Triumph Repair: 72 TR6 ELECTRICS, alternator belt, work car

Question
CAR CONTINUES TO RUN WHEN SHUT OFF
BLINKERS, DASH AND RUNNING LIGHTS DONT WORK
BRAKE WARNING AND IGNITION LIGHTS ON WHEN IGNITION OFF
HEAD LIGHTS WORK
CAR RUNS VERY GOOD
SATURN/GM ALTERNATOR TESTED GOOD
BATTERY CHARGED

WHERE SHOULD I START MY VOM TESTING ?

THANK YOU HOWARD

Answer
Hi Bob,
I found from working in dealerships for many years you can't diagnose an electrical problem by symptoms. It only tells you that something is wrong, nothing more. You need to pick just one circuit that is wrong and take your wiring diagram and start tracing.

I like to start at the load (the item that don't work) and work my way down the circuit toward the power supply one step at a time. I usually pick the easiest one. Most of the time when you have several things that are wrong when you trace out and correct the one circuit, it will have corrected all the other problems. This method worked well for me for many years.

Although in your case I would remove the alternator belt and the wires off of the alternator first and start the car and test to see if everything is still wrong, then take your diagram and pick a circuit and start tracing.

If you don't have a diagram let me know and I will post one on my web site for you to copy.
Howard