how does the highbeam switch work

[alg]

Having headlight gremlins.
Got my 73 Thing from the original owner. He told me they stopped working in 2002 and he never looked into the issue.

All other lights work perfectly.

Ok, so I had 33 year-old headlight electronics, and those were the first to go. Have a new headlight switch and relay. Also got a new turn signal assembly just to be sure.

The wiring is bone-stock and nothing looks altered anywhere.

I have wiring diagrams and have rung out all the wiring.

BUT, I find that the brown wire with the white marks that runs from the headlight relay to the turnsignal assembly seems to 'do' nothing.

When you pull on the turn signal, what is supposed to happen voltage-wise on the wire that goes to the headlight relay?

Does the brown/white wire hold voltage for one setting (like lowbeams) and then no voltage for the other setting?

Is there a latch in the relay that just looks for any voltage to just 'switch' from hi to lobeam? (you pull the signal switch, there is voltage for a second and the relay rolls to the next setting?)

My issue is related to the highbeam switch or relay. Everything else checks out.

Thanks for any assistance you can offer,
alg

[KTPhil]

I don't know a "thing" about Things, but in most later VWs the beams are switched by grounding a relay terminal. I would guess that brown wire does the grounding, if it like other VWs.

The headlight relay is a funny kind of relay, in that it alternates two outputs (hi and low beam), rather than merely switching one output on and off.

You may have a broken wire in the steering column. Bypass it by going to the relay and look for a terminal marked S. Remove the wire on it, and use a jumper to temporarily ground the relay terminal, then disconnect your jumper. That action (ground, then release) is what switches the relay between high and low beams.

If this operates the beams correctly, then the brown and brown/white wires in the steering column should be checked.

When you move the turn signal stalk back, you are connecting that wire to ground, same as you did with the jumper above.

[Woreign]

Does your new relay have 4 or 5 terminals? If it has 5, you need to jump the 30 and 56 terminals, otherwise it won't work.

[gus111]

Have you checked the actual sealed beam to make sure they are not burned out? I had that happen years ago (both at the same time).

[mattt]

When you pull back on the turn signal stalk, do you hear the click of the relay? If not, I would bet the little plastic tang that activates the crude point contactor in the turn signal switch has broken off. If you hear no relay click, the switch is not being made. Its a fairly loud click. Without the plastic tang, the stalk doesnt reach the contactor points.

[Ian Epperson]

[alg]

[KTPhil]

As I piosted, the relay switches between hi and lo beam. If neither ever has power, either your relay is shot (unlikely) or the relay is not getting power.

Do you have power at terminal 56 on the relay? If so, the relay is probbly bad. If not, then you have to look further "upstream" to your headlight switch.

Do you have power at terminal 30 of the headlight switch?

Also, your headlight switch could be wired wrong.

Check the '73 Bug wiring diagram here on the Samba to see what terminal number does what.