Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Help - Electrical problems.

I saw posts about LED lights and decided to buy some for my car, which is a 2001 4/4 four seater.
I bought lights from Banggood as suggested in the post but they have turned out to be quite poor so I went to Better Car Lighting. The brake/tail lights are brilliant.

I checked my indicator lights just to see how bright/dim they were before changing the flasher unit to an electronic one. They worked OK but the hazards did not light up. I ignored that but fitted the new unit. Nothing worked, neither flashers nor indicators. I have resistors across the poles of all the indicator lights but Gil at Better Car Lighting said that it would be OK to leave them as the electronic flasher will work with both.

Next task was a wiring diagram. I downloaded one from GoMoG and traced all the wires I needed to look for. I found that the 10a fuse just under the bonnet next to the battery had fused. Great sorted and although the courtesy light and the radio now had power as soon as I turned on the hazard warning light the 10a fused.again. I checked the fuse box.The first thing I noticed was that the diagram had been stuck to the fuse box lid the wrong way round. Having located the correct fuse for the indicator lights I found the fuse was OK but replaced it anyway.

With both fuses replaced still nothing.

My next task, following the wiring diagram was to check the hazard relays but where are they? I found a relay for the wash/wipe (If my German translattion is correct) but no others under the dash. Would unscrewing the dashboard and trying to look behind it be easier than lying on my back and looking upwards. I am 70 years old!

I guess there is a short somewhere. I have fitted a new radio and cables for my satnav and wonder if it could be something to do with that but I cannot find any loose cables which might be shorting.

Any advice gratefully received.

Firstly I would revert back to the old bulbs & flasher unit in case it is the LEDs. If the old bulbs don't work then there is a wiring fault.

Richard

You won't be the first to encounter problems when trying to upgrade the lighting!

My car is a 1999, so perhaps fairly close to yours in terms of wiring diagram etc.

I have not upgraded the indicators , but I have done sidelights (both in the headlamp and on the wing) and the stop/tails. In both cases it was a great success. Like you I got them from Better Car Lighting , and I was pleased with the quality, and Gil has been exceptionally helpful (not on a Sunday though!)

On my car (admittedly a +8) from memory there are 4 relays attached to the bulkhead behind the dash (only 3 screws to remove and drop the steering column and that will make accessing the area much easier than lying on your back in the cockpit) , one for fuel pump, one for immobiliser , one for washers or wipers (?) , and I forget the other. BTW while you are looking at them , put labels on them, it will save much time later. However there are more relays on the bulkhead wall in the engine bay. above the steering column. One is for the starter motor , another for the electric fan , and there might be a third. Check these as they operate in a pretty "hostile" environment and can (and do!) fail.

Another issue can be the dim/dip unit , these are notorious for giving issues , there are 2 types and one can be by-passed, the other needs 2 wires splicing together. If you have sidelights in the headlight but they don't light up , I suspect you have a dreaded dim/dip circuit in there.

Sorry I can't be more precise in my help as I have not encountered this issue , Gil at BCL does have a lot of knowledge, he would be my first port of call.

Thanks John. I will do that this afternoon although we will be going out in an hour or two so no sitting in front of the TV tonight.

I admire your belt and braces concern on fitting LED indicators but you typically have either an electronic flasher unit to work with these LED's OR resistors across them to simulate the current draw of standard filament bulb, not both.

Thanks Richard. I am working on it right now, removing the Banggood LEDs, which worked with the resistors and the OEM flasher unit, and the resistors, i.e. going back to square one.

I'll report when done or if I come up against a brick wall.

I've changed everything back again and the hazard lights worked for a while but as soon as I turned on the indicators everything died. I changed the fuses, checked the interior light was working and switched on the hazard lights. Immediate darkness! I changed the fuse again (I have a jar full of burnt out fuses, I kid you not!)

I guess the next step is to undo the screws holding the dash in place and take a close look behind particularly at the hazard warning switch and try and find the relays.

I thought this would be a fairly easy swap!

We're off shortly. It is National Gardens Day (the second of four days) and we are going to see a friend's garden in Pilley but first I need to get all the underseal off my hands. I'll continue after we return.

Spent the last two or three hours loosening the steering column and removing the dash from its fixings. I cannot find anything wrong, nor can I find any relays for the hazard lights. There is a large box marked Morgan Dashboard Control and a smaller black box with no markings. I cannot find either on the schematic indeed there are many differences from the wiring diagrams. I will look at some more from the GoMoG site although the one I have should cover my vehicle. Mine's 2001 and the schematic was for 1998-2004.

Anyone got any more ideas?

Perhaps I ought to find an auto electrician or should I go to a Ford dealer? I'm not sure it is all Ford wiring apart from the engine stuff. The dashboard wiring is the same as for a +8 of similar age.

I fiddled for hours if not days with a MGB electrics and resorted to an auto electrician who fixed it in 20 minutes and didnt charge a much either.