Hi, Ive got a 1990 polo coupe s. My back lights not working we have tryed new bulbs an its having none of it!. My brake light an indicators work, Anyone have any ideas what to do next? Also my lights on the dash dont work so I cant see what speed im doing in the dark!, Do I need a new bulb or what? The heater bits dont light up either. Thanks for reading. Amy.
Sounds like it could be fuses. The fuse box is on the right of the bulk head under the bonnet looking from the front of the car. Squeeze the top and bottom of the plastic cover to get it off. Check each fuse in turn, replace broken ones. If a replacement fuse blows, do not replace it again, you possibly have a short or other fault elsewhere in the ciruit and further replacement of the fuse could cause additional damage, or even fire!
If fuses check out OK, its possibly wiring in which case you will need the Haynes "VW POlo Nov 1990 to Aug 1994 (H to L registration) Petrol" Handbook or the services of an Auto-Electrician.
Oh my goodness, talk about coincidence! I was just about to post a question of the same nature! I have a 1981 VW rabbit diesel that exhibits the exact same symptoms! EXACT! Part of my problem may be that the previous owner rewired a lot of the system in a "customized" fashion. Anyways, any help on this issue would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks!
./matt
p.s. i'm terrible with electrical systems, please feel free to dumb down any instructions.
Ive checked the fuses now 1 was blown which we replaced but it blew again! Something gone wrong else where? Thanks for all ur replys an Im dumb too so good explinations would be great!!! Thanks again. Amy.
Which fuse? What blew it again?
Turn the car off, put it in neutral (or park if it's an automatic) and remove the key. Replace the fuse (buy several spares). Check the fuse. Turn the ignition on (don't start it) and check the fuse. Then put the transmission into reverse. Do the backup lights come on or does the fuse blow again? If the fuse blew only when you put it into reverse then you've got something shorted in the circuit that feeds them. There are any number of places along the wiring to check.
Has anything else been done to the car within recent weeks? It's possible there's a short in the wiring caused by something else. If the wires for the lights run through a connector and something else in with them has overheated it's possible the wiring or connector is damaged. I've seen this happen where one thing broke, heated up the connector enough to cause it to later short out and cause something unrelated to fail.
It may be cheaper/faster to take it to a shop and have them fix it. Reading electrical diagrams and tracking wiring isn't hard but it does take a bit of learning and lot of patience.
-Bill Kearney
The fuse which I presume was for the light cause once replaced it worked! But blew again. I put in another an all seemed ok till I went out with the dog an saw just the 1 back light that dident work was on evrn tho I hadent even put the lights on....then smoke was coming form the dash an I pulled the fuse out rather rapidly! So my light stilll dosent work! An I phoned up the place I brought the car off got in a right strop an they are going to fix it all for me!. Thanks for all ur replys!.
You were lucky, it could have been much worse!!!
It can never be overemphasised if a REPLACEMENT fuse blows DO NOT replace it with another until the CAUSE has been found.
Glad the garage is going to rectify the matter.
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