Club 80-90 Forums

Hi All,

Just finished changing the blower motor and have been trying to put the speedo etc back on. Only now the headlights don't work and if I switch the main headlight switch on it makes the ignition live even without the key in. The headlights still don't work though - sidelights worked briefly but nothing anymore.

Indicators/wipers etc and hazards/rear windscreen heater/rear lights all working fine too.

Is it likely to be an earthing problem? Which earth is the first to check? Or am I right to assume it isn't an earth problem if the circuit's live all of the time that the lights are on?

Or is the switch broken? Would be a bit of a coincidence if that was the case.

Any advice welcomed thanks!

Phil

Make sure the ignition switch connection is pushed on correctly. The main beam circuit is always live regardless of ignition key position but could feed back through if the correct headlight/main beam combination was set and ignition switch connection was wrong.
Check earths as well though, left of fuse box. May have accidently pulled a connector off.

Thanks Mark,

Will go and check now...

Phil

No joy there I'm afraid - all seems to be connected correctly. Any other ideas gratefully received..... Can't understand it myself.

Make sure you've not missed any earths off switches. Theres a few tiny ones and they all make a difference. Its not uncommon to have a few probs after a dash refit (if it makes you feel any better) nearly always poor or forgotten earths though.

Will do tomorrow thanks mate.

Hi,

As said, removing the dash can lead to electrical problems, usually simple but can be a pain to find.....

It is well worth cleaning up the earth crowns as problems come for here eventually. I was also amazed at what came back to life/was no longer temperamental after I did mine.

If you have a Haynes study the wiring diagram for a few evenings (good at sending you to sleep ) and work out which of the switches you have moved have earth connections separate from the big white plugs (should not be many) and check those first. Also check all the wires in each white plug block are okay (not brittle and broken or not disconnected) and that all the electrical contacts are clean.

If still no joy then more studying of the wiring diagram and a multimeter to see what's going on.

You will get there....I did with mine. It can just be rather frustrating on the way Hours to find the problem and 10 seconds to fix...

Keep posting and good luck!

Tom.

A lot of dash earthing problems come down to those blinking muti earth points under the dash, they seem to get damp and corroded under there and 10 minutes pulling off the connectors and cleaning up with some abrasive paper plus a shot of wd 40 works wonders

Thanks fellas for the advice - I guess that's another saturday spent lying on the floor of my cab looking upwards!

Wish the evenings were still longer! Will let you know how I get on...

Phil

There are two bus feeds behind the dashboard - 30 and 15 (non ignition and ignition). There is also the X-load relay which shunts these together to reduce the load on the ignition switch when the lights are operated IIRC- I need to check the schematic to be precise but this does not sound like an earth fault. The hazard warning switch also has both 30 and 31 bus feeds which, if shunted together, will set ignition to 'on'. I would disconnect the light switch and the emergency flasher switch and check that these have the correct multiconnector blocks fitted on the rear. See how you get on but it certainly looks as though you have connected something incorrectly. What year is your van?

Angelo is the dash king Phil, so follow his advice

His sig says "1985 Poo Brown Westy pop-top" Angelo.

Hi guys... Thanks for the advice. I'm certain it's my bad workmanship that's causing it! I have a light White/ see through connector with 3 parallel pins and I can't remember what it plugs onto as well! The main earth crowns look good. I'll have another play tomorrow evening to try to fix and let you know the results!

Still at it.... I've now got it so that the ignition becomes live when I hold main beam on - lights still not working though. Power seems to remain on until there's an audible relay click and then it turns off again, or you let go of the main beam lever.

Earth crowns are all fine, although a couple of the crowns don't appear to ever have had an earth on them.

Where are bus feeds 30 and 31 exactly? Does anyone know? I have been looking underneath but can't see them.

I have made sure all of the connections are good and there are no longer any earths disconnected only the stereo wiring remains.

I don't think it could be the hazard switch as I haven't disconnected it at all.

Thanks for the advice!

My mistake and corrected, busses 30 and 15 (not 31 = Earth Bus) are the two distribution feeds comprising of many wires and not a particular wire that you look for. The battery feeds to the fusebox and from there to other non ignition equipment such as hazards, side lights, etc, which work without the ignition being switched on - this is referred to as Bus 30 in the wiring diagram. You also have a bus 30 connection to your Ignition switch. When you switch the ignition on you then provide voltage to all the other equipment that only works with ignition on. Anything wired after the ignition switch is referred to as Bus 15 in the wiring digram. Bus 15 should only be active with the ignition on.

The lighting takes a feed from both bus 30 and from bus 15 and it seems, from your description, that somehow you are connecting these two busses together when you operate the headlight flasher and the ignition circuit becomes live. It could be that you have a wiring error that feeds the headlamp flasher at the steering column loom but I will have a look at the schematic later and see if I can spot anything that may help you isolate the fault .

What is the position of the relay (in the fuebox) that you can hear clicking?

Angelo.... Thanks a lot for responding... It WAS a sticky relay (it seems)! I tested the indicators and started the engine and it all started working!

All sorted now (thank God!) - so I'm putting it all back together and leaving well alone for now!

Really appreciate all of the guidance and help from everyone fellas! Would have given up long ago and been a serious lump of cash down by now! I owe some beers to people if I ever manage to get to Vanfest!

Thanks again!

Phil