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Changed tail lights. Now car wont start...
azzatron - May 21st, 2011 at 04:12 PM

HELP!

Switched tail light assembly over this afternoon, tested blinkers etc after I did it and all worked fine.

Went to start the car 5 minutes ago (a couple hours after I installed the lights), and now it wont start at all. No lights on the dash etc.
I had a look at the fuses under the dash and couldn't see anything that was blown.

I also tried jump starting the car but no luck either.

Can someone suggest something else I can look out for?
This had to happen the day before the Nationals ofcourse.

Oh, below are pics of the connectors on one of the lights on my old assembly and one from the new one. One of my new lights has extra connectors it seems. I have no idea what to do with them? could they be the cause of this?

Old light:
http://imageshack.us/m/28/4217/26539229.jpg

New light (connectors circled in red) :
http://imageshack.us/m/202/5630/49241014.jpg

Any help is appreciated!!


h - May 21st, 2011 at 04:23 PM

ok get a multi meter n see if the battery is still alive as it may have died..
did u leave the lights on after the job testing that they work n then went and drank beer..
that what i do often..


greedy53 - May 21st, 2011 at 04:41 PM

yep check battery do the easy stuff first if thats ok than pull each light wire of untill something happens also check that the terminals are tight


azzatron - May 21st, 2011 at 04:42 PM

Cheers h.
Don't have a working multi meter unfortunately. Had a basic one sitting around for years. Went to use it earlier today the found out parts are missing.

Could the weird connectors on the back of my new light have something to do with the problem?
Also are there any other fuses around the car I can check besides under the dash?

thanks


h - May 21st, 2011 at 04:46 PM

check all fuses then
then if no luck n no multi meter swap back to old lights n see if it works
n if so prob with new light assemblies maybe


azzatron - May 21st, 2011 at 04:54 PM

Ok well there seems to be power in the battery.. When taking the jump leads off they touched slightly and sparked.
I'm going back over the fuses under the dash but they all seem to be perfectly normal.
Will install the old assemblies now I guess.


VolksVair - May 21st, 2011 at 04:56 PM

If your battery is absolutely so flat that the dash lights dont light up, well push starting wont work either, as someone previously stated, You have obviously left the lights on while you went walkabout for a couple of hours, got a battery charger??


azzatron - May 21st, 2011 at 05:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by VolksVair
If your battery is absolutely so flat that the dash lights dont light up, well push starting wont work either, as someone previously stated, You have obviously left the lights on while you went walkabout for a couple of hours, got a battery charger??


If the battery was that flat would it still spark when touching ends of the jumper cable?(like it did) I don't know a hell of a lot about batteries. Cheers


h - May 21st, 2011 at 06:12 PM

yep if the batt was flat n not enuff cranking amps etc it will spark still a wee bit but not enuff to run it prolly..
if it is DEAD flat u get nuthin
multimeter try n bum one off a mate or something or rip it out n charge it up for a few hours n see how you go..
sounds like battery to me


azzatron - May 21st, 2011 at 06:54 PM

Cheers h.
Yeah it's on a charger at the moment, will connect it up in a few hours and see if i get any dash lights at all (and see if it starts too).

The thing that's weird though is I 100% didn't leave the blinkers on after testing them. I know this because I tested the lights before I put the plastic covers back on. I spend another 10 minutes fitting the covers and cleaning them and never saw the blinkers operate. I also made an effort to check this specifically as I've left lights on once before and didn't want to make the same mistake.
Is it possible for a bad connection to drain the battery etc? I know jack shit about electrics.
Anyway, hopefully it's just a flat battery.