Date:         Sat, 9 Jun 2012 06:07:00 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Preliminary...Headlight weirdness? (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

  Last evening while returning from windsurfing (heading west into
30-gusting to 45mph winds) in the Columbia River Gorge, my headlights began
misbehaving. The wind really doesn't have anything to do with it, since
that is pretty normal for the Gorge Wind.  Just thought some might find
interest in how my particular van gets used...

  I have not yet this morning begun  electrical troubleshooting, one of my
'weak areas' when it comes to automotive skills.  84 vanagon.  I understand
the headlight switches are often 'problematic' and I do have a spare, so
I'm putting swapping in my spare switch near the top of my diagnostic
agenda.

   I have my axillary driving lights...2 KC daylighters...wired in to a
secondary  VW light switch (in the blank spot of the instrument cluster)
and that switch controls a relay to power those secondary lights..   This
secondary switch gets power only when the highbeams of the headlights are
on...so when driving  in  remote areas, I can switch on the driving lights
along with the highbeams and have them go off when I use the dimmer
stalk.   With me so far?   The relay main power (fused) to aux lights comes
directly from my axillary battery...

   So as I came home around dusk....about 8pm with clouds...my blue LED
highbeam indicator came on when I switched from parking lights to regular
headlights....Pulling on the stalk dimmer switch caused the blue LED to dim
slightly but didn't do the switching it should, I felt no "click" as the
stalk was pulled in, no feel of activation.......and my headlights weren't
working.   Parking lights do work, turnsignals do work, driving lights do
work when the secondary switch is turned on...

  I didn't find any blown fuses in a quick cursory check of the fuse panel.

  I did get a flashback from a passing trucker on  my way out east to
windsurf earlier in the day.   I use my highbeams sometimes to signal
passing trucks when they have their trailers past me in tight passing
situations...like real trucks do for each other...and I usually get an
'acknowledging' blink of the truck's lights after they complete the
pass...a "Thanks, Buddy" thing...I guess.  When I pulled into our barnyard,
I tried the 'flash the lamps' quick pull of the stalk and no lights...So
this new problem just happened (or showed itself) suddenly in one day.

  I am essentially lost when it comes to reading wiring diagrams and making
any sense of them...I am trying to get better with electricals, and I've
made some progress, but with a system that is moderately complex like
vanagon headlights/emergency flashers/dimmers/automatic shutoff of the main
headlights to parking lights, etc etc...I have no real hope of making
sense, given my current (sorry...) understanding  of the wiring diagrams or
using said electrical maps to help me get the lights back to working
order....

  I haven't been in the dash or messing with any wiring in a month or two,
so I don't think I screwed it up with ham-fisting.   I can operate my
digital electrical tester and I can use a test light effectively now.

   So, when it warms up a bit outside, I'll be going at this problem.  If
anyone has any tips or a suggested plan of attack, I could use any the help
I can get. Nothing is too basic to suggest to me.
   My preliminary plan is to re-check the fuses, then swap out the
headlight switch.   Then I plan on checking the headlight grounding and the
auxiliary light grounding...I think that can cause weird behavior.  From
there....I guess I will just start tracing wires with my test light and see
where it stops shooting electrons....I am pretty lost from that point.

   Suggestions?  Guesses?  Tips?    thanks,

  Don Hanson