16 replies to this topic

[leaky]

Right guys my headlights have stopped working on the switch. The flash works and the sidelights work but when I click the switch all the way down for the headlights they stop working and the sidelights and dash lights stop working as well. I have checked the fuses and tried another switch. Any ideas of things I can check.

 

Thanks.

[Kieranlee999]

have you checked the fuses to check there is no short? What about a dodgy connection? in-line fuses along the front scuttle?

[Tamworthbay]

You need to track it down by checking one stage at a time. As said above, do the obvious like fuses first. Then you will need a multimeter ideally and check through one wire at a time.

[Craig89]

Mine failed relatively recently like this and it was the switch

[Ethel]

What year car? Does the flasher still work with the rocker switch all the way on? Simplest cause would be a dodgy rocker switch.

[leaky]

I have checked the switch with another known good one and its doing the same thing. The car is a 79 Clubman

[Ethel]

So no dim-dip relay, could be a short robbing all the current, expect you'd notice it getting warm though. So more likely a bad earth throwing the headlight current the wrong way up the sidelight circuit and cancelling it out. You could confirm it's not the switch by bridging the switch socket with a paperclip or similar.

[jb93]

Is there a short somewhere in the circuit or a dodgy earth?

 

My headlights stopped working 2 hours before my test this year, luckily though it was the switch. I hate electrical shizz.

[Vipernoir]

Check the big brown permanant live terminal on the solenoid - they can furr up and you lose lights though everything else works.

[Ethel]

Check the big brown permanant live terminal on the solenoid - they can furr up and you lose lights though everything else works.

This is also worth checking, if there's too little current getting to the switch it might be too weak to light anything once you add the lower resistance headlights.

[Chance]

Mine used to do this and it was a dodgy connection on the fusebox
Had to wiggle it to get it to stay on

Just mimicing above really

I hate electrics!!

[leaky]

MOT cancelled I have no idea what it is and even my mate who is an electrician is miffed. Now I need to find away of getting to work.

[hallett]

Just to add mine done this a few weeks ago, it was the switch but it also burnt the connection so i would check these wires and possibly even the connector first

Daniel

[leaky]

This is what my mate found when he looked over it.

Headlight switch only has voltage to the brown wire, no voltage to the red wire.

The headlights work if the brown wire is linked to the blue wire at the switch.

When the side lights are on there is voltage on the fourth fuse, as soon as the dipped beam is switched this voltage disappears.

[leaky]

Also found out its not the stalks as I tested out about her set I had in the garage.