TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:12 pm

Alright picture this...coming back from a fabulous vacation to Paria Cyn/Vermillion Cliffs. Driving at 9 pm on the 210 in East LA about to turn on to the 605 and some butt head pulls out in front of me. I flashed him twice with my South African lights and blam...lights out!!!! Going 70 mph on an LA freeway!!! Made the turn on the 605 south and went to the first neighborhood to sleep for the night.

The headlights are out when switch is on, when the switch is on the signals and hazards do not work... What is the deal...???

Does anyone know which the fuse for the lights is? All the manuals I have are so vague.

Thanks for any advice.

Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:16 pm

Look Here for a fuse index:

http://www.vanagonparts.com/fuse_panel_83to85.html

Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:38 pm

Thing is I looked at all those ones and they seem fine....

Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:42 pm

Do you have relays to the lights or are you still routing through the switch? The switch could be fried or the relays could have gone. Check for voltage coming out of the switch, at the inputs and outputs of the relays, and at the headlights. Where ever you loose voltage there must be a problem between there and the last place you had voltage. The wiring diagram is your friend, do you have one for your setup?

Also try replacing the fuses and making sure the contacts are clean, this is a problem on the older style fuse more then the blade style but it is worth checking.

Good luck,

Paul

Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:38 pm

The wiring diagram in the Bentley and the Haynes are anything but vague. It may take some studying to figure them out, but once you learn how to read them it is very easy to pin point a problem.

Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:16 am

Disconnect the battery and drop the fuse panel and its wiring and look up. You will see two round looking ground posts. I'll bet the screws to them are loose and corroded. Very same thing happened to me. I ended up removing the instrument cluster and cleaning up the corrosion. Then after connection was resolved I sprayed it with some silicon spray. I suspect sweating on that panel caused it to corrode and that is why I put the silicon on it afterwards. You could also have a bad ignition switch. Do you have lights when you pull up on the light switch stalk? If you do, then it is most likely the ignition switch. You also could have a fried load reduction relay which is up behind the fuse panel on my van. Good Luck finding it.

Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:26 pm

""I flashed him twice with my South African lights and blam...lights out!!!!""

Don't forget to check the high beam / low beam switch & wiring!
I had the same problem - all the fuses were good, lights good etc.
It was the high beam / low beam switch.
Click it a few times and see what happens.
DC

Sun May 04, 2008 11:23 am

I am electronically challenged...help!!!!

Advice on trouble shooting....please!! I have volt meter but all the manuals say to un hook the battery prior to fuse panel drop. Do I test the volts coming? Any advice I would be greatful!!!

Thanks

Sun May 04, 2008 10:47 pm

you did not answer the previous posts. Do you have relays installed? THis is important to know. Also need to know if you have a Bentley manual. Then we can help you find the correct ditagram.

The other thing to look at is possibly a dirty high beam switch in the turn stalk. It may be stuck in between hi/low beams. You can clean it out with some Dioxit stuff or similar.

-rb

Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:38 am

Hey T!
I'm going to be in SB Friday afternoon. Lets kill some beers and get your lights working.