dash lights tried everything guys.losing the will to live...

Post by **oldiguana** » 07 Feb 2008, 09:19

eyup ducks,about 18 months ago i tried to fix the speedo drive on the clocks,worked for a week then died!!!,since then marlady has moaned that she has no dash lights,ive been out to the camel this morning and the dash lights work on the first click,but as soon as i turn the key to the second click they go off and stay off..........any ideas please as she wont divorce me till ive got them fixed.................sorry forgot to mention,1983 1.9 diesel rhd............................thanks ahead of any replies

Post by **dave friday** » 07 Feb 2008, 10:18

14 pin plug under dash/clocks unit or ignition switch? give the plug a wiggle!.
suns out here! good luck.

Post by **oldiguana** » 09 Feb 2008, 19:13

ive tried everything and theres no difference........looks lark bein an auto-electrician £££££££££££££

Post by **edoh** » 09 Feb 2008, 19:37

are the 3 dash light bulbs in place? - changed? firmly pushed in - clean connected? - a nacker or two from jk to replace -

is the printed foil thingy running under all 3 bulbs - - in place? secure?clean - nice tight connection? - this is my guess as to their on/off nature -

not sure if this applies to yr model - but haynes mentions - 'additional fuses above main fusebox..... instrument lighting...10 amps...' -

all worth a check?

Post by **tonytech** » 09 Feb 2008, 19:41

Do you have any other lamps on the dash? ie behind heater controls? do they do the same?
if so I'd be looking for an earth fault behind the dash?

does your radio work with the ignition off? some radios take a feed from the light circuit to change their lighting level?

T

Post by **oldiguana** » 10 Feb 2008, 21:35

no other lamps duck,but i have noticed that the blue main beam light on the dash doesnt come on when i use main beam with the normal driving lights on(make any sense guys?),i didnt notice this until i drove it the other night and people were dazzling me and giving me the"owd two finger salute!"......its a real puzzler

Post by **garyodevon** » 10 Feb 2008, 21:57

Twas exactly the same prob as i had . . . .First click on ignition would light up the dashboard lighting . . .but as soon as you turned your main warning lights on (started the van) the illumination would cease.
The fact that your lights DO come on , on the first turn of the key, suggests bulbs/ connections are all good.
Mine was a simple earth ing prob behind the dash . . . .So simple in fact, that it took me a good 3 months to find it

Best a luck with it tho !

Post by **Mocki** » 10 Feb 2008, 22:18

you should also have a light behind the heater controls, but that may be a seperate issue!

from a fault finding point of view, try adding a good earth to the dash lighting system, remember brown is neg on a vw

Post by **edoh** » 11 Feb 2008, 17:58

have you thoroughly checked the earths?

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... bad_earths

Post by **oldiguana** » 11 Feb 2008, 21:20

earth problem sounds quite simple.cheers boys,i will try to have a look this week,and garyodeven had the same problem so we might be on to a winner.....once again we might just have cracked it....all i have to do now is convince the missus to sign that decree absolute.............