lights, etc to the car yet, but i want to get my electrical work out of the way, before putting the interior in (easier to get under the dash w/out seats), so I would like to test my electrical system, while I'm waiting for my paint to cure some. That way I can just go at it, and put everything in.

I hope this makes sense.

Ken
70 B
Ken Harris

Ken - Without the light being installed, everything else that is connected will test fine, just not the lights (obviously) unless you want to use a meter on the ends of the wires. Just make sure that none of the wire ends are touching ground anywhere (burning up a brand new wiring harness would probably spoil your day). While on the subject of burning up the wiring harness, when you first hook up the battery, use a 10 15 amp fuse between the ground cable and the battery for the first hookup. That way, if there is a short somewhere in the wiring you are only out a fuse. I would even leave the fuse in place untill you have the entire electrical circuit (less the starter) checked out. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Ken, you can test your lights out of the car if you connect a jumper wire from any metal housings to a good ground on the chassis or battery.

As a side note, is your garage heated? Your paint will cure quickly if you can heat up your garage for a few days. The hotter the better. If you could get it to 100 degrees and have some small form of fresh air entering the garage, that should be enough to bake the paint dry enough to install components. Maybe worth renting a heater?

Jeff Schlemmer

Unfortunately using just a voltmeter on the lights wiring will not reveal bad connections in the loom, the wiring would need to be carrying a load equivalent to the lights. It will reveal complete disconnections of course.
Paul Hunt

This thread was discussed between 20/03/2004 and 22/03/2004

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