Dash Board Light Issue

[JimmyV]

Hi there,

I bought a T25 1983 1.9lt petrol camper this summer and have a very bizaar problem which im hopin someone could shed some light on. My dash lights dont turn on when my headlights are on but when I get to my destination and turn off the engine, the dash lights up!! NOT very usefull!!! Had to use the iTorch to light up the dash on my last trip! I have searched the web for similar issue but the dont seem the same?

Can anyone give me any ideas as to what might be causing this??

Muchos thanks in advance!!

P.S. loving the camper scene!!

James

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

problems of this sort are relatively common, if the exact symptoms are often different. Very often this occurs due to poor earths, so clean up the earth crowns by the fuse box, and I would also have a look at your light switch itself. When you turn off the engine, only the side lights come on, and it takes its feed directly from the battery as opposed to the ignition (which then goes to the load reduction relay) - it's possible there's some problem in the light switch. Some of the circuits which were live with the ignition on become earth with the ignition off, and it's sometimes possible for current to flow the opposite was as intended, particularly if you have poor earths.

If you're careful you can dismantle and clean the light switch, but there are springs and ball bearings in there, as well as the dimmer for the panel lights.

Good luck sorting it out

Ewen

[Dantes]

Just a thought, but depends if you are running with two batteries, and the dash lights are somehow linked to the leisure battery. An example is the cig lighter that functions of the starter battery when van is running, but disconnects when engine stopped (unless you have a leisure battery under your seat which takes over). Weird though. Hate having no dash lights myself.

Good luck.

[1664]

I had that happen on my old camper - I think it was a corroded track on the flexible pcb connection in the dash (well, I cleaned them up and it cured it). It's very delicate though so I wouldn't explore that cause before you had exhausted every other possibility.