Hi Wondering if any of the electricly minder folks on here can help me. I stupidly put some wrong bulbs in the headlights blowing the switch and damaging track 2 and 3 of the pcb which were mainly for the dash lights. I cut the damaged tracks off and wired in some leds seperately to the dash solving that problem. I replaced the h/l switch and put old bulbs back in giving me light again and am in the process of putting relays in (which i should have done in the first place ) to upgrade the H/Lights. The two issues i have are. No 1) When i switch ignition on the headlight warning lamp comes on, the red temperature light flashes constantly and the temp guage needle shoots all the way over to the right withing a minute. When i switch the actual headlights on both the above lights go out and the needle hops about going down and up the guage from bottom to top. I noticed on my pcb that there was an internal link between track 2 and 5. Is it a good idea to bridge this link with a piece of wire even although track two is now gone? Also after reading all i could find on here im thinking maybe the voltage regulator is the culprit for this madness so my very nice postman has just delivered me a replacement is it worth trying to install this? No 2) The radiator fan has not been kicking in even in traffic. I have bridged the wires and confirmed the fan is working. Is it a good idea to replace the rad switch at the moment or assume the van is not running hot and not needing the fan. Im reluctant to change this switch just now until i get the temp guage sorted again. Is this me being stupid again Sorry for the mega long post but if anyone can help i would be very grateful . Thanks
Had an a*** for elbow type brainwave just tested the voltage regulator and its 11.7 one side and 9.72 the other side so i think this means its working ok. Maybe rule that out now?
Bluebell65 wrote:I stupidly put some wrong bulbs in the headlights
High-wattage ones?
When i switch ignition on the headlight warning lamp comes on, the red temperature light flashes constantly and the temp guage needle shoots all the way over to the right withing a minute. When i switch the actual headlights on both the above lights go out and the needle hops about going down and up the guage from bottom to top.
I think you might need to dip a bit deeper hunting for other melting/overheating damage down to those bulbs...
The radiator fan has not been kicking in even in traffic. I have bridged the wires and confirmed the fan is working. Is it a good idea to replace the rad switch at the moment or assume the van is not running hot and not needing the fan. Im reluctant to change this switch just now until i get the temp guage sorted again. Is this me being stupid again
Without wanting to appear rude... yes. So long as you've got 12v to the permie live on the fan switch, your fan should be working when the coolant gets hot. If the temp gauge is not working, then you won't know if it is or not. If you suspect the switch, then not having a gauge is MORE reason to change the switch, not less... After all, you won't have the normal second-line warning. The third sign of the coolant temps rising will be steam coming from your cooked engine...
Obg I tested the 14 point connector and got a reading of 12.30 at both 9 & 7 Black and red wires. I got 11.55 at No 14 but worryingly i got 1.54 at No 6 which is one of the temp guage connections. Could the small voltage drops be due to old wiring maybe? Though this wouldnt cover No 6 . Adrian C they were nightbreaker bulbs which i had read were ok to use.(But not on my van lol). Ive had a look at the wiring from the headlight switch to fusebox and then to lights but cant see anything damaged or melted. I will have another check though just to make sure. I see your point about the rad switch. I will change that too. Off to Volksfling tomorrow in the car Add insult to injury its a VAUXHALL!!! Might try and get a pcb if there is one on offer. Thanks for your help Obg and Adrian.
Bluebell65 wrote:Adrian C they were nightbreaker bulbs which i had read were ok to use.
Still 55/50w? Or "uprated" 75/70w or even 100/80w? I chucked a set of 100/80s in my old Cit CX GTi years ago, without upgrading the wiring to relays. I was very lucky. They only melted the switch, and I managed to get the last new switch in the country...
But if they were still the same 55/50w as "normal" H4s, then I don't think you can blame the bulbs.
I didnt realise you could get different wattages of this bulb. They were actually nightbreaker plus so must have been too high for the job. I have the new wiring run for the H/light upgrade but want to be triple sure im cutting into the right wires before i go any further. Ive found the thick white wire coming from the indicator stalk but i cant find a thick yellow one. I only have a thick yellow black wire coming from the stalk so im reading and re reading everything about upgrading Im also now thinking i will replace the thin blue white wire going to the warning lamp just in case. Im glad you were lucky with the switch when it happened to you. I have learned so many things now but im sure i will learn a lot more as the proud ( and a bit daft lol) owner of my van.
Bluebell65 wrote:I didnt realise you could get different wattages of this bulb.
Quick google finds them as 60/55w. So a tidge more power, but it all must've been pretty damn borderline to go quite so pearshaped with just that difference.
I'm very happy that ours has factory square lights, so factory relays...
Lol ( My middle name is lucky) I had only switched them on for 2 or 3 minutes before smelling a oooorible burning plastic smell coming from the dash and damage done. Looking on the bright side ( pardon the pun!!) i now know how to wire up leds to the dash and am getting on first name terms with a pcb so all is not lost
Wee update. Any ideas please??. Checked the blue white wire running direct from pos 5 on fuse box to pos 4 of dash 14 point terminal. According to Bently this is the + feed to the headlight warning bulb. I dont get any voltage reading at terminal or fuse box. As per Haynes pos 5 is for left hand main beam and main beam warning light. Can anyone explain how the fuse box works. I dont understand how the blue white wire can be a + feed without voltage. My knowledge of electrical circuits is 0 so if anyone can enlighten me on this i would be very grateful as i dont know what to try next. Thank you. In the meantime im off to try and trace an oil switch wire in the engine bay. ( sick of the sight of the dash so it will be a nice change lol )
Whoohoo!! Figured it out. Anyone else with this problem. to test the voltage at left main beam and warning lamp pos 5 on early fuse box you need to switch both ignition and headlight switch on. Sometimes its easy to miss the easy things lol. I only got a reading of 10.41 and 10.58 at fuse box so still a bit confused
blowing the switch and damaging track 2 and 3 of the pcb which were mainly for the dash lights. I cut the damaged tracks off and wired in some leds seperately to the dash solving that problem. I replaced the h/l switch and put old bulbs back in giving me light again and am in the process of putting relays in (which i should have done in the first place 
) to upgrade the H/Lights. The two issues i have are. No 1) When i switch ignition on the headlight warning lamp comes on, the red temperature light flashes constantly and the temp guage needle shoots all the way over to the right withing a minute. When i switch the actual headlights on both the above lights go out and the needle hops about going down and up the guage from bottom to top. I noticed on my pcb that there was an internal link between track 2 and 5. Is it a good idea to bridge this link with a piece of wire even although track two is now gone? Also after reading all i could find on here im thinking maybe the voltage regulator is the culprit for this madness so my very nice postman has just delivered me a replacement is it worth trying to install this? No 2) The radiator fan has not been kicking in even in traffic. I have bridged the wires and confirmed the fan is working. Is it a good idea to replace the rad switch at the moment or assume the van is not running hot and not needing the fan. Im reluctant to change this switch just now until i get the temp guage sorted again. Is this me being stupid again 
Sorry for the mega long post but if anyone can help i would be very grateful . Thanks 
Add insult to injury its a VAUXHALL!!! 
