02GF74
|
| posted on 24/10/07 at 08:09 AM |
|
|
full beam is on instead of main
another day, another problem, this time electrical.
I have both mk2 escort stalks to operate front lights.
RH 3 position:
1. off
2. side lamps
3. dipped head lamps
LH 3 position:
forward. - full beam on
middle - dipped beam
back - intermittent full beam (self releases)
nothing unusal about that and it used to work. There is a relay to switch the full beam on.
now what happens is that when I switch dipped beam, RH stalk, pos. 3, the full beam comes on. I cannot tell if dipped beam element is on as well or
not. I can hear the realy click too. Clearly moving left hand stalk has no visible effect since the full beams are on all the time.
Also the fog lamp is not lighting. This used to work only when the dipped beam was on.
Thing that has changed is that dash was rewired but when put back together everything was checked to be working, wire by wire. I have driven
it since then so road vibrations may have loosened something.
Another curiousity I noticed is that sometimes I can hear the full beam relay click when the full beam stalk is not touched - can be a few mintues
after I did something with the electrics (sorry to be vague) - but I think there may be a clue here. Could be a bad relay?
So anyone come across anything like this?
I guess it is take it all apart and trace through it with DVM, not a nice job.  (dash need to come off to fit the speedo so is not the worst thing
in the worlld).
[Edited on 24/10/07 by 02GF74]
|
|
|
|
|
RazMan
|
| posted on 24/10/07 at 08:26 AM |
|
|
Probably a terminology thing but can you first clarify which is MAIN OR DIP BEAM? In my book, 'main' and' full' are the same
thing.
Also, you should really have two relays - one for dip and another for main. If you only have one relay there is a chance that you have overloaded the
light switch and this can cause all sorts of problems. Remember you are switching up to 10A with a pair of standard headlamp bulbs so a relay is
usually essential to avoid burning out the contacts.
[Edited on 24-10-07 by RazMan]
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
|
|
|
BenB
|
| posted on 24/10/07 at 09:50 AM |
|
|
I also reckon the switches might be suspect and hence the relay not working properly... Might be worth getting some spare switches and seeing if that
makes a difference.... The main beam relay coming on at random times would suggest arcing within the switch that drives it, also suggesting the L hand
switch.
|
|
|
