TheSamba.com :: View topic - Weird Electrical Intermittent Issue Headlights and Cluster

Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:30 pm

The other day while driving in the rain I turned on the headlights and the cluster died the clock went blank and all the gauges but the speedo dropped to zero. I know the speedo kept working because it is mechanical. I turned the lights off and everything worked again and the clock was reset. This kept happening until we stopped later in the day and then when I turned the headlights on everything worked fine.

Any idea what this could be? It has not done it since then.
Also my fans recently intermittently quit working and I changed the control modules by the drivers side headlight and have not had an issue since.
Not sure if it's related but I never know.

This is a 95 EVC manual

Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:34 pm

this hopefully isn't it at all...

but check for mice. check to see if the little rat bastards have been chewing on your harness in the engine bay.

I have a a friend here that left a van parked for a few weeks over the winter and somewhow mice got in and chewed through EVERY SINGLE WIRE off the computer in the engine bay.

every. single. wire.

the manhours spent fixing the breaks was absurd. thankfully the mechanic is a nice guy and helped them out.

I'll find pics and post. it's literally unbelievable unless you've seen it in person.

Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:47 pm

I've repaired so many rodent issues I've lost track. We've even had cars burn to the ground because of them. You should see what happens if they set up shop on top of an air filter. That's a really stinky mess.

Taking a gander out under the hood is a good idea.

Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:00 pm

I've looked and can not find any obvious damage from rodents. We just did the clutch and I asked the mechanic if he saw any thing and he said no. I am going to pull the battery and look at all those wires.

Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:43 am

You might want to look at the tail lights (open them up and make sure they are dry, no corrosion and the ground is good) and go feel around the fuse panel for any wetness. Since it did it while raining, there could be a leak that could be screwing things up and then when it dried out, problem fixed itself (until it rains again).

Thu Aug 11, 2016 9:08 am

That is exactly where my head is at. Did something get wet and short to ground. The weirdest thing is the headlights came on but the dash died.

Does any one know an easy way to pull the rear drivers side taillight on an EVC without removing the hole back panel where the sink sprayer is?
Can you go in through where the electrical panel is?