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No Full Beam?! Please Help :(

electrical

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#1 MRFINCH

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 04:16 PM

Hi Folks,

 

So a while back my full beam stopped working, the blue light on the dash came on but when I selected it the headlights turned off and all I had were side lights.

 

While looking for the problem I found a free full beam wire near the slam panel (presumably from previously fitted spot lamps), I connected it up to the full beam wires and voila they came on, however the next time I did this I got nothing, not even a dash light now!

 

I assumed id blown a fuse but looked in the main fuse box, the inline fuses under the bonnet and the few behind the dash and they are all in tact. The bulb behind the dash is also fine.

 

Now im very puzzled and not really sure where to go next, hope somebody can help point me in the right direction!

 

Also while im here, what wires should be coming out of the headlight switch? I have a mysterious red and white one which leads nowhere...

 

Cheers, Sam



#2 sledgehammer

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 04:55 PM

I would check the bullet connectors behind the slam panel

 

there should be 4 connectors under there

 

they are prone to corrosion

 

also check the connections on the stalk terminal , they push out the terminal block



#3 Ethel

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 04:57 PM

What year Mini, does the headlight flasher work?



#4 KernowCooper

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 11:08 PM

This should answer all your questions a post I put in the FAQs Electrical, it has all the wiring colours and how to fault trace the circuit http://www.theminifo...-blade-fusebox/



#5 cal844

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Posted 08 January 2017 - 11:20 PM

If the inline fuses behind the speedo binnacle melt it causes a poor connection. Best to cut the white plastic part out and fit crimp spade terminals and inline fuse holders... you can get the blade type holders with spade terminals on either end, you'll need 4 holders, 4 fuses and 8 connectors(with suitable crimps)

#6 KernowCooper

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Posted 09 January 2017 - 09:37 AM

And if you fit blades instead of the glass fuses adjust the fuse rating to suit as blade and glass are different ratings, see the article in the FAQs Electrical about it. There won't be any fuses in that location for the Headlights as they are unfused.



#7 cal844

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Posted 09 January 2017 - 04:47 PM

And if you fit blades instead of the glass fuses adjust the fuse rating to suit as blade and glass are different ratings, see the article in the FAQs Electrical about it. There won't be any fuses in that location for the Headlights as they are unfused.


There are fuses behind the speedo binnacle on my 1993 carb car(and my dads 1993 Italian job)

#8 CityEPete

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Posted 09 January 2017 - 07:23 PM

And if you fit blades instead of the glass fuses adjust the fuse rating to suit as blade and glass are different ratings, see the article in the FAQs Electrical about it. There won't be any fuses in that location for the Headlights as they are unfused.


There are fuses behind the speedo binnacle on my 1993 carb car(and my dads 1993 Italian job)

Not for the headlights there isn't.

#9 KernowCooper

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Posted 09 January 2017 - 09:55 PM

As said above by CityEPete unless you have a later car then the headlights are not fused, its the later 24 blade type fuse boxes in the drivers footwell which are fused



#10 cal844

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 12:50 PM

And if you fit blades instead of the glass fuses adjust the fuse rating to suit as blade and glass are different ratings, see the article in the FAQs Electrical about it. There won't be any fuses in that location for the Headlights as they are unfused.

There are fuses behind the speedo binnacle on my 1993 carb car(and my dads 1993 Italian job)
Not for the headlights there isn't.
they are blue/red and blue/white, I can prove this with ease lads

#11 tiger99

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 01:26 PM

There is NEVER a single fuse controlling both main beams or a single fuse controlling both dips. A modern 4 headlight car may be the exception because the dips are on with the mains, which can be single fused, but not a Mini. So you have 4 fuses or none. And failure of 1 fuse takes out one main or one dip only.

If both mains don't work and both dips do, the fault is in the stalk or the blue-white which I think has already been suggested.

But peas check the bulbs again. I know you will have done that, but it is not uncommon to have two fail. To prove the bulbs and localise the fault,just swap the incoming blue-white and blue-red behind the slam panel and check that you now have two working mains and no dips. That is, if yours has no headlight fuses.

Edited by tiger99, 10 January 2017 - 01:27 PM.


#12 KernowCooper

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 09:22 PM

If you have fuses with Blue/white (Main) and Blue/red (Dip) thats a odd loom you have Cal, so if you take the fuses out do the headlight Dip/Main still work ? I've not seen one nor do any of the factory wiring manuals per year show those fuses. Odd indeed, I'm not doubting you but how they got these is a mystery.I'm interested to see what happens to the headlights if you take the fuses out? You should not really have 1 fuse controlling 2 lights, and a secondary note if they do indeed control the lights is the wire the same gauge? if so you have double the amps on the small gauge wire, what size fuse is in the holders.

 

When you take the fuses out do the connectors look factory crimped or soldered ?

 

Wonder if earlier in life they were fitted by a previous owner as the feeds for a fog/driving light relays?


Edited by KernowCooper, 10 January 2017 - 09:25 PM.


#13 CityEPete

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 10:42 PM

And if you fit blades instead of the glass fuses adjust the fuse rating to suit as blade and glass are different ratings, see the article in the FAQs Electrical about it. There won't be any fuses in that location for the Headlights as they are unfused.

There are fuses behind the speedo binnacle on my 1993 carb car(and my dads 1993 Italian job)
Not for the headlights there isn't.
they are blue/red and blue/white, I can prove this with ease lads
The fuses behind the binacle are normally for the radio and other things added as the years went by, if you have fuses inline with your head lights they need investigating/removing asap, unless you have a wire for each dipped and each main running from the bundle of fuses with a fuse for each filament (basically what the mpi has) all the way to the individual light fittings then it's really dangerous, imagine what's going to happen when a lamp blows which will almost certainly blow the fuse taking both front lights out instantly?


The chances of you owning two cars with factory fuses behind the binacle for the head lights is imo slim to nil.

Edited by CityEPete, 10 January 2017 - 10:46 PM.


#14 minifreek1

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 08:11 AM

Id check the fuses behind the dashboard again, even replace them with new - no matter if they look OK or not...

 

I had the same problem myself, it turned out to be 1 of the fuses behind the dashboard...



#15 cal844

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 10:22 AM

If you have fuses with Blue/white (Main) and Blue/red (Dip) thats a odd loom you have Cal, so if you take the fuses out do the headlight Dip/Main still work ? I've not seen one nor do any of the factory wiring manuals per year show those fuses. Odd indeed, I'm not doubting you but how they got these is a mystery.I'm interested to see what happens to the headlights if you take the fuses out? You should not really have 1 fuse controlling 2 lights, and a secondary note if they do indeed control the lights is the wire the same gauge? if so you have double the amps on the small gauge wire, what size fuse is in the holders.
 
When you take the fuses out do the connectors look factory crimped or soldered ?
 
Wonder if earlier in life they were fitted by a previous owner as the feeds for a fog/driving light relays?


The original glass type inline fuses fitted in the location mentioned are factory style, on both looms too





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