Hi, I have a S2 ERST and the dipped head lights dont work, the side lights work ok and the spot lights work ok, but when i rotate the switch the dipped nothing happens.

anyone got any ideas?

cheers
dez

 

Tried all your fusesor has battery leads been off and all earths been put back on properly failing that might be connector on back of light happened to me

 

Either your light switch has died or the fusebox is melting where the dim-dip relays go.

To check the relays, take the fusebox lid off, and in the back right corner (looking from the front of the car) is a pack of small 10A relays (white, brown and blue). Lift these out, and one will have charred marks either on the bottom of it, or the plastic of the fusebox will be melted slightly.

It is a common problem, especially if you use uprated bulbs (or some cheap ones).

 

I had this on my series 2. It was the switch.

 

as above, i see this problem quite often,
its usualy the fusebox thats at fault

 

Cheers for your replies guys! Ian you are right, one of them does have a scortch mark on it, when I wiggled them, the car stalled, when I tried to restart it nothing happened, the starter motor wouldnt even spin.

So I got some jump leads on and it started first time, let it idle for a bit, turned it off, tried to start it again, nothing, dead.

So I jump started it again, kept the revs about ~3kprm for a couple of minutes, let it drop back to idle, switched the lights on to see the temp gauge (it was dark) and the car cut out again and wouldnt restart under its own battery.

Do you reckon the relay has got a short on it and is killing the battery?

I also noticed that the plastic connector that fits onto the pins of the bulb has melted on both sides!!

Help!!

 

Yep, the fusebox is melting. When you wiggled the relays, a couple of the wires have touched, creating a "short" to earth.

If you disconnect the battery, then left the base of the fusebox up from its casing @ the back, you should see the problem.

If you pull the back right relay (I believe it is the blue one) which is the main earth system relay for the dim-dip lighting system, then the lights will work normally and this should allow the car to "function" provided it is this section which is "shorting".

This would be a temporary situation though, and I would recommend getting it properly fixed unless you have very good "fire" cover on your insurance policy.

 

Well after lifting up the fusebox as described we discovered a wire has been scotchlocked onto the lighting circuit, this wire goes into the car, behind the dash, and is terminated into an in-line fuse holder, with a 10A fuse in it, which is then connected to the rear fog light switch, there are a couple more wires chopped and mashed together that randomly go off to other places.

I will post up some pictures tonight for you to look at but im at a loss now, even with the engine runningI was only getting 10.5v across the battery, so i took it off and its been on charge for two days, will refit it tonight and see if the car will start under its own power

there is also another random wire that is connected to the loom inside the steering cowel, but im wondering if this is for the alarm to flash the hazards

 

Well I've just refitted the charged battery, it not only started first time, but its also now charging the battery and the head lights now work!!! VOODOO!!! The battery must have just been proper drained and the wiring must have been like that since I bought it