I Need Some Help. I just recently decided it would be good to have a working cigar lighter so I can charge my cell phone while I'm on the road. I got that working but there are a few things I just can't get figured out. Some knucklehead decided they'd cut and splice as many wires as possible to make their aftermarket radio work (I'm assuming), so there's a few things that don't work anymore. By the way this is a '71 Maverick Grabber. 1. It didn't take long to figure out why my sport lamps weren't working. The switch was unplugged and they had robbed or cut the wires for other things. If anybody has a schematic for the sport lamps (including the relay), please share. I have a schematic wiring diagram for the car, but it doesn't include the grabber sport lamp option. So here's what I've got - I replaced the switch because it was old and cruddy. I kept the connector and repaired the black/yellow dot wire to the relay. So I have a brown (light power) to the switch, and when the switch is on, it provides power to the relay. I assume since it uses a relay, this is only to make the relay connect another circuit. I replaced the relay, because it was cruddy. There were two wires coming in to the relay, and they're connected to one contact. They're green with a yellow stripe. They are powered but only about 2 or 3 volts (weird?). The third wire to the relay is brown/orange stripe. It has no power, so I assume it feeds the lights. When I turn on the switch, the relay clicks, and I get those 3 or 4 volts at the bulb, on one contact. The bulb and socket have two contacts/two filaments. The bulb doesn't turn on. Any ideas? 2. What's that thing hidden behind the dash where the glove box would be if there was a glovebox? It was unplugged so I plugged it back in but it doesn't do anything. It has a clear plastic shell. Is that a key warning buzzer? 3. I have a connector dangling with 2 female openings for bullets. It has one blue/red stripe still attached that goes into one side; a severed wire of the same color comes out of the same side. The blue/red stripe wire has power when the lights are on. The other side has 2 severed white wires with blue stripes. Were these intended for radio lights and/or clock lights? What devices were they supposed to go to? 4. I have a dangling female single bullet connector, red w/ yellow hash, that is powered when the accessory is on. What was that hooked to? Fairly large wire. Ok, I think that's it. Thanks for any help you all can provide. And no, I don't have a flux capacitor installed in this car. Never did.
My 71 grabber does not have a relay on the sport lights... IT is hot to the switch with the head lights on you should be able to take a jumper from the male side to the female side and make the sport light work .. Jay
For your sport lamp relay, the green /yellow strip wire is the power feed from the fuse panel. It should be 12v to ground. If not, you either have a blown fuse or your not getting good connections with your meter. Once energized, the 12v feeds over to the tan /orange stripe and goes to the grill lamps. On the sport lamps, they tied both the turn and run filaments together, which is the tan/o wire. The other wire is ground, which should be black.
For question #3, I show a connector like you stated except it has 2 light blue with red tracers on one side and 2 white with pink tracers on the other. Actually it just says w/p so I'm guessing the p = pink. It could be purple. If this is what your talking about, the LT blue/r wires are illumination lines and the white/p are power feed to the radio.
My wiring diagrams are for a 72 so there may be some differences but I see red /y wires being use in the seat belt warning system. Hopefully that answers #4.
Mavdog, Take the bottom 2 screws out of the driver's side kick panel (like Craig said), and slide it out. You should see the relay. It's true it's hot to the switch, but the switch just activates the relay. Mavaholic, Thanks so much for the info. Where did you get your diagram? I need me one of those, but for a '71. I suppose after all this research I can just make one. On the green/yellow relay wires, one provides power and one takes it somewhere else, both connected to one lead, both same color. It seems strange to me they're not that big (or, in other words, why use a relay?). I retested and the powered wire still tests 4v. Tester and fuses are good. So I think the relay is working but it doesn't have enough juice. Strange thing - I tested it before I activated the relay, and I thought it registered close to 12v for a second. Then I tried the relay, and retested - back at 4v. Then took off the old cruddy connector to see if that was the problem, and still tested 4v on bare wire. I may be going crazy. When you say the other wire is ground, which should be black, are you talking at the relay or lamps? The relay is self-grounding w/ a screw to the body on mine. Only 3 connections - from switch, from feed, and to lamps. On the blue and white wires, I had tested before and didn't find power on the severed white/pink one I tested, but found out that one of them indeed is powered. So, I think it must have gone to the radio with acc and illumination power, then off to something else - like a clock? Or an emblem from the dealer of a steer's head with glowing red eyes and a moo sound? Seat belt warning - my seat belts are long gone. Is the center bottom light in the gauge cluster a seat belt warning light? I have ALT, BRAKE, OIL, TEMP, and then that one is not labeled. You've been a great help, Mavaholic. Thank you. I'll keep looking into that green wire.
Not. My wiring goes directly from the switch to the lights via the factory wiring harness. No detours to the kick panel. 71 Grabber. That said, I am going to install a relay for them to lessen the load on the headlight switch.
My yellow 71 Grabber (factory) also did not have the relay. I was very surprised to find no relay behind the kick panel on that car. I too thought all the Grabbers with sport lamps had them. I wondered if someone had changed it out over the years but maybe not. Does anyone else have a 71 or 72 Grabber that does not have the relay behind the left kick panel?
i'm pretty sure mine was direct wired, but been years since i looked in there. i could check this week sometime....
Wow....learn something new. That would maybe explain why there is a difference in the switches between 1971 and 1972.
Will I thought I was crazy or needing more old timer drugs or something. I had my dash out twice for differant thimgs and didn't see a relay . It be a good thing to install to reduce load.. Jay
Well, I done figgured it out. Remember when I said I was probably just crazy about the 4v thing? I went out and tested again this morning. Fresh test at the feed side of the courtesy lamp fuse - 12v. Test at load side - 12v. Test at green/yellow feed wire on relay - 12v. Good. Now, use the switch/engage the relay, because theoretically it should work. Doesn't work. Shut off switch. Test again. 12v at fuse feed side. 4v at load side. Ok. Now what? Look at writing on fuse block. Says 14A. Pull fuse. It's 7.5A. Now, I'll have to admit, I'm not a DC guy, but I do ok with electricity in general. In my house, when I install a breaker, it's good to supply voltage to any amperage under it's rating. Then it pops. So I kinda expect a fuse in the car to do the same. No? When I started this project I replaced the fuse first thing with a fuse of like type that I pulled out by reading the end first. I guess I either goofed or that's what they had in there. Dome lights and everything worked. But not the sport lamps. But now they do! Now can anybody tell me what that clear plastic thing is behind the dash where the glove box would normally be? It's connection point sticks out through the bottom of the dash. As I remember it has a black / purple hash wire. Thanks guys!
That missing relay had me thinking my car was a fake with a swapped VIN for a while. Once I figured out the wiring under the dash, I knew it was factory. I have to assume that they started out not using the relay, then added it later.
I don't remember seeing one in the 71 Grabber Frank and I parted out...but I wasn't looking for one. Is this relay in plain sight or is it hiding?
