Sidelights and additional light bleed

[JonB]

On my van with square headlights if I have the ignition on / engine running when I put the sidelights on I also get a dim glow from the driving lights as well. With ignition off and sidelights on I don't get the issue. Now I'm assuming this could be some kind of earth issue so I had all the wires of the earth crown behind the fuse box and gave them a light rub with emery paper and a spark plug brush. Unfortunately its not fixed the issue as I'd hoped.

Any ideas, other than taking the grill out and cleaning up all the contacts I can find? Could it be something in the switch on the dashboard?

[cassandra]

Hi, this could be the 'dim-dip' system that most vehicles had at one time. The system used an electronic relay or possibly even just a resistor to make the dip headlight glow when the side lights were on and the engine running. The idea was to ensure you had some light if the side light bulb failed. It was very common in the mid 80s but has since been abandoned as a waste of time but there are some vehicles out there that still have it. I have seen something on here about a resistor behind the grille that was part of the system so take your lights out and have a look.

Hope this helps.

[JonB]

That's really helped, thanks.

So I've been trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist

[bigherb]

That's really helped, thanks.

So I've been trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist

Yes
It was a system designed to stop people driving in urban areas on just sidelights and getting lost in a sea of lighting without the full glare of having the headlights on, it did actually work quite well.