No Low-Beams 82 Rabbit Convertible....

FYI -- no current at the bulb terminals when in lo-beam mode.

Could it be someth> Hi there,

FYI -- no current at the bulb terminals when in lo-beam mode.

Could it be someth> Hi there,

The switch as Mike suggested or maybe a relay, fuse or wiring issue. Start tracing the wiring until you find voltage.

The Bentley will have wiring diagrams but i'm leaning towards the headlamp switch on this one.

Only if the position you are selecting is A/C. If it has A/C and you are moving the selector lever there, yes. If it's just a vent or heat (and A/C isn't running or the car doesn't have A/C), then no (not normal).

Thanks, Matt.

It has A/C, however it's not on A/C so it's only 1/2 strange. :)

As for the headlights, I'm going to take apart the steering column and have a look at the turn signal/headlight switch.....

Matt B. wrote:

If it's got A/C then it may come on in the defrost position. as well as the A/C positions. On my '87 Scirocco the A/C is run low in defrost to dehumidify the air being used for defrosting. It seems to help too. I've got two '87's, both with A/C, but only one works. On the one which doesn't work, the windows tend to fog up until the heat really gets going, and then take some time to clear after it does. On the one where it works, they don't fog up, and if there's any there to begin with, it clears very quickly.

- Bill

Thanks, guys. This past weekend, I dropped the fuse panel down to inspect and miraculously the headlights worked ( hi and lo ). There is some serious corrosion on the wires going into the panel, but the panel itself is very clean. It looks to have been replaced quite recently. The relays look like crap ( covered in white corrosion ), so I'm going to replace some of those. Funny thing, I put panel back and the lo beams ceased working again ;)

I was thinking of one by one cleaning the connectors going into the fuse panel with contact cleaner. What are your opinions on coating with di-electric or non-conductive grease?

Also, looks like water is getting in via antenna grommet. I'll fix that and pray for good luck.

I saw an earlier post about wrapping panel in a waterproof bag. Opinions on that?

Thanks

Regal53 wrote:

Ah. Some genius decided "bad panel. Replace panel. Do not solve underlying problem." Good.

My bet is you have a short in there, or else pressure on the wires connecting to the panel is causing them to break the connection when the panel is in place. I Feel Your Pain. I would clean things up as much as possible, but I'd also check those wire connectors. I bet the wires are corroded inside their insulation at the connectors, if you're seeing any corrosion on the connectors themselves. You need to clean _everything_ or else (1) you risk getting stuck on the road (it really sucks when the corrosion affects the power line to the fuel pump relay, for example) and (2) you risk a fire. (2) is because corroded wires are more resistant than new copper, and therefore get hot.

I never did it. The main thing to do is to stop the water getting in. More below.

Probably. It's Very Hard to fix this well. I found that limited-expansion foam sort of worked, but you'll have to be careful: it gets everywhere, and makes a mess, if you put too much in place. The antenna routing was just a design mistake, you ask me. Also, check the tray above the firewall, at the back of the engine compartment. There's a drain there, and it gets plugged up with crap. The water somehow manages to seep into the passenger compartment, directly over the relay panel wiring harness, in my experience. Also look for any other problems -- rust holes in the area of the antenna grommet are common.

I think it's a terrible idea: it'll just lead to heat build-up. These cars were recalled, don't forget, in an early incarnation because of fires on the relay panel. You don't want that.

I would look for the Headlight relay. SB on the the fuse box. It's a a weak link to Vw's

There aren't any headlamp relays in older VWs.

I am sure that you are only referring to watercooled VWs. Some of the aircooled VW Type 1s had headlight relays. ;-)

To the OP, it might be the dimmer switch, headlight switch, fusebox/wiring and of course the headlights themselves. Hmmm it might even be related to a bad ign. switch.

Yes.

OK.