[urq] (no subject) & Dim Tail Lights

[dgraber460 at aol.com]

Thanks Steve.
You're right, and the more I thought about the relay idea the more I realized it wouldn't work very well, as all 3 signals to the lights would need their own relay. (running, signal, & brake) I'm going to dig deeper into the entire wiring situation including the grounds and chassis contact points.
That has to be it as it isn't sporadic - just low constant voltage.
Ah - the love hate relationship of old cars. I do really love this old thing though.


Dennis 
Denver



-----Original Message-----
From: urq <urq at pacbell.net>
To: dgraber460 <dgraber460 at aol.com>; urq <urq at audifans.com>
Sent: Fri, Mar 7, 2014 4:56 pm
Subject: Re: [urq] (no subject) & Dim Tail Lights



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... administrator's note ... to eliminate empty subject spam sent by list members (which was once rather common) any post without a subject is automatically moderated (held back for approval).  Fortunately I saw this one and got it posted quickly ... 
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If you have not improved the grounding of the tail lamp mounting plates by a direct connection to the unibody, doing so will likely brighten up your lights significantly and sufficiently; that is the solution I would heartily recommend.  The lights you aren't thinking about are the brake lights ... and these use a lot more current than your running lights.  Relaying the power to the running lights won't help your brake lights at all.  Tail lights are what, 5 watts?  Relaying such a low draw seems pointless to me ... 
 
For better or worse the original wiring of the car has the ground return coming back through the loom ... which means that you've got as much voltage drop in the return as you do in the supply ... even more so when the brakes are applied.  
 
The updated dual, dual filament bulb mounting plates have a tab on the ground "trace" to allow a slip on grounding lug to be used to provide a direct connection to the body of the car.  I don't remember if the single filament plates have a similar feature or not.  I used one of the mounting studs for the lens to connect the updated grounds on my car.  Be sure to use a star washer to make sure an electrical connection gets made through the paint of the unibody (install the star washer against the unibody, don't put any other sort of washer first).  
 
I remember following Tomas K's car up to Thunderhill many years ago.  He had sprayed the lenses to black them out ... and on a foggy morning in Califonia's Central Valley I realized how poor the visibility of those lights can be.  The dual, dual filament tail light mounting plates make the car much more visible from behind ... and they are a direct fit for the original lenses ... highly recommended.  I wonder if newer cars (like say the '86 CGTs) received these bulb plates from the factory.  I got the set I have on my car from a GB years ago.  
 
So, don't worry about adding relays, at least not at first.  Start by improving the ground.  It probably won't hurt to clean the oxide off the connections at the tail light mounting plates ... there'll probably be a bit of a dissimilar metal corrosion there.  
 
Steve Buchholz
 
I remember one day I found myself with several officers from the SJPD behind me ducking behind the doors of their squad cars, drawing down on me ... because someone riding a blue motorcycle had robbed a bank ... 
  
 
 
 
   From: dgraber460
 Sent: Friday, March 7, 2014 11:49 AM
 
New URQ drama. Not really too dramatic but anyway......
This morning I'm cruising down the road at 2 below the limit being a good boy, and a patrol turns right about 1/4 mile up the road. Right behind him another car pulls out in front of me without stopping for his red light. I ignore both and continue on my way. The patrol car starts slowing down, and I surmise he is going to duck behind the other car and get him for a red light violation. Nope! Slows down, ducks right in behind me and turns his lights on. When he approaches the car I have all the normal paperwork ready, and he tells me he pulled me over for a right tail light out. He goes back to the patrol car per usual to check me for "wants & warrants", after which he comes back and warns me to fix the light. I'm thinking to myself that there was no way he could have known the light was out until he pulled me over. He was NEVER behind me until his lights were on.
No ticket and no problem, just very odd! Later going back on the same road I saw another older Audi pulled over and was wondering if they were looking for a perp in an old Audi for something else?
Anyway - so I get home and try to check the offending right tail light and sure enough it's out. As I start checking, I find that I only 7.5-8 volts at both tail lights, so the left is pretty dim as well. Is that the light switch on the dash causing this and I just need to relay the tail lights like I have the headlights? Since the battery is just ahead of the bulkhead it would n't take all that much to do it.
Any usual suspects or fixes/workarounds?
TIA


Dennis 
Denver