High Beam Issues

[Simonc]

Hi there,

I have a 2000 Tdi5 and have an issue with the high beams.
When I turn on the high beam switch it turns off the low beam lights (no high beam either) I was originally assuming the past owners wired up spotties via the high beam circuit but can't seem to find any old wiring and even so the low beams should still work if you hit the high beam switch.

The globes at the moment don't seem to have the high beam filament in them either.

Any ideas on what is going on before I start digging deeper?

[LowRanger]

The usual problem is that the switch burns out internally,usually from too high current passing through the switch.
Plug a known good globe or a test light into the headlight wiring socket at the back of the headlight and see if it has power first though.

[alien]

Hi there,

I have a 2000 Tdi5 and have an issue with the high beams.
When I turn on the high beam switch it turns off the low beam lights (no high beam either) I was originally assuming the past owners wired up spotties via the high beam circuit but can't seem to find any old wiring and even so the low beams should still work if you hit the high beam switch.

The globes at the moment don't seem to have the high beam filament in them either.

Any ideas on what is going on before I start digging deeper?
The low beam should be off when high beam is selected.
Does the high beam work in the "flash/pass" position?
There are fuses for the high beam lights and this is where I'd start after the above known globe test.
Don't forget there are 2 fuse boxs to check.
Cheers, Kyle.

PS.
Just noticed this is your first post.
Welcome to AULRO:)

[MR LR]

Is this a Defender or Discovery???

Discoverys have a relay, Defenders don't.

With Discos (not sure about Deefers) the low beam goes out when high beam is on, so this may be what you are experiencing if both the high beam globes are blown or something. Both stay on when you 'flash' but after high is selected low goes out.

Hope that helps :)

Cheers
Will

[V8Ian]

Chck that functioning H4 globes are fitted, from your comments it sound as if only a single filament bulb is fitted.

[Simonc]

Yep globes are as they should be, fuses are fine in both areas, relay seems to be good.

The high beam doesn't work in flash/pass but the low beam stays on.

So from what people have posted so far its looking like it will be an issue with a contact in the switch on the steering column.

I'm halfway through pulling it out but need to race down to a hardware store and get a bigger socket to get the steering wheel off, so far from what I can see it all looks good though...

[Simonc]

Is this a Defender or Discovery???

Discoverys have a relay, Defenders don't.

With Discos (not sure about Deefers) the low beam goes out when high beam is on, so this may be what you are experiencing if both the high beam globes are blown or something. Both stay on when you 'flash' but after high is selected low goes out.

Hope that helps :)

Cheers
Will

Hi will thanks for your reply it's a defender and defiantly has relay switches. I didn't realize the low beams went out when high beam was selected so that helps narrowing it down to possible a switch issue, thanks for that.

[Simonc]

The low beam should be off when high beam is selected.
Does the high beam work in the "flash/pass" position?
There are fuses for the high beam lights and this is where I'd start after the above known globe test.
Don't forget there are 2 fuse boxs to check.
Cheers, Kyle.

PS.
Just noticed this is your first post.
Welcome to AULRO:)

Thanks for the reply Kyle,
The high beams don't work with flash/pass but the low beams do stay on, all the fuses are good and so are the globes so I'm going to have a look at the switch next.

[Tombie]

Hi will thanks for your reply it's a defender and defiantly has relay switches. I didn't realize the low beams went out when high beam was selected so that helps narrowing it down to possible a switch issue, thanks for that.

Aftermarket loom fitted is there?

No Defender has relays in the headlights from factory. :(

[Simonc]

Aftermarket loom fitted is there?

No Defender has relays in the headlights from factory. :(

I bought it second hand and the job must be smicko because it looks like it should be there, it even has the sticker on the fuse cover lid saying relays and what they are for! All up I have 5 relays that sit just under the main fuses.

It's got me stumped, all the switches looked fine and now the relay issue has me slightly more stumped!

Off to the auto electrician for me!

[Tombie]

Are you talking about the 5 relays in the main panel in front of the gear shift?

They're nothing to do with the issue you're having :)

[POD]

Probably a bit late for this one but your wheel brace might be the same size as the steering wheel nut.
That aside, this is exactly what the early (85) range rover I had did when the high/low beam switch died. The plastic part of the switch was subtly melted by the heat from the high-beam current, allowing the two contacts to move away from one another. Result was darkness when high beam was selected (thank you once again Mr Lucas). Install a relay into the circuit and the new switch will only ever be carrying enough current to actuate the magnet in the relay, so will not fail again.