Date:         Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:59:09 -0500
Reply-To:     Tom Stone <tstone8359@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Stone <tstone8359@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Headlights Out
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2011013017482596@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Had the same thing happen to me at a gas stop on a trip from IL to OH.  I pulled the switch off and used a paper clip to jumper the plug to get the lights on.  Worked fine until we switched drivers and my wife used the brights.  The paper clip lit up like a light bulb filament.  Her screams brought me to the front in a hurry.  She pulled off the road and I doubled the number of paper clips used for the jumper, swore off using the brights, and we finished the trip with no more excitement.  There are better materials with which to make a jumper, like a short piece of insulated 12 gauge wire, but none were available in the middle of Indiana at midnight.  I kept paper clips in the ash tray to use to set the clock.


Tom



-----Original Message-----
From: Werner Schink <werner.calnr@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 5:41 pm
Subject: Re: [VANAGON] Headlights Out


Hi John,

Same thing happened to me.  I bought my van in Portland and was driving it
back home to Sac at night and all of a sudden - no lights!  This was on I-5
in the middle of nowhere - about by Lake Shasta - hilly & curvy & cold.
Finally figured out the "stalk trick" and followed a semi into Redding.  It
was spooky.

I needed a new ignition switch.

Werner

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:15:23 -0600, John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:

>  New experience. Got in the van last night, turned on the headlights.
>Nothing! Dash lights OK, driving lights OK, brake lights OK. No head
>lights. No high beams, no low beams. BUT - if I hold the
>turn-signal/bright/dimm stalk in the 'back" position - i.e - towards the
>driver. ALL the headlights come on, but immediately go off when released.
>
>This is a new event to me. I checked the big connector at the right of
>the instrument cluster and it seems tight. Any one experienced this
>before? Have any ideas where to start looking for the trouble?
>
>Thanks,
>
>John
>
>--
>John Rodgers
>Clayartist and Moldmaker
>88'GL VW Bus Driver
>Chelsea, AL
>Http://www.moldhaus.com

 
=