Hi Just wondered if anyone can help. Noticed the number plate light was not working and then saw the front side lights also not working. Fuse 2 had blown and when replaced just popped again. All bulbs checked and working. Hmmm, what do I do next? Is it a case of chasing the wiring ....not too keen in this damp weather! Looked at wiring diagram and not making much sense. My van is an odd setup anyway its a '74 but has early Westy roof and most bits from late bay but lots bits from prototype bay as well which is odd as its not really a cross over?! I have been treating it as a 73 when I buy most parts. Anyway, the side and no. plate light do not work and fuse blows. - The rear lights both work so assuming that wiring not the same as the wiring diagram in Haynes where the right rear lights and no. plate light are the same circuit - Can anyone tell me what colour the wire from the front will be that supplies the no. plate light? The light itself has a white with red stripe and brown attached to it. Thank you in advance! Ben
Is there any water ingress into the lights? I had a dodgy seal once on the front indicator, this allowed water to get in and blow their fuse...
I'd check the feed cable where it passes through the grommet in the lid. Not unknown to crack inside the sleeving and short out with the ground cable.
I fitted a hot start relay recently, I fitted it in the engine bay and pushed cables through the bulkhead grommet, was very tight fit. Does the wire for light pass through there? May have to strip it all back :-
Hmmmm! Not had much chance to fix it yet, intersting though not on same circuit! Seems unusual that fuse goes and these lights all suddenly don't work though?! I wonder what I will find when I pull off the fuse box and see whats wired to what else?! Thank you
So....the plot thickens! I am now more convinced than ever that my bus is just weired or just wired weirdly!!Looking at wiring diagrams it resembles a 1972 bay mostly. However having taken off the fuse box today it is now definite that the front sides and the rear number plate light are off fuse 2. The rear lights are both from fuse 1 and not sided. I used my multimeter and the red and grey wire as in the wiring diagram from fuse 2 goes directly to the rear number plate light. It does not look like the original PVC sheathing has been changed or modified so I am not sure how this bypasses the rear right light. Anyway, I detached the wire from fuse 2 to the front side lights and the rear light now works and the fuse is not blowing so it can only be the side light circuit that is at fault?! It got too cold to continue so I guess front kick panels off and then check all the wires to the front lights is the next step. Not so bad and I guess I can drive the van in the dark again now the number plate light is working and who needs side lights? (apart from the MOT man!) Cheers Ben
It's not a bad step to get your wiring back to what VW intended it to be. As I recall, fuse 1 is LH side & tail, no 2 RH side, tail and number plate. Mr Bodger may have been at work since it left the factory
Check your bulbs first before digging. Simple things to check and can save you hours of frustration. It's not uncommon for a failed light to to cause fuses to blow. It's not common either but it is the easiest place to start.
Thanks for the help, Managed to spend an hour today and it turned out to be 38 year old cable which had become a bit rigid and perished. I couldn't find the short but it seems to have been drivers side where the cable passes through the grommet into the light bowl. The PVC sheathing here seems to be the issue and the cables had deteriorated inside it. All back together now and working as it should do with some new cable and fuse. Its funny, tracing the fault took ages and it was only a 5 minute job to run some new cable! Cheers Ben
