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Dumb question about front lights!

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Old 09-02-2006, 05:57 AM
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Llewelyn
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Default Dumb question about front lights!

I'm confused! All my front lights work! By this I mean:

Main beam
Dipped beam
Parking lights
Front fogs
Turn signals

However, in the cluster of 3 lights each side of the licence plate the 2 lights nearest (either side of) the licence plate don't light up.

What are they for? Are they additional fogs or sidelights or something? I have tried everything to make them come on but I cant! I will check the bulbs when it stops lashing it down but I don't think that is the problem!

i think the problem is user error..... Again

My car is an '83 Euro S.

Best wishes,

Llew
Old 09-02-2006, 06:46 AM
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bfellows
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Any help?
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Old 09-02-2006, 07:11 AM
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Llewelyn
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Yup! Thanks!

The thing is though, my fogs come on in the same light unit as my parking lights! Also, my flasher doesn't work unless my headlamps are on! Weird huh?
Old 09-02-2006, 07:38 AM
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Ben
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Hi,
On my UK model, the parking light (side lights) are combined with the fog. The other lamps are driving lights. They are also meant to act as your flasher when your frog eyes are down.

Ben
Old 09-02-2006, 07:56 AM
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Llewelyn
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Hi Ben,

Cheers for that! They don't flash though... Or come on! Any ideas?
Old 09-02-2006, 08:19 AM
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According to the '85 wiring diagram, the two driving lights are fed from fuse 33. Maybe you could check that first. It also appears that 'Light combination relay' XXIII-XXIV switches them. Maybe its something as simple as both bulbs are blown?

Hope this helps,
Ben
Old 09-02-2006, 08:22 AM
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bfellows
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Try your fuses and relay - fuse is number 1 i think, (far left hand fuse) or relay marked XII and if you've not already got the workshop manuals now is a good time to invest.......There will be fuse and relay diagrams in your drivers manual if you have it?
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Old 09-02-2006, 08:23 AM
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Llewelyn
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Hi Ben,

I metered every fuse today as I was cleaning them and they are all ok! Also, checked the bulbs and they look new... I'm thinking maybe somebody changed the bulbs before I had the car to try and cure it and it didn't work!

This points towards a relay fault but I have no diagrams etc and don't know which relay is which! I'll sort it .... Somehow
Old 09-02-2006, 08:33 AM
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I just noticed from your other post that your fuseboard is different to mine in the '85. My '82 wiring diagram appears to only apply to US models.
On my Mercedes, I've had loads of problems with the old style fuses like you have. Examine the ends very carefully where they connect into the fuseboard. I've had fuses with a barely noticable ring of fuse material burned away where they connect into the board causing intermittant problems.
I just replaced every fuse for new.

Ben
Old 09-02-2006, 08:38 AM
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try swapping the horn and fog light relays (see above)?
Old 09-02-2006, 09:23 AM
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Colin Emerson
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On my car those two inside lights only come on when I push the signal stick forward, which activates the high beams on the pop up lights. If you pull back they should come on until you release the signal stalk. I thought they were fogs, but seem to be more of additional lighting when you hit the high beams. This is how this was decribed to me and it seems to make sense, however your pic calls them fog lights and we all know what happens if you turn your high beams on in the fog, so I am not sure when you could ever use those lights. Definitely not in the fog since they stay on with the high beams. At least this is my understanding.
Old 09-02-2006, 10:03 AM
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I had some stange operating experiences with tese lights when I had R&R'd the front end only to find out that I had incorrectly plugged in the wire connections on the various lights when I put it back together. At least on my car the connections were single terminal plug ons that were easily mixed up. You may want to make sure that you have the lights wired correctly.
Old 09-02-2006, 01:45 PM
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Good point -- on US cars, those are fog lights, on Euros they are driving lights. The first diagram on this page shows the driving light circuit(unused on my car) through fuse S2. Note that on my car, pin 56a on the combo switch had *no* wire.
Old 09-02-2006, 02:54 PM
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Llewelyn
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Right after a bit of tinkering I think I have worked out the problem!

I re checked both bulbs to check if they were blown - Nope! I then switched all lights on and measured the voltage at the lamps... It was about half a volt with full beam and zero with the lights switch on in any other combination.

Having already checked the fuses I thought its gotta be a relay - I pulled on the flasher stalk whilst my head was near the relays and I could hear one of them clicking as I pulled the stalk to flash...

It is a 12 pin double type, part number 928 618 107 00 (changed to 928 618 107 02 at some point it seems), and looks like this:



Is there any way of testing that it is faulty? Would it be possible to repair? Also, does anyone happen to have one they want to sell me?
Old 09-02-2006, 03:51 PM
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Its usually the contacts that have been arcing during switch on/off. If you carefully open up the relay you can slide a piece of fine wet/dry paper through the contacts both ways to clean off the deposits.
If the relay has a PCB inside, then it could also be a bad solder joint, just needing refreshing.

Ben


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