Cant find any info on this weird problem:
Long story short.... My left rear tail light went out, i opened the light up and had a look. Not blown, connections looked clean, gave up and put it back together. Went for a drive down the road and when I tried to use the blinkers they didnt blink, the dash blinker light came on but didnt flash. When I press the brake pedal I can hear the flashing noise and my blinker dash light flashes. I realized i had a broken fuse, replaced it. Turned my LEFT blinker on and it broke the fuse again.

Its late and i've given up for now, anyone have any ideas as to what the problem is? Cheers guys!

you havent put any screws in the engine bay recently have you?
if you did could it of hit a wire???

Nope no screws in the bay at all. Only thing ive done recently is replace the clutch cable and bleed the breaks

What about a wire dislodged? Maybe engine bay left corner?

Nope couldnt find anything, all the wires look fine. My boot lid number plate light is also out, but that has been upgraded to LED and i dont think its related to this problem. Ill need to go buy more ceramic fuses tomorrow, ive blown all my spares. Haha

1. Quite possibly your wiring is shorting out and blowing the fuse.
2. Your indicator light is getting it's earth from the brake light or vice versa.
3. the left tail light and the no plate are the same connection on the fuse. Check your fuse again, and the wiring connectors.

Check all your wires and connectors are insulated.

didn't hook the brake light wire to the overall earth in the tail light housing? or the indicator wire to the overall earth in the tail light?

Alternatively, you might not have the earth wire hooked up at all, forcing teh current to find another way through the circuits, as brake light, tail light, and indicators share the one ground.

it'll explain how when you hit the brakes, your getting electricity passing into the indicator, back up to the dash (in the wrong direction of flow) which blows all sorts of fuses as you are reverse feeding hte electricity.

No the brake light wires are fine, same with the overall earth wire. I thought it would be something to do with the earth aswell but I had a play with it and pushed the brake pedal down and its still blinking. Im stumped on this one but im sure it will be the simplest thing ive overlooked

The earth wire from the lh tail light should go back to inside the engine bay and if thats good and you'vve got a multimeter put it onto ohms and check that you have zero ohms from the side of the bulb back to a clean earth point on the steel body , and if it reads it has more than zero then there's your problem .
The other thing that springs to mind is mabey your led number plate light is buggered and is shorting the system , try disconnecting it and try again

Dontcha just love Volkies!

I've had a few issues over the years, they nearly all end up being earth related. However, FIXING and finding the faulty earth is where the challenge is on these things, so here is a quick check list which most VW guys might not know about (or auto sparkies for that matter).

1. Late model (say 1971-up) Type IIIs, late Bay Kombis and some Beetles have a relay unit, one big multifunction job, that takes care of indicators, lights, hazards, etc. This relay unit is SUCH a PITA, either check by replacement or unplug it and apply power to various outputs to check it's operation. A faulty unit can also affect the operation of the brake lights, even though the wiring is separate.
2. Most VWs have an earth for things like the indicators through the actual steel casing of the speedo unit that holds the idiot lights. The most common fault is the actual metal tube that holds the globes in place gets a little bit of corrosion, then it's like the whole electrics have been possessed by my ex-mother-in-law. You will almost certainly have an issue there (I know I did........with the ex-mother-in-law at least). Also clean (with sandpaper or a file) where the speedo casing goes to the body in the dash, same deal, same earth dramas.
After that, it's the usual filing/sanding all earth connections on the body and motor, globe holders in the tail light units, etc. Just those two seem to give the most grief, and take the longest time for auto sparkies to find.........which is why these simple little cars get such a bad rap for electrickery stuff.

Hope it helps.

Quote:

Originally posted by modnrod Dontcha just love Volkies! I've had a few issues over the years, they nearly all end up being earth related. However, FIXING and finding the faulty earth is where the challenge is on these things, so here is a quick check list which most VW guys might not know about (or auto sparkies for that matter). 1. Late model (say 1971-up) Type IIIs, late Bay Kombis and some Beetles have a relay unit, one big multifunction job, that takes care of indicators, lights, hazards, etc. This relay unit is SUCH a PITA, either check by replacement or unplug it and apply power to various outputs to check it's operation. A faulty unit can also affect the operation of the brake lights, even though the wiring is separate. 2. Most VWs have an earth for things like the indicators through the actual steel casing of the speedo unit that holds the idiot lights. The most common fault is the actual metal tube that holds the globes in place gets a little bit of corrosion, then it's like the whole electrics have been possessed by my ex-mother-in-law. You will almost certainly have an issue there (I know I did........with the ex-mother-in-law at least). Also clean (with sandpaper or a file) where the speedo casing goes to the body in the dash, same deal, same earth dramas. After that, it's the usual filing/sanding all earth connections on the body and motor, globe holders in the tail light units, etc. Just those two seem to give the most grief, and take the longest time for auto sparkies to find.........which is why these simple little cars get such a bad rap for electrickery stuff. Hope it helps.

What you have is a 2 simple problems, you just have to find them!
The power cable is earthing out which is why you are blowing fuses.
That shorted cable or wire is most likely acting as an earth.
Get yourself a test light so you can determine which wires have power.
The wires are colour coded, so follow the wires from the fuse that keeps blowing.
Also, make sure you have a good earth to the Left hand tail light.

Thanks for all the replies guys, it kept me entertained for a while trying to figure this out. I did give up though and took it to an auto electrician, he charged me $50 and fixed the blinkers, brake light and my wipers (also stoped working). My only problem now is my TAIL LIGHT and the number plate light (not too fussed on that one), the brake lights work but no normal tail light

Its a 1962 beetle

i had similar issues after having had engine out...my problem was the two wires to the number plate light....put them the wrong way around and was screwing
with everything!