Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all
Have search the forum now for a while and still no luck.
Main beam works fine but when i dip them the tell tell stays on and the full beam lamps are dimly lit.
This is drawing voltage from the others. I have cleaned up both light switch and main beam switch but no luck.
It's a square light model whitestar diesel. Another note when stripping the indicator stalk I cannot find how the white horse shoe bit of plastic goes back, lights will not stay fully on main beam unless held in position.
Thanks in advance jt

clean up the earth point for the lights on the A pillar

thanks
will check again but I renewed not so long ago for another problem

Pull the fuses for the hi-beam and see if the tell-tale is still lit?
If it is still lit then it's probably not the fault of the Headlight switch or the stalk (as pulling the fuses isolates these from the circuit)

Next try changing the gauge light illumination level (the little wheel thing under the headlight switch)
Does that alter the brightness of the tell-tale (and/or the hi-beam lights)?
If it does then the problem is probably with the ground wire coming out of the gauge panel on that long thin connector at the back. If that is not seeing a 'good' ground then you would get the problems you are seeing.

Basically the variable voltage supply (from the little wheel thingy) to the gauge illumination lights should ground through a wire in the connector at the back of the gauge cluster - if it can not then the 'power' will reroute itself through the tell-tale light, then through the hi-beam bulbs to get to ground - hence what you are seeing.

So the problem is either the ground point for that wire (not sure where it is ('behind dash' according to Bentley)), the wire itself is broken, the connector to the gauge cluster is faulty, or the ground track on the pcb in the gauge cluster is broken somewhere.

Thanks
I now have more to go on, will try and get out there today and have look
Jt

Just an update. I have checked the earth crown and all looks good gave it a clean anyway,
lights don't alter with the dimmer on the switch. one thing that was strange, turned lights on the another nigh
and the tell tell flashed and went out, checked main and that was out too. result I thought until 300 yards and tell reel came back on. a***,

I'd still go with it being that ground wire to the gauges - have you tried 'wiggling' (or disconnecting/connecting) the long connector on the back of the gauge cluster;
If the fault is intermittent then it could just need a bit of reseating.

you may be right as the copper strips are coming away but all other lights are working

update
bulb went on the deeped beam so changed it and my problem has been solved
why I don't know but hay now just need to find how the plastic horse
shoe fits back in the indicator stalk to keep main beam on and jobs a good en.
thanks for all the pointers
jt