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Alright I mess with my '71 510 wiring for a little bit. Po or po before him did a decent job at hackin it up. I'm quite lost. I think it's a ground because the lights are showing 12v on and off. I cut the harness open and tried to trace wires and look at diagrams but I'm lost. Here's what I'm working with:

 

This is the thick black wire coming from the headlight switch. On my 521 it's red..

2A392123-688A-4A25-AAFA-4095AD4E485B.jpg

 

Here's the fuse block I'm dealing with..

8B5A73D1-1974-4A6B-AF4B-24D4DE7B3BD0.jpg

 

The headlight relay. Has 2 RB, 2 RW and 1 BR, 1 GL. The wire diagram shows there should be 2 B, 1 BR, 1 RB, 1RW and 1 GL?

44922B87-53B3-4068-ACEF-237C0F274543.jpg

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Headlight systems on a 521 and a 510 are completely different.

521 trucks switch the hot side of the lights, and the common terminal on the headlight lamp is grounded.

510 cars power the common terminal on the headlights, two fuses, one for each side of the car.  The headlight on and off, as well as the high and low beam switching is done on the ground side of the curcuit.

 

My suggestion is to try to get your 510 back to a stock switched ground system.  Then you can ask advise on how to fix it.  If you stay with the previous  owners wiring "fix" no body on this forum will be able to give you much advise.

 

Many if the wire colors do the same function on both models of Datsuns.  Red wire, white stripe is for high beams.  red wire, black stripe, low beams.  red wire, yellow stripe, used before the head light relay on a 521 for both sets of lights, used after the headlight relay, to the light switch, on a 510. 

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I say stop. Was the head lights working before. Besides the fuses  are a little hooky but the wiring looks stock.

 

So you get no LOW beams. Or High beams? What. I have 1 stryle as yours in the photo then the other where one can just replace the realy. Your is the relay with the harness and connector.

 

if was working before find the proplem. Its most likely a relay or just a wire loose. the relay contacts can be cleans if can is opened up

 

 

hope you cked the fuses and replaced them first. they break at the ends and visual look good

 

if highs work and lows or vise versa its the relay

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I say stop. Was the head lights working before. Besides the fuses are a little hooky but the wiring looks stock.

 

So you get no LOW beams. Or High beams? What. I have 1 stryle as yours in the photo then the other where one can just replace the realy. Your is the relay with the harness and connector.

 

if was working before find the proplem. Its most likely a relay or just a wire loose. the erealy contacts can be cleans if can is opened up

 

 

hope yu cked the fuses and replaced them first. they break at the ends and visual look good

The headlights never worked since I got it. I can ground a wire and connect it to the lights and they come on. All the fuses have power in and out.

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just to make this simple for you get a test light.  with light switch to OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!! do this test.

put the alligator end to the chassis(ground) take the pointy end and place on the 3 prongs of the lamp or in the connector. You test light will light up. on all 3 and also on the 2 prongson the HIGHS.

 

when the light should(put light switch to ON) come ON one side will go to GROUND. your test light will t be OFF as grnd to grnd there is no 12volts .

the relay passes the ground . so the realy is corboned up or a wire open.

 

12 volt volts is at the lamps then 1 goes to ground completing the circut

 

switch OFF. If test lamp not ON then you don't have power to the lamps and this is from the fuse side.

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so lows and HIGHs don't work at all?

 

thers a balck wire by the old volt reg that needs to be grounded and I think there might be a ground wire by the hood release inside(this is a hailmary)

 

 

One can jumper a wire where the relay is. Take the relay out and find the correct contacks and lamos should come on if Yes they come on then its the realy

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just to make this simple for you get a test light. with light switch to OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!! do this test.

put the alligator end to the chassis(ground) take the pointy end and place on the 3 prongs of the lamp or in the connector. You test light will light up. on all 3 and also on the 2 prongson the HIGHS.

 

when the light should(put light switch to ON) come ON one side will go to GROUND. your test light will t be OFF as grnd to grnd there is no 12volts .

the relay passes the ground . so the realy is corboned up or a wire open.

 

12 volt volts is at the lamps then 1 goes to ground completing the circut

 

switch OFF. If test lamp not ON then you don't have power to the lamps and this is from the fuse side.

Did this already, all the prongs show 12v whether switched on or off

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This is a common headlight plug.

headlightplug.jpg

The colors are GM, or some other car colors.  The terminal marked ground in the above picture is not really a ground.  It is just a common (shared) connection to both of the filaments inside the light bulb.

A Datsun 510 connects two of the headlight lamps on one side of the car to a red wire, that goes to a fuse, and then to the battery positive.   the Datsun 510 connects two of the headlight lamps on the other side of the car to a red wire, witha blue stripe, that goes to a fuse, and then to the battery positive. 

Because there is not a switch, or a switching relay in the circuit yet, all three terminals on the headlights will show 12 volts, or whatever the battery voltage is.  THIS IS NORMAL ON A 510.

The high beam terminals on a 510 is connected to a red wire, with a white stripe.  Two wires, one from each side of the car of this color, go to the headlight relay. 

The low beam terminal on the two lamps, one on each side of the car connects to a red with a black stripe wire.  Two wires, one from each side of the car go to the headlight relay. 

You should have 12 volts on all four of these wires, when the headlights are off.  The headlights are not grounded yet.

The headlight relay connects either the red with black wires. or the red with white stripe wires to a red with a yellow stripe wire.  The red with yellow stripe wire should have 12 volts on it, when the headlights are off.

The red with a yellow stripe wire goes to the headlight switch.  When you turn the headlight switch on, it grounds the relay, that grounds the headlight, and the headlight should come on.

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I am having similar issues on my 71 510. My low beams don't work at all, when I switch to high beams the outside lights come on and the inside lights barely glow red. I'm thinking mine is the relay and I've taken it apart and cleaned it I've tried finding the proper relay to replace it but all the auto parts store carry or can find are the newer 5 pin. I have traced my grounds. I will have to check the one by the hood latch that hainz mentioned. Not trying to thread jack just trying to mooch off  all the knowledge!!

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I have never seen generic relays at the local part store that's fit derictly in to the 510. esp the harness type as pictured.

 

Fortunatly I have spares of both types from car I have disassembled thru the years so trouble shooting it pretty fast for me(realy swap). otherwise its usually a corrosion issue

 

 

Growing red?

I assume its stock type head lamps in there not fancy Helles Cibies or Bosche where the case needs to be grounded good

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i got mine working poor contact on the inside pin of the relay i had cleaned them up and they still didnt work so i sorta bent the moving pin towards the fixed one and they work  atleast until i find a replacement

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If they have never worked...

 

Are the hi and lo lamps switched??? The outer headlights should have three terminals and the inner bulbs two. Pull the plugs off and see.

no, the hi and lo lamps are in the correct positon and all have 12v to them on or off. I just have to track down the grounds. The lights come on when I connect a ground to a terminal on the light. There is quite a few cut wires in the bay and under the dash that i need to test and find homes for or eliminate. Ok so if I understand the information here (which is a long shot :poke: )... the RB wire connects to the RY wire and that goes to the switch and that is the ground? There should be a ground wire under the dash that connects to the headlamp switch that grounds the RY wire when the switch is pulled on?

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All the relay does is switch the ground between hi and lo. It has to be one or the other there is no third position.  If the relay is not working it should be on high beams, this is the off or rest position. Ground for the relay is on the external regulator bolt.

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maybe the swictch is just bad?? i have spares of these but never seen one go bad

I swapped the switch with my 521 switch and still nothing.

 

All the relay does is switch the ground between hi and lo. It has to be one or the other there is no third position. If the relay is not working it should be on high beams, this is the off or rest position. Ground for the relay is on the external regulator bolt.

The black wire comes out from the plug at the regulator and grounds and then continues on to the running lights/blinkers.

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Find the black wire on the headlamp relay and follow it. It should go the the mounting bolt that holds the external voltage regulator to the inner fender.

 

Or it goes to it's own ground, but it should go to ground.

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Find the black wire on the headlamp relay and follow it. It should go the the mounting bolt that holds the external voltage regulator to the inner fender.

 

Or it goes to it's own ground, but it should go to ground.

 

There is no black wire. There's (2) Red Black, (2) Red Yellow, (1) Green Blue, (1) Black Red

 

 

44922B87-53B3-4068-ACEF-237C0F274543.jpg

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Perhaps this sounds like a dumb question, but what colors are on the other side of that connector? On the car harness side?

 

I've been doing a lot with Nissan wiring harnesses lately and something I've noticed is that wire colors often change from the component to the car harness.

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