Electrical advice needed

[EGBOK65]

Hello, I have a 65 Beetle I am having some electrical issues with:

1. high beams not working, all turn signals, break lights, and head lights work
2. high beam light on dash not coming on- I suspect because the high beams aren't coming on.
3. dash lights for speedo and gas not coming on

The lights on the dash for the speedo and the gas come on randomly I'm wondering if its on of the relays?

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[glutamodo]

1965 has no relays other than the flasher unit.

Are you dealing with original 6V system or has it been changed to 12 Volts?

Headlight beams are just a simple two way switch on the floor. Check your fuses and fusebox for corrosion. The brass tabs that hold the fuses in place and the endcaps of the fuses themselves need to be clean.

You mean the night lights on the gauges are erratic? Well that is fed from a rheostat dimmer built into the headlight switch. Try giving the knob of the headlight switch a few good whirls back and forth and maybe the rheostat will make better contact.
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Andy T.


IMAGE NOTE: It has been noted that Chrome based browsers may have issues in displaying my vast image library, which use non-secure links and are on an FTP server. Images should still be viewable if the link is clicked though.
I do not know how to fix this. All I can say is it all works fine for me with what I use, Firefox.

[wdfifteen]

The first step is always, check and clean all of the fuses.

[EGBOK65]

ok cool. I will try all this.

I had a mechanic re-wire with a new wiring harness from Wolfsburg last year. So all the wiring and it appears the Light switch is also new. A while back I noticed that one of the wires came loose on the light switch. I am thinking that that switch shorted out. It is getting power on #30 but the connection to the dash lights and floor dimmer switch is not.

I am also having issues with the license plate light. It's all getting power but the bulb isn't going on. I switched the bulb and still its not coming on.

[glutamodo]

Uhh, if your headlights are functional in any manner, the floor switch has to have power. It is a two way switch. One power in, with two possible outputs, low beam or high beam.

"short out" is a bad thing to say, because an electrical short is a direct connection to ground that either pops a fuse or melts a wire or switch or both.

Stock German switches are often better in quality than knock off aftermarket reproductions.

The engine lid is grounded by the hinges to the body. These usually have enough metal-metal contact to allow current flow for the license plate bulb. but you might try running a wire from a known solid ground to the bulb housing and see if it lights up.
_________________
Andy T.


IMAGE NOTE: It has been noted that Chrome based browsers may have issues in displaying my vast image library, which use non-secure links and are on an FTP server. Images should still be viewable if the link is clicked though.
I do not know how to fix this. All I can say is it all works fine for me with what I use, Firefox.

[EVfun]

[pantone149]

For the license plate light, take the fixture apart and clean everything nice and shiny. You need a good ground connection, so make sure there is metal to metal contact between the fixture and deck lid. Use a wire brush, sandpaper, or maybe even a Dremel.

[heimlich]

When I got my 64 some stuff worked and others didn't I started at the fuse box. I cleaned all the connections. Then I traced the wires to the headlights and checked those connections. It doesn't take much time. All you need is a voltmeter. Check the voltage at the fuse box. Then check the voltage at the headlight. If there is a large difference you know something isn't right. You can also check your ground by using the body of the car as a ground and comparing the two.
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