Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 10:32:43 -0400
Reply-To: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Subject: headlight switch mystery, help! (plus: Daytime running lights!)
Content-Type: text/plain
Leif -
It's most likely your headlight switch! The *exact* same thing happened to
me last winter - driving home from a climbing trip at Mt. Washington holding
in the turn signal / high-beam stalk the whole way home. The switch failed
intermittently at first, then for good. The switch itself would have been
something like $50 from my local dealer - I managed to find a used one for
$10. BTW, the switch blew out because I lost my mind and somehow thought
replacing the stock high-beam bulbs with 100W bulbs wouldn't impact
anything. Duh!
Before I could get the switch, though, I was able to get my headlights back.
FIRST, I put the old bulbs back in. Then I removed the headlight switch and
shorted (bridged) the two large contacts on the back of the switch. The
switch has quite a few contacts - all are tiny except the two BIG ones -
easy to identify. Voila! Daytime running lights! Your headlights come on
when you switch on the ignition and go off when you shut it off. High beams
function as before.
My "shorting" procedure is probably not a recommended one - I'm sure there
are plenty of ways to do it, but suffice it to say that it involved a very
short piece of copper wire and that I was able to re-install the switch into
the instrument panel. I drove around like that for weeks without problems,
and in fact only replaced the switch because I think daytime running lights
are pretty annoying. (Until everyone has them, no one should use them - just
imagine a line of approaching cars - say 20 of them... 19 have daytime
running lights on, 1 doesn't - do you think you'll notice the one with no
lights? Maybe. It seems like a highly self-preservational act - we aren't
individuals - like it or not we are members of a group (humanity, society,
whatever) and we must do -or not do - some things solely with others in
mind. But I digress...) Some people share different opinions on this, and if
you are one of them, that's fine - you might not have to replace your switch
at all!
Note that this info applies to my '90 syncro and may be different for your
vehicle. Hope this helps you out.
Doug Fitz-Randolph
Yarmouth, ME
dfrandolph@talkam.net
'90 Syncro
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