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Twin Cam Special headlights

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rjbaren:
I am mostly polishing the car but I have taken a few spins so far and of course, a question comes up.  The shop I had the car in said the electrical systems all seem to work.  I was out driving near dusk and I turned on the headlights and dash lights and after a couple of minutes driving I smelled what I thought was going to be an electrical fire.  I immediately turned off the headlights and dash lights and made for home.  Everything was OK but I have yet to turn the lights on again.  I have driven the car again in the daylight and all is still well.

I am just being chicken?  Could it be years of dust burning behind the dash?   What would be a safe way to check this out if I do have an electrical problem without burning up the car?  I do have a fire extinguisher but I hope it doesn't come to that.

GavinT:
If you've already smelled it, I suspect some wiring damage has occurred.
Burning electrics has a distinctive smell.

If it were me, I'd disconnect the battery and check the wiring loom.
Start tracing the Blue wires back from the lights to under the dash. Melted/fused/blackened insulation should be visible.

BDA:
A wiring diagram (they are available from the main page of this forum) can help you trace which wires you need to concentrate on (interior lights, head lights, turn signal and markers). Unfortunately, the diagram will not necessarily tell you where in the car the wire is but it does tell you what it's connected to and that should be enough to get you started. You should also check your fuses to make sure they are the proper amperage 35A British. You might consider replacing them with actual known 35A British fuses. A 35A British fuse is not the same as an American 35A fuse. You may or may not be able to source them locally but they are readily available from the usual suspects and Brit car places like Moss Motors, etc.

1970EuropaGuy:
Many of us have added relays for this reason as well. It doesn't cost much and takes the high power load from the switches.

4129R:
The headlights take their power from the ammeter, it then goes to the fusebox, then to the side light/ main headlight switch, then to the dip/main beam switch, then through two wires (main and dip) to the two headlights.

When the light switch is either in the side light or headlight position, all the red wires for the repeater red/amber lights, rear lights, number plate lights etc are live.

I think from memory they are blue/red and blue/white wires from the dip/main switch to the headlights.

The question is where did the smell come from, behind the dash is the favourite place in my opinion.

To get to those wires behind the dash from the ammeter to the fuse-box, fusebox to light switch, and light switch to dip switch is a bitch. To take out the dashboard is a big job, and you would regret doing it.

Maybe run a fused wire from the battery to the dip switch to narrow down the source. That would by-pass the wiring behind the dash. 

I have replaced 3 wiring looms, so I understand all the routing of all the wires.

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