Date:         Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:46:24 -0400
Reply-To:     Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Instrument lights solved
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Hi folks,

        Some time ago I mentioned that my instrument lights were not working. 

        They are now working. 

Here is the winding path I went to reach success.

First, with a friend we checked the fuses and all were good. 
Then I tried a different headlight switch that a friend sent me. 
No change. 

A few days later I received a few parts in the mail including some new bulbs. 

A VW friend was staying over and the next day he investigated with his volt meter, and the Bentley.

        We found the bulbs were good, but replaced them anyway. 
We found continuity  from the connector and so on. 

Finally he traced the connection to the fuse and found, in fact the fuse was bad. 

The first friend had checked for me the main fuses, but this dimmer was connected to a spade fuse above and to the right.  I remember now that there were fuses there, one was for the rear heater fan. 

This fuse was also powering the back light for the VDO gauges.

We replaced the fuse and the instrument lights came on. 

I wish I had remembered that extra fuse area but didn’t think that dimmer would be somewhere other then the main fuse area. 

So, I’m sharing the solution in case it helps others. 

This was on my 85. 

Muy 84 did not have that fuse, so the dimmer must be in a different fuse spot.

Eric Caron