Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 15:47:31 +0000
Reply-To: Bill Shawley <easywind1975@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Shawley <easywind1975@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Arrgh.. Headlights out on 86 FIXED
In-Reply-To: <vanagon%2008052522185737@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
Just a followup for the archives;
86 Westy w/ headlight relay upgrade
Symptoms
Sudden outage of headlights
Fuses OK
Hi beams do not light, indicator bulb does
Actions
(with key in on position! I didn't know this at first)
Replaced light rocker switch with known good swith (no change)
Alternately check for power at X terminal on switch and terminal 56 with switch engaged (aok)
Pulled headlights and checked for power at connector plugs (had power)
Measured resistance between brown wire ground at headlight connector and body (measured infinite)
Spliced ground wire from each headlight connector (R and L) and ran to mounting screw of each bucket
Headlights work!
I'll clean the array of grounds behind fuse box at my leisure and that'll be my first suspect if I have anymore electrical gremlins. Thanks for all the help, I probably wouldn't nailed with just an archive search had I known to have the key in the on position when testing.
Ryan
> Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 22:10:35 -0400> From: mulligan_kevin@YAHOO.COM> Subject: Re: Arrgh.. Headlights out on 86> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> > Sounds as if you've checked already but it could be that the factory> ground is faulty. IIRC, the factory ground for the headlamps merges both> high and low beam ground wires into a single spade terminal at the> grounding post above the fuse box (via a double-male to single female> connector or some such). My memor is hazy, but I believe there are only> one or two setups like this at the ground connection, so it shouldn't be> too hard to locate and test.> > If a headlight upgrade was performed, that may mean that a relay was> installed. Some upgrades use a single relay for both high and low beam. If> this was done in your case, it's possible that the relay is faulty or lost> its ground, hence both high and low beams now inoperable.> > Look for a relay near the fuse box with blue, yellow, red and either brown> or black wire connected to it. The problem may be the power circuit on the> relay (input or output, usually terminals 30 or 87, or the ground for the> switching circuit on the relay (usually terminal 85). Good luck!> > - Kevin
_________________________________________________________________
Give to a good cause with every e-mail. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft.
http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?souce=EML_WL_ GoodCause | 
