Column wiring .....help please!

[Geoffers71]

Now that the dash is in on my S2, I've fitted the steering column (that's a story all of its own ) and only had to connect the column wiring to the new loom. Most colours matched OK, but I'm left with an issue that I don't know how to resolve Two wires remain on the column, a RN (red/brown) and an N (brown), these are not listed on the S2 wiring diagram, but on an S3 diagram are possibly to do with electric windows. If the column is original to the S2, what are these wires doing on the column???
To compound the issue there is one wire NU (brown/blue) coming from the new loom, in the bunch for the column, which I don't know what to do with! According to the wiring diagram it may connect to the headlamp relay and control the dipswitch, but as there's no matching wire on the column, what to connect it to ??
Any ideas......please!

[Quart Meg Miles]

If you remove the tin covers over the indicator and dip switches then you can see the colours of the wires and where they connect. I suspect one of the unidentified column wires is your dip-switch wiper which should mate with your NU (Brown Blue) and the other may have been added by a PO. e.g. I used the third position of the dip-switch (after taking out the wooden block) and brought out an extra wire.

A simple continuity measurement from the Main (High) beam wire UW (blue-white) with the dip-switch on Main should identify the wiper which should then connect to UR (blue-red) with the switch in the dipped position.

[Geoffers71]

Right, I've sorted the normal headlight dip and main The wire colours do not match the diagrams, but they DO work now. Had a problem with main beam on the right side, but after much testing and wire wiggling I found it was a busted sealed beam unit, replaced that and now all works. Well.....not quite. I still have a thin solid brown wire that comes from the column switch that doesn't have an obvious destination. It is connected to a points-like breaker within the switch that is connected when the stalk is pulled back towards the driver. So this is clearly the headlight flasher. I've tried connecting it to the main beam (blue/white)wire, but that doesn't work. The diagram doesn't show this wire. Any ideas chaps? Does the flash work even though the light switch is not on? I think it should.
I've found too, that only the front left indicator works. I'm suspecting earthing problems so that's the next task. Not my favourite thing electrickery

[billwill]

Pulling the dip-switch towards the wheel was never a standard method of flashing the lights on the two-seater, but may have been on the Plus2.

[Geoffers71]

Ah yes of course! The headlamps would have to be up all the time to make a flasher sensible. There can't be any other use for pulling the stalk back towards the driver, so maybe this thin brown wire is not used for anything on the Elan, it's just there because it's used in other applications of the column....eg Spitfire, Herald etc. Sounds reasonable, but am I just making it up?

[billwill]

Ah yes of course! The headlamps would have to be up all the time to make a flasher sensible. There can't be any other use for pulling the stalk back towards the driver, so maybe this thin brown wire is not used for anything on the Elan, it's just there because it's used in other applications of the column....eg Spitfire, Herald etc. Sounds reasonable, but am I just making it up?

I think you are right.

My S3 no longer has headlight flashing as it is technically illegal now in the UK, but when I first got it in 1969, the headlights would flash themselves if they were raised with the headlight switch on the dash in the OFF position.

With the dash switch in headlight position, the stalk switch on the steering column has 3 potions, down=dipped, mid= main beam, up= headlights off. So it is possible to raise the headlight pods with the bulbs off. Then with the pods in that condition, you can flash the main beam by briefly moving the stalk to the centre and then back up.

[Quart Meg Miles]

Pulling the dip-switch towards the wheel was never a standard method of flashing the lights on the two-seater, but may have been on the Plus2.

Yes, I'm sure my S130 did that as the head lamps came up very fast due to a solenoid operating the vacuum circuit instead of the pull-knob on the dash that the 2-seater cars have.

Although the headlamp stalk had three positions available the top position was blocked by a piece of wood even on the S4 as I removed one for a friend. I guess Geoffer's lamp switch is whatever was current Triumph fitting at the time it was supplied, which included the flashing contacts.