16 replies to this topic

[johnnysti]

Hi

I got in the car to go the 35 miles home after work tonight and found the my dip (h4 bulb) wouldnt work, only on full beam. I reved the engine and still no good. The side lights(which are now woking halos) worked fine.

So i drove the first ten miles with my full beams on testing, when safe, to see if the main bulb was working and then it eventually did. After that twice in the space of half an hour they would flicker. Its not a loose wire becausethey wouldnt flicker when i went over bumpy bits or smooth bits.

I did notice that it had been flickering on sunday evening so i know its not any of the messing about i did yesterday with the halos. Also currently the normal side light bulbs have been removed and the holders put back in the lamp to seal it.

Also sometimes in the past i have noticed that going from side lights to normal beam, there can be a gap of about 5 seconds before the normal beam comes on.

Please help as the wife is using the car tomorrow and i dont want it to happen to her.

Johnny

[minidaves]

switch faulty iffy earths doddgy connections

dave

[miniOwnerGetMeOutaHere]

The normal fault is the bullet connector behind the radiator grill

Although I have never worked out why it happens, I think that if the headlights have a faulty earth, then this causes the main beam relay to latch on for a short period

I would disconnect the bullets, give them a good soaking in wd40 ( or a good contact cleaner if you have them and then reconnect

[johnnysti]

Where abouts are the bullets?

Johnny

[Dan]

There is no main beam relay.

The bullets are behind the radiator grille, under the slam panel roughly in the centre. This is probably the problem unless you have a very late car as the electrical system is different on these.

But it could be a dodgy switch or the connector for the switch under the steering column.

[johnnysti]

I know this will sound stupid but does someone have a pic of the bullet things in situ as i dont know what the hell im looking for!!

Thanks everyone

Johnny

[ian]

your looking for a rubber/plastic connector with a wire in each end, look behind the headlight and run your hand along the wires toward the top of the grill you should find them there. tucked up under the slam panel, the bit the bonnet locks onto.
hope that helps

[johnnysti]

Right i will give it a go tomorrow. A cloth and some wd40 should do it?

Johnny

[Neilos]

your headlights are wired in series. If you follow your haynes manual wiring diagram its easy as pie. There are connectors about half way between both lights, if there is dirt in them, you get all sorts of wierd things happening with your lights. Mine went all funny, 1 went dim when i flicked mauin beam on, then would work fine. Get some sand paper or a file and get the connectors clean. Using WD40 should keep moisture away of, thats what i used. Also check earth connections and connections on the back of your lights as its always worthwile to do this as usually you will fix 1 thing, and another will occur.

[Dan]

Your headlamps are wired in parallel.

The bullet is a small round connector on the end of a wire. These are joined together with steel tubes wrapped in plastic insulation. There is a set of bullets for each function of the headlamps (side, dip, main and earth) clustered together. Each connector will have three bulleted wires fitted to it, one for supply from the switch and one to feed each lamp. Pull the bullets out of the connectors and clean them up before re-fitting. Make sure you re-fit them properly, they should lock firmly into position with a click. Or (and this makes more sense as the bullets will probably snap off of the wires when you tug on them) you can buy new tubes and pre-insulated bullets for crimping from Halfords and replace the whole lot. You could even get some non insulated bullets and the proper tool from somewhere like Vehicle Wiring Products if you want to do a nice job of it. That way you will have the tools and stuff in case you ever need to repair the wiring again. It really is easy, just make sure that all three wires of each colour are properly joined together in four groups.

[johnnysti]

Right

Just got home in one piece!!!!

While i was at work today i cleaned all the bullet things and the lights still arnt working!!!!!!

Drove the whole 40 miles home on full beam but noone flashed me or anything. Also 3/4 the way home the indicators stopped working.

Last time i drove i had no problems with the indicators and the lights went back to normal 10 miles into the same journey.

What is going on

Johnny

[johnnysti]

The car hasnt been used since last night when the lights wouldnt work and the wife got in it today and all worked fine. If there is an earth problem, wouldnt it it be a continuous problem? If its a loose wire/connection wouldnt it have occured on my 35-40 trip home many times?

Johnny

[Jackman]

I had that problem on mine, fuse box was rusty itself so the contacts was poor.

[johnnysti]

i got some sand paper today to sort all the earth points out and any other bits that may be corroded. still trying to locate the fuse box!!!!

Johnny

[Jackman]

Your fuse box is AWOL... humm wonder if it has a custom wiring loom, its normally on the bulkhead next to the clutch master.