Crazy Lights.

[Black Neutron]

Hi everybody. New to the forum and already im banging my head of the garage doors. Ive got a MK2 golf GTI (1984) K jet 8V with strange problems with the front lights. Side lights are ok as are the dipped beam lights. But when i try to put them on to full beam they go back to sidelights. When i flick them back to dipped beam there ok again. Its the grill with the 4 lights at the front just in case its relevent. If its not to much trouble can you provide a how-to fix the problem aswell please. This might be part of the problem also. My heater has stopped working too. Ive looked in the haynes manual and it shows lots of different relays but when i look at my fuse box theres only about 6-7 relays on my fuse box. I think it says relay 13 is the one for the lights but i dont have that one. Is it because ive got an early GTI? Hopefully you can help. Thanks in advance.

[Crasher]

There is no relay for the headlights as such, what you are thinking about is the X relay which sounds as though it has stopped working. This is in relay position 8 (lower main row second from the left) with 17 printed on top.

[Black Neutron]

Thanks Crasher. Didnt know the X relay had anything to do with the lights. When i had a look at the wiring it was covered in those nasty scotch locks. They were thrown in the bin and new connectors put in place. Some of the wiring was pretty knacked so i had to strip alot of it back and reconnect quite a lot of it which i hoped might take care of the problem but it didnt lol. I know the spot light bulbs work as ive tested them using the battery and a wire to the negative side and they come on nice and bright. Ive even tried using different routes to the spot light bulbs but they still wont work. I also see that the live is taken straight from the live to the headlight plug. I hope thats right and also theres a blue wire that connects to the main beam wiring, im assuming thats an earth. Sorry for picking your brains mate but im at the end of my teather now as nothing seems to work so i hope this X relay does the trick.

[Black Neutron]

Right, ive checked the X relay and its clicking away. The spot light bulbs are working as ive tested them from the battery and there nice and bright. Still not working from the wireing. Ive renewed all the connectors and check the wireing as far as i can and it looks fine. Ive tried working out the wireing digrams in the haynes manual but its very hard to understand. I get bits of it but im not an auto spark. The other thing thats not working now is the drivers side front indicator, even when i put new bulbs in the holder. All the fuses are fine as are the relays. Could the stalk be faulty?

[Crasher]

Let’s start at the beginning. Do the side lights come on? With the ignition on, do the dipped beams come on and then change over to main beam when you pull back the stalk? Does the heater blower work and the glove box light work with the ignition on? Does the heated rear window warning light come on in the switch? Just because the X relay clicks does not mean it is transferring power.

[Black Neutron]

Hi steve, Ok the side lights come on with the ignition on. The dipped beam comes on with the ignition on, now when you pull back the stalk for main beam they switch back to side lights. The heater blower works but it blows between weak and moderate. The glove box light comes on with the ignition on as does the rear window defrost light. The cigarette lighter isnt working and ive also just noticed that the rear fog lights arnt coming on again with the ignition on and even with the car running. The lights for the heater switches dont come on and neither does the cigarette light come on. Ive got the drivers side front indicator working now. Hope this helps.

[the beige]

Hi,

I'm not going to pretend I know whats wrong with your car, but it sounds suspiciously similar to an electrical issue I've had with 2 of my mk2 8v GTIs.

Much like you, after days of head scratching I admitted defeat and took the car to an automotive electrical specialist where they repaired the fault in less than an hour for £35!

They had seen this problem before and I think it is therefore a common fault. I asked the guy about the fault and he gestured towards the steering column muttering something about a bad connection.

Try they, may be able to help;
Snowdon Auto Electrical Services (Hereford) 01432 358866