Headlight Motor

I am in the same boat, I have power to the switches but looks like motor is bad, power windows are next on my list.

check the stock 'double relay' under dash, i found the 'spring ' on the contact arm was rusted away replaced it with an'ace ' hardware extension spring of similar size. @1/8 diameter
r x 5/8 long

To verify it the motor is the problem, make a pair of test leads to connect battery directly onto the motor leads. Just remember you are bypassing the limit switches so you must manually control up and down travel to prevent over-travel.

A peculiarity of DeTomaso's headlight wiring is, the motor must run ungrounded, controlled by the microswitches on top. The short power lead off the motor goes to a spade-lug that is bolted to the motor case with a two-piece insulating grommet-thing. This is apparently to keep vibration from cracking the wire. The grommet cracks over time and/or soaks up water, grounding the wire to the motor case so it no longer runs.

My fix is to throw away the two-piece insulator/grommet, hook the motor wire to its matching loom wire with an insulated female double-spade connector, and tie-wrap the assembly to the motor for vibration protection. I do this on any Pantera that is dragged into my shop; one more electrical oddity that is no longer a potential problem.

OSOFAST; According to the wiring diagram and service description, the headlight switch is a two position switch - the first position turns on the parking, tail, marker, license,& instrument panel lights. Pressing to the second position turns on the headlights and raises the headlight doors. From what you are describing, your headlights are coming on in the first position. The wiring diagram for the headlight motor and limit switches indicates four wires (yellow, green, gray, brown) from the relay. The yellow wire powers one side of the motor lead and one side of the limit switch. The brown wire powers the other motor lead and a terminal on the other limit switch. The green wire is connected to the limit switch opposite the one with the yellow wire. The gray wire is connected to the limit switch opposite the brown wire. The caveat to this is hoping the wiring diagram I have is correct for your vehicle. I have found a number of errors when tracing wires, thinking that when the car went down the assembly line, whatever was on the shelf was the next wire used.

JAG sorry for my description the headlights are coming on in the fully on position of the switch. From my troubleshooting today the lead from the ignition switch is hot to the fuse, but the red/black wire from the fuse panel is not getting any power. The fuse is hot, but the wire coming from the fuse panel is not getting any power, and two of the three wires at that fuse are hot. The red/black wire is on the spade in the very back of the panel and is very hard to get a meter on, and from as far as I can tell the wire is not damaged. So I think a Pantera Electronics ATO fuse panel is going to be put in the car. I figure if I have to take it apart to test that lead, I am going to go ahead and update the fuse panel while I have it apart.
Jeff

Not a problem OSOFAST. I am in the process of rebuilding #3639. I purchased the '70's Muscle Car Wiring harness from Painless Wiring and will be rewiring the entire vehicle for the very reason that I do not want to reinstall 42 year old wiring that potentially may have cracked insulation or broken internal wires and end up chasing shorts or open circuits. Also, I plan on using a number of relays to lessen the load on the ign. switch.

After you fix/replace the wiring, does anyone know if the Ford Taurus window motors can be substituted for the original soda can sized headlight bucket motors and gear? I seem to remember that the motors and gears are very similar.

My original motor seems weak, slow and noisy.

Matt