e21 electrical gremlins...any ideas...?

[esty]

i haven't driven the car in several months other moving it than around the house....i've had the lights out of for repainting the car...after putting them back in i noticed that my left turn signal is blinking dimly compared to the others... i cleaned the socket connections and changed the bulb...no change, still a dimmer blink

today i installed a new radio...i used the same wiring as before, nothing else changed

i turned the headlights on and the car died....then absolutely no power anywhere in the car...nothing works...no radio, no clock, the car won't start nothing..it's as though the battery is disconnected....the battery is fairly new and good...my volt gauge before turning the lights on indicated a good battery

frustrated, i went inside to get a drink and cuss so no one would hear me, came back about a half hour later and noticed my parking lights were on...the switch wasn't completely closed...tuned the key the car started, radio work'd, everything was normal until i turned my headlights on, then the car died and now i'm back to zero power in the car and at the ignition switch

any ideas what may be happening....

[72Golf]

The only thing all events have in common is the headlight switch. I would suspect that sucker is shorting direct to ground. Get another one.

[esty]

i accidentally discovered after posting this thread that i have a short....i was checking continuity in the ignition wire from the battery to the switch and discovered continuity between the + and - battery cables....i'm sure i rubbed a wire when i put the lights and grills back in....

since it was the headlights that flip'd the power, i'll start there..

[esty]

this is probably a dumb question but there should not be continuity between ground or - battery terminal to any fused circuit from the fuse box.....correct?

[72Golf]

Depends. Let's say you have the test lead on the Neg. battery cable end in your hand (chassis ground still connected to body) and, say the light switch pulled on and you touch the other test lead to the appropriate fuse terminal at the fuse panel, you would read continuity. You have a complete path: thru fuse, thru switch, thru bulb filament to ground you are holding in your hand. If you get this with the switch off, you have a short between the fuse and the switch or switch is shorted.

[Richard]

If you had a short in those circuits you would see smoke. There's a bunch of grou nds that bolt into the body on the drivers side engine compartment...Just a thought..

[esty]

i have it running but have all of the lights disconnected...i put in a new hazard switch today...i'm waiting on a new signal switch to arrive...i cleaned all of the grounds, replaced the battery cable terminals and all fuses

i don't have a new headlight switch yet...i want to replace the signal switch which i suspect may be bad...

why would turning the headlights on kill the car...just like turning it off with the key...i don't understand the connection

[Schweineback]

I upped the electrical part of the e21 repair manual here: http://www.mediafire.com/?k3rebb4luz42dcs

It's a pdf with all the wiring schemes you can think of.