Club 80-90 Forums

Good morning, last night on way home from London I lost my headlights, my wipers and also my heater blower. I got home on side lights and when there was no traffic by holding my main beam stalk back I was able to use all of the above to travel 'safely' back home. Being a good soldier I checked the earth crowns x2 as guided by the 'sticky' and sure enough they were corroded. I've cleaned them with my trusty wire brush and then re-assembled them but it appears not to have cleared the fault. I also tried bridging one crown to the other just incase but to no avail. I also checked the two thick red wires into the fuse board but these also seemed to be okay. I taken the day out to see if I can clear the problem myself but I'm at a loss now. Can anyone offer any further ideas to check out as I need my bus back on the road asap for work. Cheers Rob

Might be stating the obvious here but have you checked the fuse/fuses?

Hi Steve, in truth I haven't as I assumed that as according to my Haynes mate ,they have seperate fuses and also that they liven up via the main beam stalk but thanks I'm going outside to do that now, regards Rob

Here's a list of the fuses....yours is the later layout.
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/vehiclespec ... /fuses.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for that Steve, fuses seem to be intact. Rob

Must be an earth fault somewhere then for them all to go at once.

Check any earths that go to the body...near to/behind the fuse box.

Check the battery earth to the body as well.

If all that fails it could well be an iffy ignition switch?

Turn the ignition on and move the key up and down in the lock and see if anything works?

Sounds like the usual problem with the X-Relay circuit (load-reduction circuit).
In your case (as the headlights don't work also) - it's either the ignition switch not working or the Black/Yellow wire that runs from the ignition switch to the headlight switch is broken/corroded/knackered.
With the ignition on, there should be 12v on that black/yellow wire?

I've cleared the paint off under the earth crowns now and it's made absolutely no difference. I've even run a new earth from the crowns to the body of the bus. I've run out of ideas forelorn Rob

Hi Mid life, Typical Bagshots where my site is.. I'll try checking the black yellow cables, I assume that they go back to the fuse board? The relay that you mention might be near the mark as prior to the failure when the lights etal went phutt there was a lot of clicking taking place [3secs] at the fuseboard, now nothing when energising. Cheers Rob

Black/yellow cable should run from the ignition switch to the light switch (so probably not via the fuse area).
To be honest the problem is most likely to be your ignition switch but .....
If you yank the top of the gauge cluster off you should be able to see the black/yellow cable going into the light switch - can you get a multimeter to it to check for 12v (have you got a multimeter?)

Also a test that might help to prove that this is the problem - with the ignition on, put the headlight switch on full, then pull the stalk to flash the high-beams - you should hear a relay click?? That is the relay that I am talking about. (The relay should have clicked when you turned the ignition on, but it didn't because of your fault; turning the headlight switch on, then pulling the high-beam is a 'cheat' to get power to that relay! But proves that all of that circuit is working correctly except for the power on that black/yellow wire)

With the high-beam held on (and the headlight switch on), the wipers and heater fan should now also work (but will stop working once you release the high-beam).

If the above all works then the problem is definitely between the ignition switch and the headlight switch (i.e. that black/yellow cable) or it is the ignition switch itself not providing power to that black/yellow cable.

Checked the ignition switch for movement seems fairly tight, unable to get a voltage reading as my multimeter has decided to stop working. Can't find an X relay anywhere other than mentioned for the fitting of electric seats. Am I having a blonde moment? Regards Rob

Further to your reply Mid Life, Yes, when holding high beam stalk in on position the lights, wipers and heater do work , I did mention this in the opener but got missed in the rest of my rambling on. as stated mate my multimeter has died but as you asked there is no clicking from the relay when under load. Just want to say mate thanks for the guidance 'cos at least I've got the bugger worried now. Regards Rob

Ah yes - completely missed that in your original post - well, if everything works with the high-beam pulled then the relay must be working so that's all good.
So, the only place the problem can be is either at the ignition switch or at the wiring between the ignition switch and the headlight switch.
Good luck ..... the safe money has to be on the ignition switch giving up the ghost!
If you happen to be in Bagshot with the van anytime soon, pop in for a cuppa and we can stick a multimeter on it!

You're a star mate thanks again for your help and a big 10-4 on the cuppa. Regards Rob