I just tore through all the bad tail light wiring that the last owner did on my Fino, so I am left with a bunch of black and brown wires with a few green ones and a big yellow one. I know the 84's had different wiring schematics, so I need some help.

Does anyone have a color-code or wiring diagram so I can figure out how to hook up my Fino lights to the old 84 wires?

I'm running outer yellows (two-wire turn signal), inner backup lights (two-wires) and the center three on each side are for brakes (three wires). If there is a better way to run the lights, I am open to suggestions.

I'm trying to get this baby back on the road and the tail lights have been the only problem. Now that Archie replaced the ones the previous owner installed, I want to do it right. I don't have time to locate and go through my copy of the Archie install video to see if there are tail light directions there, but I will if nobody has an easier way.

Thanks!

I went through and check the wires with the flashers, then brakes, then both. Of course, since there are no lights hooked up, the flashers won't work when the brakes are on. With just the flashers on, some wires get the full signal and others get a weak signal.

I couldn't get the backup/reverse wires to get a signal, but I'm not sure I had the right wire in the first place.

I'm going to look for the Archie video soon...

[This message has been edited by Saxman (edited 02-07-2008).]

If I can do you any good, on the 84, all the lights in the rear, were combo tail/stop lights. There is no seperated turn and stop wiring. It's controlled by the turn signal switch. I'm sure you will have to run a seperate wire, for the brake lights.

Assuming all the wires are still factory correct colors...

The black wires are of course the grounds.
The brown wires are the tail lights, markers, license plate etc..
The yellow is the left turn/brake.
The light. blue with black tracer is the left turn/brake from the relay.
The dark green is the right turn/brake.
The dark green with white tracer is the right turn/brake from the relay.

I've looked at this already for my Lambo project.
I am planning on using the
Brown for the red tail light filaments
Yellow for the left turn (Yellow light housing)
Dark green for the right turn (Yellow light housing)
Then running a seperate wire from the brake switch for the brake light filaments, that are in the same bulb as the tail.

By the way, the reverse lights wire is the light green.

Kevin

[This message has been edited by Lambo nut (edited 02-07-2008).]

Thanks, Kevin! That is what I am looking for. Now I need to figure out how to run the with and without the relay. I'm not sure how that works, but each of my red lights have 3 wires. Since it is an 84, maybe I should make them all red except for the backup lights?

I went through the Archie vid and he mentions that they will be doing the wiring, but it didn't happen on the vid. I guess I need to find my written instructions now.

Your info will really help, Kevin.

[This message has been edited by Saxman (edited 02-07-2008).]

Funny thing about the brake/turn relays on the 84, they are only used to light up one bulb per side.
More simply, one relay is for the left inner bulb, the other relay is for the right inner bulb. I think this is for the proper load to be seen by the flasher. If you put all three red lights per side, on the relays (Light blue with black tracer, and dark green with white tracer), you should be able to just switch to an electronic flasher, which works reguardless the load, like the ones used in the LED signal setups. I think this would be easier on the curcuit, then hooking all directly to the dark green, and yellow wires coming directly from the turn switch.
Now as for the yellows or not, having the yellow turn signals would be cool, but the all red might be better seen. Personal choice really.
Good luck.

Kevin

Hmmm - there aren't any light blue wires that I can see. Let me see what other colors are coming out of the wire loom...

So, to set the yellow as the signals, they connect to the yellow (L) / dark green (R) wires, then run the RED's running-lights (small filament) to the brown ; then a separate line for the RED's brake lights (larger filament) from the brake pedal? Can I leave the relay/brake wires unconnected?

I think I need to have all lights wired in before I can expect them to work properly, right?

Also, if I want the yellow lights to work as a signal AND work as driving lights, I guess I need to take a red 3-wire light and put the yellow cover on it. Does that sound right?

I wonder how much Archie charges for extra red lights? I guess I can always have my bro-in-law in England send over the Land Rover lights they stock on the shelves in the parts stores, too. That's where I got an extra set of clear lights last year.

quote Originally posted by Saxman: Hmmm - there aren't any light blue wires that I can see. Let me see what other colors are coming out of the wire loom...

As long as nothing has been altered from the factory colors, my 84 service manual has the lt. blue as the left inner brake/turn bulb. Actually don't really need it, as the yellow will take care as the original left turn source, and you are only hooking up one bulb per side anyway. That being the case, you won't need the dark green with the white tracer either. I don't see where it would hurt anything, by leaving them disconnected. Just don't leave anything bare of course!

quote Originally posted by Saxman: So, to set the yellow as the signals, they connect to the yellow (L) / dark green (R) wires, then run the RED's running-lights (small filament) to the brown ; then a separate line for the RED's brake lights (larger filament) from the brake pedal? Can I leave the relay/brake wires unconnected?

Sound good so far!

quote Originally posted by Saxman: I think I need to have all lights wired in before I can expect them to work properly, right?

Yes, or the flasher won't see a load, and not blink. Same as when you have a light go out under normal use, and the blinker won't blink, and the turn indicator on the dash stays lit.

quote Originally posted by Saxman: Also, if I want the yellow lights to work as a signal AND work as driving lights, I guess I need to take a red 3-wire light and put the yellow cover on it. Does that sound right?

I'm not sure I follow you exactly here.
I'm picturing five lights per side, one reverse light, one yellow turn, and three red brake/tail.
Wired as mentioned, should get you working OK. Now if you mean, you want the yellows to be on while the tails are on, they will be brighter, as they only have the two wires, and would have no provisions to light the dimmer filament in the bulb, if they exist. Might just be 1156's or similar, instead of 1157, or so that would be in the three wired tail/stop housings. Make sense?

So back to described, you would have the three red tail lights on, by turning on the light switch. Hit the brakes, they will get brighter. Hit the turn, and the chosen yellow light will blink bright. Reverse, and the reverse lights both come on. The yellows will not light up, except only during turn functions.

OK, it just hit me. Yes, if you move the three wire housing, into the turn signal position, and put the yellow lens on it, it will give you two filiments to work with, but you till be loosing one of your red tail lights, and you will have two red tail, and one yellow per side. If you want the yellow to light seperatly, you are talking even more wiring! My personal preference, but I would not do this.

Kevin

Thanks for you time here, Kevin. I really appreciate it.

I spent the last two hours hooking up different combinations. I have an extra green wire and an extra red wire - both put out the weak driving light current when the lights are on, but nothing else (just the same as the grays - for marker and parking lights).

I got it so that the red and yellow lights flash with their prospective L or R yellow flasher. When I hit the brakes, the side that is not blinking stays lit on its brightest filament. That's what I want for now. So far, so good...

When I also turn on the parking lights, all flashing REALLY slows down. Then, when I hit the brakes, the flashing almost stops completely. Do you think an electric flasher will solve this problem? Mind you, all this is done with regular bulbs - not the LEDs yet.

So, if I leave it wired as is, I should go with all red lights since all react the same. If I want the yellow to be the only signal light, I need to run a separate brake wire from the brake pedal to each red light, which leaves the yellow signal lights off at night unless signalling.

As mentioned above, if I replace the yellow lights with a new red one, I can just put a yellow cover on them and run them with parking lights for driving at night.

Sorry, this gets confusing. Here's a pic of the rear if that helps those unfamiliar with the light system:


Also, these LED's are bright! I had one fired up to see the difference in the parking light power and the brake light power (with no covers) and it nearly blinded me!

[This message has been edited by Saxman (edited 02-07-2008).]

http://home.att.net/~subzero350/index.htm

quote Originally posted by Robs Fieros: http://home.att.net/~subzero350/index.htm

Great! That really helps explain the 84 bulb layout.

I still can't find the **** light blue wire. I can see the harness in there. The loom cover is cut off halfway down and there is no sign of light blue.

The thing that makes this most difficult is that I can't take the rear clip off to search for it. All the work I do is by looking in those slots. My damn fingers barely fit into them. I guess I don't need that one if I go with running the brake wire from the pedal...

Are the Turn/Stop relays located in the trunk compartment?

Thanks again, Robs Fieros!

The turn/brake relays for the third light on each side, are located in the engine compartment, right behind the drivers seat area. There is a cluster of four relays, the AC and Fuel pump are on top, and the two turn/brake relays are right below those, forming a square. At least that is where they were to begin with. Keep in mind, ain't no telling what has been done during the cunstruction process.


As for the extra green adn red wires, from the C500 connector, it looks like the red could just be some power distribution wire, and the extra green, if it is dark green, could be for the trunk ajar switch. Not much else back there. Hope this helps.


Kevin

quote Originally posted by Lambo nut: The turn/brake relays for the third light on each side, are located in the engine compartment, right behind the drivers seat area. There is a cluster of four relays, the AC and Fuel pump are on top, and the two turn/brake relays are right below those, forming a square. At least that is where they were to begin with. Keep in mind, ain't no telling what has been done during the cunstruction process. As for the extra green adn red wires, from the C500 connector, it looks like the red could just be some power distribution wire, and the extra green, if it is dark green, could be for the trunk ajar switch. Not much else back there. Hope this helps. Kevin

Those relays click pretty loud when the blinkers are on, so I figured they were the ones. Thanks, Kevin.

The extra red and dark green wires carry the driving light signal - nothing else that I could get out of them. I'll check to see if they work without the driving lights on.

I picked up some green, red, yellow and black wiring today to re-run all the lines. Since I couldn't find any brown wire to keep things consistent, I'll just sub in the red for it.

I also got the L-12 electric flasher, so we'll see how that does at keeping the flash speed steady. Once I know it is all good, I'll throw in the LED lights. I got 1157 LED's for the red lights and 1156 LED's for the backup and yellows. Problem is, the 1156 LED puts out red light, which means I can't use it on the clear backups...

Hey Kevin,

I got the driver side wired in. It's good to see a set of lights in there again. The empty holes were getting to me.

I ran a new wire loom through the back. Wow! New respect for those that rewire an entire engine! It's a mixture of being theraputic (peace and quiet doing fairly mindless taping) and never-ending. It took a few hours just wiring 10 bulbs across the rear!

I guess that's why 3800 conversion harnesses aren't cheap!

So, I hope to have the passenger side wired in tomorrow, then secure the bulb sockets and take her for a spin!

One more question - I wired the green/white wire (the extra one) into on of the right turn bulbs instead of the dark green one. The other three on that side got the dark green wire. It seems to work just the same. Can anyone explaine what the difference is? I know one goes through therelay, but what does the relay do to the signal?

Thanks againg for the advice and diagram, guys!

The relay(s) is just helping split the load, so it does not all go through the turn signal switch mounted in the column. In effect, the two wires accomplish the same thing for the operation of the lights. Sounds like, so far so good!

Kevin

Cool-

I should have the lights plugged into the new harness on the passenger side today. Only thing left is to redrill the holes to secure them in. That shouldn't take too long.

I could have her back on the road (legally) this evening! Then it will be time to check those pesky engine temps. I got a new temp sensor, so we'll see what is really going on.

I also have an electric water pump to put in some time - and lots of suspension rebuilding to do. I still want to rebuild the whole car on the 87 T-tp I've been saving, but it may be tough getting the body off this 84...

Could be a ground, but wait and see what it does when you have the car running, and it is getting full power from the alt. I added sequential turn signals to my Indy, and when the car is not running, they don't work so good. Start her up, and all is good.
See how it goes after you start it up, before looking too hard for grounding, or other issues.

Kevin

I took her out for what was going to be a short spin, but I stayed out for about 45 minutes! Wahoo! What a blast to drive. That car sure turns lots of heads. Whether it's because they like it or hate it, I'll never know

When the turn signal is on, the driving lights on the opposite side still dim on each click, so I'll have to look into that more. Otherwise, it was a great trip.

Now I remember all the things that I still have to fix. For instance, when accelerating, I can look behind me and see the engine REALLY rock back and forth. The front engine mount is only bolted on, so it works itself loose. I need to get "Doc" over here with his welder - or at least put some loc-tite on those bolts. They are hard to get hold of.

I also remember that the V8 Archie dash is a bit loose and makes a lot of noise going over bumps.

Other than that, it was great to have her back on the road again. The temps stayed between 210 and 225 the entire time, but that is with the digital guage in the dash. I have a mechanical one waiting to go in to see what the actual temps are.

Thanks again for the help, you guys. The advice and the wiring diagram really helped!

The slowed blinking did not happen with the engine on - but the dimming of the lights still did.

I had to take her out again tonight to the Boy Scouts meeting to show off a little. The kids loved it!