headlights are dead!

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 17 Dec 2010, 8:25 pm

#817308

Hey guys, Driving home after work tonight along the main highway. my lights started to flicker on and off and go absolutely crazy for about 1 minute and then turned off completely. pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off and back on. still no headlights. My indicators work fine as do my brake lights but my tail lights and headlights are dead. I have had a look at my fuses (limited light) and all seem to be ok....will have a proper look in the morning. Just wondering what you think it could be?? I know my car desperately needs a full rewiring job ASAP but this has never happened before.
Cheers.

1973 Super Beetle

vwjon Fahrvergnugen

914 posts · joined Jul 2006 · 17 Dec 2010, 8:36 pm

#817310

i'm guessing you are in a vw bug, check the headlight switch and the wires feeding it. is the headlight flasher (indicator stalk) working? thats a seperate circuit, the other fault could be a burned light , but they tend to burn "on" not off. cheers jon

3 1959 cadillacs
1 musso
2 early notchbacks
2 split kombis
2 split panels
1 split ute
1 low light panel
1 ex-pmg bay
1 country buggy
1 beetle ute
1 14" syncro caravelle
1 16" syncro doka
1 golf cabrio
1 vw camper trailer
2 3meter bombs

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 17 Dec 2010, 8:41 pm

#817312

yeah im in a bug. I will check over it in the morning. indicators are working fine although i didn't check the flasher for the headlights on the indicator stalk. I'll check it all tomorrow. thanks for your help!

1973 Super Beetle

Bizarre Moderator The artist formerly known as blue74l

12,785 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 17 Dec 2010, 9:04 pm

#817316

go through simple steps
parkers
main beam
hi beam

Can you use a multi meter??

Futue te ipsum!!!

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 17 Dec 2010, 11:38 pm

#817327

beetleboy88 wrote:Hey guys, Driving home after work tonight along the main highway. my lights started to flicker on and off and go absolutely crazy for about 1 minute and then turned off completely. pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off and back on. still no headlights. My indicators work fine as do my brake lights but my tail lights and headlights are dead. I have had a look at my fuses (limited light) and all seem to be ok....will have a proper look in the morning. Just wondering what you think it could be?? I know my car desperately needs a full rewiring job ASAP but this has never happened before.
Cheers.

CHECK WHERE THE WIRES GO INTO THE FUSES..
AS THE LEFT AND RIGHT HAND HEADLAMPS HAVE SEPERATE FUSES... SO THE FUSES WOULDN'T BE BLOWN

AS SOUNDS LIKE THE MAIN WIRE CAME OFF THE FUSE BOX OR OFF THE HEADLAMP SWITCH ITSELF...

TAIL LAMPS AND FRONT PARKERS ARE ON SEPERATE FUSES TOO...
SO SOUNDS MAYBE YOUR HEADLAMP SWITCH HAS BURNT OUT...
WITH NO POWER COMING OUT AT ALL... FROM THE SWITCH..

I WOULD BE LOOKING AT THE HEADLAMP SWITCH AND THE MAIN POWER WIRE...

LEE...

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

Anthiron The Baja Rejuvenation Begins

4,936 posts · joined Oct 2003 · 18 Dec 2010, 4:32 am

#817336

Years ago i had a similar issue. Lights flickered and then died driving home from work one night. Turns out the culprit was an old origional wire that had become brittle and broken inside the shrouding. I just used a Test light/timing light to check the circuts until i found the wire and replaced it with some new stuff.

If you have a test light or a multimeter and a little common sense you should be able to succsessfully troubleshoot this.

62/60 model bug eye baja bug, (Full Build in Progress)
1974 Chevrolet Luv
1970 MK2 Ford Cortina GT
1979 Yamaha RX125 Two Stroke tracker project.
2004 Harley Davidson Sportster XL Custom

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 18 Dec 2010, 3:32 pm

#817383

HEADLIGHTS DON'T DIE THEY JUST FADE AWAY.... 😂😂

and tail lamps and front parker lamps are all seperate wires..

if You lived closeby I would have it fixed very fast by using new wires...

LEE

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 19 Dec 2010, 3:00 pm

#817484

Well thanks for all the feedback. I had a good look at it yesterday. the indicator stalk is still working (high beam switch) and headlights come on when i flick down on that. Otherwise that's all that happens. I tried to follow the headlight switch wires to the fuse box but there are just too many wires there to see anything without pulling it all apart 🙁 looks like a job for the pro's I'm afriad. Wish you blokes lived up here hahaha

1973 Super Beetle

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 · 19 Dec 2010, 3:06 pm

#817488

With 70s VWs if the parkers power stops the headlights still work and viceversa if the headlights power stop the parkers will still work

If the taillights and number plate lights have gone out as well as front parkers you've had a headlight switch failure.

Fairly rare but I've seen one Lbug switch short out and melt.
The main feed to them is unfused so it wont pop any fuse if theres a short there, just melts stuff instead

A careless move on VWs part.

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 19 Dec 2010, 5:12 pm

#817505

so whats that mean? new headlight switch??

1973 Super Beetle

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 · 19 Dec 2010, 7:17 pm

#817518

Would be a good place to start yeh.

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 19 Dec 2010, 8:21 pm

#817530

Hmmm I'll get someone to have a look at it this week. Don't go driving at night alot but having no headlights kinda sucks if you need to drive somewhere when it's dark or raining

1973 Super Beetle

greedy53 Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,062 posts · joined Mar 2006 · 19 Dec 2010, 8:52 pm

#817533

have a look at the relay mine got wet shorted out next day nice and dry took me hours to sort out

👍👍😂🙅🥷😬🤓

beetleboyjeff Custom Title Time!

1,790 posts · joined Feb 2009 · 19 Dec 2010, 10:16 pm

#817555

Relays might be worth checking. I had a similar thing with mine years ago. I filled the washer bottle and pumped it up with air, then had it parked in town on a VERY hot day. The washer hose split under the dash, and sprayed washer water with cleaner in it all over the back of the fuse box and relays. Have had a lot of trouble with corrosion in the relays (untill I replaced them), fuses, and connections ever since.

From your ole' mate Jeff

beetleboy88 Officially Full-On Dubber

255 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 23 Dec 2010, 5:07 pm

#818122

well headlights are finally fixed! switch melted and turns out it was wired wrong....works out why my park lights never worked. $220 later problem is solved 😢 not good 2 days out from Christmas!

1973 Super Beetle