Date:         Thu, 30 Mar 2000 15:55:46 GMT
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Have you worked on a headlight switch?
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Volks -

The headlights on my '87 Westy stopped working.  I can flash the high beams
with the stalk, but lows don't work at all.  The fuses are OK.  Thw switch
feels fine

I checked the archives and found that the headlight switch and ignition
switch are the two most likely sources of the problem, so I pulled the
headlight switch and jumped across the connections.  With jumper wires in
place, the lights work.  Interestingly enough, they work even with the
ignition off.  Previously, when I turned the ignition off, the parking
lights stayed on, but the headlights turned off.  There must be something
else going on that I'm not aware of.

At any rate, on the back of the switch are six pins, four small, two large,
like this -

            a                     E


            b        c            F

                     d

Looks like a and b is where power comes in, c is for the parking lights, d
is for the rheostat, and the large pins E and F are for the headlights.

With the switch off, a - c or a - E does not have continuity.  With the
switch in the middle position, a - c has continuity but not a - E.  In the
left (all on) position a - c works, and a - E is still dead.   That's what I
expected to see if the switch was defective.

There were postings about fixing the switch and it looked like it had been
taken apart before, so I pulled the back off, expecting to see problems.
Everything looks good!  One of the headlight contacts was a bit dirty, so I
cleaned it and reassembled, but still had the same results.

Am I overlooking something?  Should I just spend the $50 and buy a new
switch?

- Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow, ID
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