Lights Going Off

[humanz 3]

Other than my headlights, all the other lights on the car keep going off! At nights, I'd be driving along and all lights save the headlights and warning lights would go out. And I haven't figured out what's causing it.

 

Tell me what you think.

 

When the lights go off, the warning bulbs in the instrument cluster still work (except for the sidelights warning bulb; actually, I'm thinking the sidelights go off along with the other lights, which is why the warning light goes out), while all the illumination bulbs go out.

 

Since I started getting this problem, I decided to have a look at the connectors to the fuseboard. Fooling around with the connectors in the fuseboard, I realised the plug with wires from the lights stalk had a short, and I replaced all the wires that seemed to be shorting out. The connector from the board to the N/S headlight also appears to have a short, but once the connector is firmly pushed in, that headlight doesn't typically wink out under normal circumstances, so I didn't replace those wires.

 

When the lights go out, I can get them back on again by reaching over and giving the fuseboard a slap in the bottom righthand corner. But they still don't always stay on.

I don't think it's a short because it happens on smooth roads, and rough bumpy roads don't increase the likelihood of it happening. In fact, if I park the car after all the lights have gone out and I manage to get them on, if I turn all the lights off, then back on, the same situation happens (although the car is still parked, all the other lights have gone out). I was wondering if there was a short in the fuseboard. I've already started the process of trying to get a spare fuseboard, as the spare I have isn't giving me dipped beams (I've tried several lights stalks). I was also wondering if perhaps the fuseboard was getting too hot, as the problem doesn't usually happen until after the car's been driving for a little while. The thing is, the board doesn't feel hot to the touch.

 

As a side note, perhaps related: I've noticed the sidelight warning bulb occasionally switches off although the sidelights are in fact still on. I'm pretty sure this is a short but I didn't get time to hunt the short down while I was trying to identify the others. I'm thinking it's just a wire to the instrument cluster that's causing that particular warning light to fail.

 

So do you think this is a short in the fuseboard, or a greater underlying problem? Clearly I don't have to stress enough how dangerous this situation is. I'm just grateful that the main beams haven't started going out too....

[welshpug 1,627]

does indeed sound like a dry or burnt joint in the fuseboard.

[humanz 3]

does indeed sound like a dry or burnt joint in the fuseboard.

 

So what are my options?

[welshpug 1,627]

replace or repair the problem.

[bouver 0]

I would take the board out, photograph it 1st if you are not sure. Then you can have a real good check of it and repair any damage you find.

 

You could also try adding earth wires into the electrical system. Sometimes a dodgy earth can cause all sorts of weird problems. Adding a good earth strap has got me out of problems before.