No headlights or radio

[Gunsmith]

I know this should be in the electrical section but I did not get much of a response there. So I am driving down the road at night and my headlights and radio go out? My parking lights work when I flip the head light switch to position two but when I flip the switch all the way down for headlights they all go out. My radio does not get power at all anytime. All of my gauges work. I checked the fuses under the dash but they all look good, as good as those fuses can look any way. What fuse goes to the headlights and radio? Do the parking lights get the use the same power wire/fuse as the head lights? I was having a lot of problems with my third "new" aftermarket replacement ignition switch so I thought that may be the culprit but I just changed that out for a "real" used one and no change. The car does start better though. Any suggestions?

[kristoj]

Wish I could provide more meaningful advice, but I would start by studying the electrical diagrams for the 81-82 model years and begin checking all of the ground points for the circuits not working.

[rlux4]

Dang, Gunsmith, I figured you had this solved.
First off, do you have Brad Artigue's wiring diagram for our cars yet? (http://www.artigue.com/fiat.php)
The fuses for the head lights are C&D (in series) and E&F (in series). I'm not enough of and electrical guru to figure out why they're using two fuses for each of the high and low beam.
The radio fuse is #9, but it looks like #10 is tied to it in series also. Re. the series fuse connections, could be parallel, I'm a carpenter, not an electrician, so I'm not sure, they look tied together on the diagram.
Did you check for voltage at the alternator?
Also, unless you've had your console out and check for wire splices behind it, your radio could be tied into another circuit by a PO. When they put in a new radio it's pretty common for them to tap another wire for power. I fyou have a radio with memory it is getting two power sources, one off the switch, and one that is constant live 12V for the memory and they both have to be powered for the radio to work on the later radios.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

looking at fuses won't cut it, you need a voltmeter to check for a voltage drop under load

[mbouse]

i agree with Mark on this one. Fuses can LOOK a-okay, but can actually NOT transfer current.

that is why i always recommend after cleaning all of the fuse block contacts to replace all the existing fuses with brand new ones, keeping the old ones for spares. I have bad eyesight, i know i cannot see hairline cracks; even if you can... you cannot possibly see everything.

[Danno]

i agree with Mark on this one. Fuses can LOOK a-okay, but can actually NOT transfer current.

that is why i always recommend after cleaning all of the fuse block contacts to replace all the existing fuses with brand new ones, keeping the old ones for spares. I have bad eyesight, i know i cannot see hairline cracks; even if you can... you cannot possibly see everything.

A third vote for can look ok but not work right. I recently had to make a trip at night and checked lights before leaving my sister's house. had a similar problem during test drive the week before. Emergency solution was locate the fuse that controlled the light and hotwire with a 2" piece of foil. absolutely a bad idea if you have an electrical short or something, but the point still remains, I had a fuse that looked fine and even a quick cleaning in the dark didn't get me a good consistent connection. BTW, those fuse holders are a PITA to clean properly because of their weird shape.

[mbouse]

actually just stuff some steel wool between those contacts and rub away. just remember to disconnect the battery first.

or, some guys like to use a mechanical pencil eraser.