Tail light and dash light wiring on '70

[TX240Z]

Good Evening Everyone, 

So I went to go for a drive last night, and when I turned on the headlights I noticed that the dash didn't light up. I got out of the car and noticed the headlights were on, but the tail lights and side markers were not. Very odd...

I checked the fuses and noticed the applicable fuse was burned out. I turned off the headlights, replaced the fuse, turned them back on and within a few seconds the fuse began to smoke and burned out again. Maybe an exposed wire was touching something it wasn't supposed to?

I shut it down, went around to the front and noticed a cable just dangling touching the ground (please see first picture)

I've taken a couple of other pictures of some open connectors because I have no idea where this cable goes and I don't want to fry anything by trying to poke it into something it shouldn't be in. It's green and black so I'm assuming it belongs to the tail light part of the wiring harness. I don't even know how it could have gotten separated in the first place. 

Any ideas where it might go? And more importantly is this the cable that controls the tail lights and dash lights?

I greatly appreciate it. 

 

 

[SteveJ]

The running lights/dash lights circuit is problematic in the S30s. I had to replace the fusebox in my 73 about 27 years ago after it melted down at that circuit.

The front side markers tend to get corroded. The rear side markers could, too. The corrosion can bridge the positive and negative wires to bypass the bulb. It isn't a dead short, but it is very low resistance. 

The wiring to the running lights should be green with a blue stripe. You photo seems to show a green/white wire, but it's difficult to repair.

You may want to consider using LED bulbs for the running lights and using a lower rated fuse. Also inspect/clean the side markers.

Here is something I wrote up a few years back on the subject: 

 

[TX240Z]

Thank you SteveJ that helps quite a bit, I'll get to work on those recommendations. As far as that rogue green/white wire, any idea where it might connect to?

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[TX240Z]

Solved! SteveJ you are brilliant. I removed the side lamps to inspect the wiring and they all looked kind of gunky.

I sprayed some electrical cleaner on the connectors, brushed them lightly with a toothbrush and let it dry. Plugged them in and VOILA! dash lights, tail lights and side markers all functional.

As for the rogue green wire, that had come disconnected from the left front side marker and was a totally separate issue. I'll deal with it another time.

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[TX240Z]

Double post...sorry

[87mj]

I have a 6/70 that I am putting back together.  I seem to recall two pairs of connectors, one pair on each corner behind the turn signal lamps that serve no purpose.  I wondered if they were fog light connectors or something like that?