Headlight fault -MOT wednesday - Help!!!

[rwh1990]

Hey guys, need some help please. Getting the rocco ready for mot next week and on the road again for summer. Anyway all was well and everything was working, i had just checked all the lights and they were all fine but then just 5 mins later when i was double checking the fronts again with the help of my wife, i found that the high beam on the drivers side had stopped working. Checked the bulb and wires - all fine. Then tried the lights again, this time the main beam on the same side went. After playing with the switches i found i could get power and light from all of the lights, but only in odd configurations with not set pattern. So both high beams will come on using the stalk, but only when the headlights are switched off. Same kind of thing with other stalk and switch combinations. Its booked in for mot and i really want to get this sorted asap.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jimmytdi]

Could be a bad earth somewhere, which could limit the current draw through the lights and cause some but not all to come on.

Its worth giving the earthing points a check for tightness

[bensspares]

Sounds like the headlight switch has burnt out. Common problem.

i have 5 spare. Remove the switch. Have a sniff for that burnt smell. If it smells, write down the switch part number and will see if i have 1.

[Nate]

Its worth giving the earthing points a check and maybe some wd40 on them.

please, no! wd40 on an earth point will make crud stick to it and promote corrosion.

wd40 is bad, mmmkay?

[Nate]

probably a switch problem, either the main headlight switch or the dip/main changeover switch. also worth just making sure the wires aren't breaking on the bulb connectors

[rwh1990]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the responses! I will give your suggestions a try and get back to you in a sec. With any luck it will just be the switch and I can just swap it out.

Cheers!!! Gotta love the forum!

[rwh1990]

OK, Just been out and had a look. The switch seems fine, doesn't smell and visually looks ok. Also, I decided to check them again just in case it was a one off bit of water or something and have found a pattern now. basically the side lights and dipped main beams work fine, so the switch seems to be doing its job, but as soon as you flick the stalk for high beams, it kills all the lights on the drivers side as before and just gives all the lights on one side. this is also the case if you flick the stalk with the lights turned off - you just get all the full beams on the one side. So my guess is that there's something wrong with the stalk. Any one know how hard it is to swap out & has anyone got a spare one I could buy???

Thanks!!!

[bensspares]

Hi. Still think its the main switch. If you give me the main switch part number and i have the same 1, you can have a switch and stalk switch for £25 posted. I can post tomorrow so you can fit them before Wednesday.

[Nate]

worth checking the wire ain't broke to the bulb connector, and for that matter, check the bulbs work!

[rwh1990]

I've checked the wiring, bulbs and connections, it was the first thing I did. But like I said before, Im getting really weird results. for a sec this morn I thought it might be a bulb or connection as i took the working high beam pod (wires and bulb etc) and fitted it on the drivers side that wasn't working and hey presto it worked and everything did as it should apart from obviously no passenger high beam as i'd nicked it. But then i put it back and it didn't work, the side lights and dipped main beams come on as they should but then when I flick the stalk, instead of putting the high beam on as it did before, it now doubles the power to the dipped main beam (at least i now know that I deffo wan't one of those relay kits to beef the lights up, lol)

Benspares - I have P.M'd you mate with the part number.

Thanks!!!