10 replies to this topic

[georgegannon]

last night the headlights and the dashboard (speedo, engine temp gauge) lights on my 1990 mini city stopped working, i flicked them on, they worked, i flicked them off again buy accident, went to put them back on again and they wernt working!

im trying to find out whether or not it is simply the fuse thats gone, from what i understand they are on the same fuse, and this would make sense.. but at the same time, it could be the switch.
obviously im going to try the fuse fix first, but im not 100% certain which fuse it is..

are the headlights and the interior lights on the same fuse? and if so, which one? i think its the bottom 15amp fuse, but not 100% sure.

somebody please help!!

infact i diagram or list of what each fuse does would be really handy aswell if possible ;)

thanks in advance!

ps im new to this and my haynes manual is currently in the post :)

[KernowCooper]

Does this help, they should be all listed here http://www.theminifo...s-covered-data/

[georgegannon]

awesome stuff! thanks very much!

[georgegannon]

i really appreciate the help, but..

fuse 7 and 8 covers the instrument panel lights (great stuff, as these are not working) , and covers the "Left-hand side and tail lights".. what does "left hand side" mean?

in short, are the headlights and the instrument panel lights covered by the same 15amp fuse?
im very new to this, and cars in general.


thanks again!!

[KernowCooper]

Replied to your PM

But it means fuse 7/8 covers the left hand Side and Tail Lights and a line fuse covers the right hand Side and Tail Lights
Where as the earlier cars had both the left and right side and tail lights on one fuse

Edited by KernowCooper, 25 April 2013 - 05:18 PM.

[tiger99]

Headlights are never on one fuse, because it is illegal and dangerous. Think what happens if the fuse blows when driving fast on a dark road....

So you can rule out the fuse as a cause of headlight failure. Some models may have seperate fuses for left and right headlights, but the way the Mini dip switch is wired would mean four fuses, one each for main and dip on each side.

BUT!!!!! there is a particularly nasty problem with Mini wiring, where both headlights come back to one earth on the bulkhead or the triangular gusset. BAD, BAD, BAD!!!!!! It often fails, typically where the black wires join at a bullet connector just behind the front panel, in the region of the bonnet lock, which is exposed to muck, water etc, and is often corroded.

However, if other things have failed too, check the actual earth on the bulkhead.

Please, for safety's sake (I tell this to everyone with headlight problems, as it is important) run a seperate earth wire for each headlight, back to seperate earthing points, when you fix it.

[BVY]

Hi,

Sorry to high jack, but I've spent the day fiddling around with electrickery. After managing to fix problems like Indicator and Main Beam Warning lights, I pulled out the light switch while i was following (or trying to) the wiring diagram. When I put it back in, the wires shorted against the switch panel even though no bare wire was visible. Then my dipped beam didn't work for a while but for some reason it just started working again when I took the fuse out and put it back. But after that I now don't have indicators, stop lights, or reverse lights. 

So I looked at this post and KernowCooper's link, which says fuse 1/2 is for stop lights,rev lights and indicators. I changed the fuse even though the one in there hadn't blown because it was lower than 35a. But still no joy... I'm guessing there must be an in-line fuse responsible... 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks!!

[BVY]

Oh yeah what exactly is a Dim Dip Relay? 

[tiger99]

The dim dip relay is an abomination which was though to be becoming law, but that never happened, so there is no legal or other reason to keep it. It was supposed to give you permanent dipped headlights when the sidelights were on, supposedly a safety feature, but as the law specifically requires you to drive with dipped headlights (or foglights) at all times that visibility is bad or at night when there is no street lighting, and most people actualy do use their lights properly nowadays, nothing is lost by removing it. It can give rise to headlight failure, so is best removed completely. You have to bridge two wires permanently to make the dipped headlights work. I don't have a wiring diagram here (lunch break at work), but I should be back this evening to tell you which two wires to join.

[Dan]

  The Dim-Dip system was intended to give you a lower level light setting to use in residential areas with streetlamps (RTA section 81 roads), where you are not required to use your dipped beam lights even after dark contrary to popular belief.  The system was very good really and gave a very low glare level of ambient lighting which allows you to see more detail at the periphery of the lit area under the streetlights, but nobody was ever taught how to use it.  It was law for it to be fitted from the late '80s onwards but when Porsche complained to the EU about having to make a different wiring harness for the UK only in the mid '90s, it was decided by European Parliament that the law had not been passed legally so it was overturned.  Meaning that somewhat confusingly it was law at the time but has never been law.  They have never complained about having to add day running lamps to the wiring for Sweden, and Volvo have never been prosecuted for making cars that are illegal in the UK by virtue of having their sidelights on permanently but apparently that's another matter.

Edited by Dan, 02 May 2013 - 12:38 PM.

[tiger99]

Right, finally got to my wiring diagrams. To remove the dim dip unit, you join the blue-brown and blue-red wires securely, and insulate all the others. The resistor under the bonnet can also be removed.

 

Dan, thanks for that useful info about why it was needed, but actually is not. I have to wonder about the people who make daft laws, which have to be undone by making even dafter ones. And, we should not be dictated to by the likes of Porsche. Yes, I do agree that dimmed headlights, when only sidelights are strictly required, may well avoid a few accidents. However, that must, in the case of the Mini, be balanced against the number of accidents caused when the dipped headlights fail suddenly because of the DDU. On balance I would prefer not to have it, however there may be other, safer ways of achieving the same thing, without risking interrupting the continuity of the circuit.