Triumph Repair: Spitfire high beams not working, high beams, low beams

Question
QUESTION: Howard,
I have a 71 Spit that was just repainted, body work done, etc.  Prior to the work all my lights & electrical systems functioned.  Now my high beams(low beams are fine)and the front side marker lights are not working. The restoration didn't involve the high beam switch(at least it shouldn't have)so it doesn't seem likely that the problem is there.  Any ideas?

ANSWER: Hi Don,
The side marker lights and the high beam head lights are on different circuits. So you just need to look at the plug connections of the side marker lights and the high beams of the head lights. Body shops are notorious for not getting wires plugged back in. With a test light start behind the head lights and test the blue with white tracers.(high beams)Work your way back toward the column switch where they get their power.

The tail lights, instrument lights, front parking lights, rear and front side marker lights are all powered by one fuse so if any of them are working it is not the fuse nor power supply. Start with your test light at the back of the side marker with the lights on and test the red wires. Look to see that the black ground wire is connected to a good ground also.
let me know how you do.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Howard,
The body shop painted over the backs of the head lamps and the wires, but while probing with the test light the high beams started working, so I'm assuming it was a bad ground from the paint(?). As for the front side marker lights not working, as soon as I took a good look at them the answer was obvious. There is no ground wire connected to either of them. I didn't have a chance to deal with that yet but it doesn't seem as though it should be that difficult of a fix. Unfortunately, another problem cropped up while I was doing all this. When I got the car back from the body shop they told me "all the lights work (ha!) except for the hazards, which only flash on the right side of the car."  Yet when I tried them they worked fine on both sides.  Now they're back to only flashing on the right.  Any ideas on that issue?
Don

Answer
Hi Don,
It is most likely the same problem, bad connections and/or bad grounds. The turn signals and the flashers work on the resistance of the bulbs. When you loose a ground or a connection to any bulb on that circuit, it quits working.
I worked in several dealerships on several brands of cars and it must be a tradition of body shops to never get the electrics working after body work. And as you have found, it is usually paint under a ground wire or wires not plugged in or plugged into the wrong socket.

Turn the left turn signal and start probing with your test light. Most test light bulbs are about the same resistance as the signal is so you will be able to get you test light to do the flashing if the switch is sending the signal in that direction.
Let me know.
Howard