lights dont work in my 72 bug

[AlfAj0r]

OK... let's start with the easy part... my blinkers work, and the hazard lights do too. The position lights (the little yellow ones) work too.
Now, the normal lights (white ones, forward only) dont work. And when i go to high beam, only one of them works, so that's ALL i have when i drive at night

Now, a few things you should know. I'm a foreigner (from Argentina), so dont get too technical because i might not know what you are talking about (i might know, but wont be able to relate names of tools/parts/procedures). I'm also a college student, so i dont have a lot of money to buy extra parts or tools... I havent taken it to a shop in fear of getting my head chopped of for a couple of light bulbs... But i might have to do that if I can't figure it out.
Also, i dont have a manual for the bug. So i dont know where fuses are or which one is what...

Anyway, please help! Thanks!!!!

[AlfAj0r]

btw, here's a pic of the beast!

[Marc]

I can't be sure which fuses are for the headlamps on your car, it's a model that I've never seen in the US. However, it's going to have 4 headlamp fuses and 2 for the taillamps/front parking lamps which you can locate by the color of wire going to each.
High beam headlight wires are white
Low beam headlight wires are yellow
The ones for the RH side have black stripes
The little blue one with white stripes that works the high beam indicator lamp should be on the same fuse as the LH high beam.

First thing to do is to check those fuses, make sure they're not blown and that they have good physical contact in the fusebox (if loose, remove the fuse and squeeze the metal tabs together slightly before reinserting the fuse). Clean off any corrosion found on the ends of the fuses or on the tabs that they contact.

For the following checks the headlight switch needs to be on and most likely the ignition switch does as well. You may want to pull the green wire off of the ignition coil to make sure you don't do any damage to the points by leaving the key on with the engine not running.
The wire bringing power to the hi/lo beam relay from the headlamp switch is also white with a black stripe. We know there's power there since you do have one light working, but it may not be coming out of the relay (on the yellow wire) when you switch to low beams. You can use a short piece of wire to jumper between the white/black-stripe wire and the yellow wire at the relay; if this makes one or both low beams come on than the relay is either bad or it isn't being triggered to switch beams when you pull on the lever. Take another temporary wire and hold one end to a good ground (bare metal place on the body, there are several to choose from - the speedo housing and the wiper motor body should both be good grounds) then touch the other end to the terminal on the relay that has a small brown/white-stripe wire on it. If the relay still doesn't click, it's bad; if it does, the switch that controls it or the wire between them has a problem.

The wire from the light switch for the tail and parking lamps is gray. It feeds two fuses, one that has a grey/black-stripe wire coming from it for the LR lamp, and one that has a gray/red-stripe wire going to the RR lamp and license plate light. The wires to the front parking lamps are gray also, they're probably both connected to the same fuse as the gray/red-stripe wire. Repeat the fuse inspection/cleaning/tightening on these two fuses.

Report back and update us on any symptoms that have changed by this point....

[Guest]

ok, i found a little diagram of the fuses here:
http://66.34.72.138/wiring/ (very useful!)


So i went and checked, and in fact, a few of the fuses looked rather nasty and old. So i replaced them, but nothing changed. There is some corrosion on the tabs that contact the fuses, but i don't know how to clean it. What should i use? Also, is the a way to check that the circuit is ok? With a multimeter perhaps, putting the probes on the different tabs? Would I do this testig for resitance, voltage or what?

[Marc]

Shine up any corroded tabs with a bit of emery cloth or fine sandpaper and bend them together slightly so that the fuse is held snugly.
Check for voltage present (a simple testlight would suffice) at both ends of each fuse - any that are "hot" at one end but not at the other are not doing their job.
The steps I layed out above can be done without a meter or testlamp, but if you have one it can be put to good use by checking for voltage at various points along the way from headlight switch to the lamps. We know you have power coming into the hi/lo relay, there should also be power coming out on either the white wire or the yellow one and when you pull on the lever to switch beams it should move to the other one.



Don't ever use your meter to check for resistance (ohms) on any live circuit as this can cause permanent damage to the meter. There are also limitations on how much current a meter can handle (you wouldn't want to use a little multimeter to measure the draw of the starter motor or the output current of the generator/alternator, for example - most can't take more than 10 amps). 99% of the tests you'll ever use it for will just be for voltage; again a simple test lamp is nearly as good.

[Guest]

alright, that picture with the fuses i posted is not the right one. Nothing matches
But i have good news! I replaced a few fuses here and there, and now i have TWO lights that work! I dont know if they're high or low though... the little blue light on the panel for high-beam comes on, but they actual lighting looks like normal to me
I'll have to get me some more fuses and replace them all, and i will be able to see. But i was wondering if anyone knew where i can get a correct diagram for the fuses and what each one is supposed to be?
Again, it's a 1972 VW Bug, and it's made in Germany

[Marc]

It looks more like a `73 Super Beetle body...perhaps the wiring follows that layout. Unfortunately `73 is the first year of the "current track" diagrams which are far harder to read than the older ones. See if this one matches up:
http://vintagebus.com/wiring/1300_and_1 ... 1971-1.jpg

[AlfAj0r]

Now that's a lot of wires to look at. I will probably end up taking it to a shop sometime soon, since that is just over my head on technicalities. I will try replacing all the fuses, and if that doesnt work, to the shop it goes (when i get enough money).

Thank you VERY much for your help. This is a great forum, and if anyone ever asks me about a place to ask questions about VWs, i'll let them know.

Once again, thanks.

AlfAj0r.

[Marc]

Just focus on the wires connected to the fusepanel.
Earlier bugs typically had the loads that turn on & off with the key (mostly black wires) at the LH end, loads that have power all the time (mostly red wires) at the RH end, and the six lighting fuses in the middle. The `72 diagram I suggested has the lighting fuses on the left half.
If we know the general layout and number of fuses we can probably figure out which diagram is the closest.

[Guest]

serously clean the fuses & pull every wire off the back of the fuse panel clean with a wire brush then put back on.
do only 1 at a time so you don't get confused.
none of my lights worked exept the brake lights.
i went & cleaned all conections & in 20 minutes they ALL worked fine