TheSamba.com :: View topic - will headlights work if the dimmer footswitch is unconnected

Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:23 pm

is this possible?

Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:33 pm

Power goes into the dimmer switch and to either the brights or regular lights. I don't think the lights would work unless you connected the switched power wire to either of the wires for the Brights or Regular lights. See J2 on this schematic. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/wiring/bus_63_USA.jpg

Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:14 pm

5?split wrote: is this possible?
No.

Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:37 pm

busdaddy wrote: 5?split wrote: is this possible?
No.

Elaborate- seams a simple bypass hotwiring would work fine for low beams in a pinch. If you're just saying no because you have incomplete information about how it's being bypassed- that's something different- thusly a semi-doucheish response.

Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:37 am

is there a reason you want them disconnected from the dimmer switch?

Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:18 am

hitest wrote: busdaddy wrote: 5?split wrote: is this possible?
No.

Elaborate- seams a simple bypass hotwiring would work fine for low beams in a pinch. If you're just saying no because you have incomplete information about how it's being bypassed- that's something different- thusly a semi-doucheish response.
OK, since we don't know the exact year of the bus in question but know it has a floor dimmer lets use the 63 diagram as a general example:

The white/black wire (#56) comes from the light switch and leads to the dimmer (J2), the dimmer selects if that power goes to 56a or 56b (low/high beam), if the switch is missing 56 dangles in thin air and supplies no power to the headlights. You could connect 56 to 56a (or 56b) and have headlights but only low or high beams and no way of changing them while driving (try both wires to find low beam as things get swapped over the years and there's no guarantees which one is correct).

Better?

Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:21 am

thank you for the help. this thing has been sitting for several yrs and there was no dimmer switch. i just picked one up and will give it a try.