lights! camera! forum!

[edoh]

ok -
uno -

several odd little 'lighting issues' with the van -

indicators kept going slow - then speeding up again -
checked the fuse and fuse holder - both fine - changed the relay -
still kept slowing down and speeding up -
took off rear lightbox - and found weird black grey gunk at the bottom of the bulb -

cleaned out all the metal strip the bulb sits on - and changed to new bulb -
convinced this would cure the intermittent speed on indicator -
it did!
however.....
when i now turn ignition on - the green indicator light seems to glow dimly in the background which it wasnt doing before -

working at the right speed -and still glowing brightly when indicator turned on -

just seems to glow dimly in the background...
any ideas?
could it have been effected by the new relay i installed? the bulb i changed?

all ideas welcome -

dos -

are rear fog lights part of an mot test (rhd water cooled hi top 1990 dg engine campervan) -
i ask - because even though i have the switch - and the bulb they dont actually work -
might be the right weather to prompt me to sort them out!
2 way switch (i only have the rear fogs) -

the little light on the side of the switch comes on when clicked up to the 2nd position -

however - thats all it does!
there is a loose wire at the back of the switch -

any idea where this plugs into?
i'm hoping plugging that wire into the right connector - and changing the bulb in the rear cluster -
might bring the fogs back to life -
if they dont - where else should i be looking?
the rear light works fine -

are the fog lights the ones above the rear?
what are all the other lights for? (i dont have a reverse gear light) -

trez -

its cold its wet its foggy -
dreams of a spanish campervan holiday start to take shape......

if it really does start to look likely - how do i blank off my lights to 'go european'?
(and will i need a haircut?)
i've got the square headlights with the seperate main beam -

from the front of the van - that would be the headlamps on the left of the van -
would the bit i need to blank off for europe be on this left square?

conversely - on the right headlamp - is this the square i would need to blank off?

does the main smaller beam headlamp remain untouched? - or is that the one that needs masking off -

indicators - rear fogs - spanish dreams -

any help with any of these would be muchly appreciated -

your humble unknowing fumbling trying to make sense of it all amateur .... etc etc.....

[windysurfer]

info on headlight masking
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... adlamp.htm

Check the earth crown behind the glovebox for your other electrical gremilins

[edoh]

will do
thanks for the contact and the quick response -
do you (or others) -
know of the mot position regarding rear fog lights?

[andisnewsyncro]

do you (or others) -
know of the mot position regarding rear fog lights?

You have to have a working offside or central rear fog light for MOT.

Your van should have the right rear bulb holder and it must have worked for previous MOTs so fingers crossed it's nothing too hard to fix. At least the tell-tale light on the switch is working, which is a fail in itself, and can be a right b****r to sort! Get the multimeter out, check continuity & power at the bulb holder, etc, etc.
Good luck

[edoh]

Wiil do. Thanks so much for your response.
I know what I'm doing today!...

[edoh]

on the european driving question -
sorry to be a div -
i can see where to blank off the right hand headlamp -

is it in exactly the same place on the left hand side?
cheers

[SyncroSwede]

When I drove through France this year I did the same as you with some black tape. It looked terrible and made the beam pattern useless. The reason I went for the tape was the stupid price for the correct silver backed jobbies in Halfrauds. £13 odd if I recall.

When on the ferry I was poking around the shop as you do and saw the same stickers for £7! They came with great instructions (I have the same lights as you) and deflected the light in such a way as to make night driving not hideously scary! My recommendation is to be prepared to bodge it with tape but look out for the proper stickers.

[ajsimmo]

Brickwerks, £3 a pair.

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... d=stickers

[SyncroSwede]

Here are the rear lights on mine. I know the internal bulb mount was changed when it was imported (LHD) so the fogs may be more than standard. But they are the inboard ones.



As for the light weirdness, check your grounds as said above.

[edoh]

thanks all for the useful info -
the indicator light was a dodgy relay - sorted -
the rear fogs are going to take a little more investigation - the loose wire wasnt the fault -
crown of earths clean up - next week -

anybody got a photo or a bit of advice of how the headlamps should look on our vans when we're in europe?

from the front of the van - that would be the headlamps on the left of the van -
would the bit i need to blank off for europe be on this left square?

i've got the brickwerks photo for the rh headlamp - just not sure about the left -

thanks again -

[andisnewsyncro]

would the bit i need to blank off for europe be on this left square?

i've got the brickwerks photo for the rh headlamp - just not sure about the left -

thanks again -

That's the bit

[edoh]

cheers matey!



one of the issues sorted!

cleaned up the earth crowns - and the multi plug 14 pin connector -
changed all the bulbs -

side lights - and indicator - and main beam - all fine -
now i dont have brake lights!

any ideas where to look?

i just want to make sure i've put all the bulbs back in the right places for starters -

in the photo below - thats my rh rear cluster -
the light that is lit is the side light -

above the side light is reverse? - (if i had reverse!) -
to the right of the side light is the fog light ? - (if i had fog lights!)
top right is the indicator -
to the left of the side light - is the stop/tail light?



please can someone confirm - yea or nay?

be ruddy helpful -

thank you people -

[SyncroSwede]

The light you have on is the dual brake/sidelight. Hard to tell from your pic if it is bright or dim. I always thought the sidelights a bit feeble on these vehicles but the brake lights are a lot brighter.

[edoh]

perfectos!
just what i was looking for!
thanks so much for your kind information -

[edoh]

on my van - a la your picture -
exactly the same lay out as you -
my left hand bulb holding bracket does not have a place/electrical connection for a bulb for the fog light -
although it has an electrical connection for a fog light bulb on the right hand side -
they are both ula (not hella) tail lamps -
and are the 20 year old originals -
hope to get them sorted on thursday - just in time for the BRRRRRRRRR ker ker cold freezing weather coming in -

as andisnewsynchro commented -
'edoh wrote:
do you (or others) -
know of the mot position regarding rear fog lights?'

'You have to have a working offside or central rear fog light for MOT.

Your van should have the right rear bulb holder and it must have worked for previous MOTs so fingers crossed it's nothing too hard to fix. At least the tell-tale light on the switch is working, which is a fail in itself, and can be a right b****r to sort! Get the multimeter out, check continuity & power at the bulb holder, etc, etc.
Good luck

thanks again so much for everyone who has made my repair doable - armed with good information and other peoples shared knowledge and experience -
a massive thumbs up to you all -