NEED Help!! No low beam headlights

[rumman43]

hi there. I have a problem.
Car is a defender 02

My headlights on low beam do not work..
I have park and high beam..
I swapped fuses from low with high..same same. No low but high worked.
I took the car to local auto pro..they couldn't find problem..they passed it onto a auto electrician..

HE couldn't find the fault.
So I need a Landrover supa hero who knows some filthy, sneaky trick electrical fault my Deefer has decided to throw at me..
PLEASE Help...
any ideas..
Adam

[Blknight.aus]

thats easy...

the switch itself is knackered...

when you replace (or have the auto elecy replace) it have them wire up relays to drive the lights, depending on which deefer setup youve got in relation to the batteries the best place to pull the power feed for the headlight relays is the alternator.

[cowboycammo]

Adam,

this happened to me a while back in my '94 defender (no low beam)
however when i moved my headlight switch from parkers to headlights, i lost parkers, as well as dash lights. does this happen to you?

the solution in my case was a new headlight switch ($95) :eek:

easy to fit. just unscrew the bottom of the steering column cover, remove the colour coded electrical plugs from the switch, take the switch out, install the new one and plug her back in.

hope this helps in some way

[DEFENDERZOOK]

are you running standard headlight globes......or have you put in brighter globes.......?

if you want to run better globes....you need to upgrade the headlight wiring to include relays......
send a pm to drivesafe......he will have what you need.....



you will still need to replace your headlight switch though.....

[justinc]

thats easy...

the switch itself is knackered...

when you replace (or have the auto elecy replace) it have them wire up relays to drive the lights, depending on which deefer setup youve got in relation to the batteries the best place to pull the power feed for the headlight relays is the alternator.

An auto elec couldn't find it???:o As Dave says above, it is a common Defender/ county/ RR problem and is rectified forevermore after fitting the new switch by relaying high and low beam circuits. Traxide Tronics has an upgrade kit worth fitting. Easy too. Tim is a supplier/ vendor on this site, and I'm looking at his banner ad right now....;)

JC

[CraigE]

Your auto sparky must be good??:twisted:
It is a common problem and many of us with Fenders have been through it. You will need a new switch or a temporary generic switch. There are two types of plugs on these switches one is the plastic loom connector like yours will be (these are very expensive) and then there are the earlier type like on countys etc with the rubber block connector (these are about a 1/3rd of the price of the above). I bought one of the later as they are identical except for the plug, cut off the rubber block, cut off the plastic plug off my old one and put in new spade plugs to go into the housing and wired up. You could also just use generic bullet connectors, but then both side of the plug will have to be cut off and I wanted to keep it standard. I got my switch from the UK about $45 delivered compared with cheapest I could find in Aus about $100 and up to $300.
Unless you want it to happen again you will need to install a relay. These cheap assed Defenders do not have a relay in the lighting circuit and this causes them to overheat the switch. Traxide make a great upgrade and if you have spotties get the headlight/spotlight upgrade kit. Works a treat and you get about 20% better lighting due to lack of voltage drop. Do a search on both topics, it has been discussed heaps.
index7 (http://www.traxide.com.au/)
These kits are specifically made for Defenders . Discos etc.
If you search the post or my gallery you will see how I have mounted mine.
Cheers
CraigE

[rumman43]

thank you all..
will call round today for a replacement switch. Am taking wife (7 1/2 months pregnant) and dog down to denmark and albany camping this australia day weekend. would like to have lights..
again thanks heaps
adam

[DEFENDERZOOK]

like i said earlier.......if you have higher wattage globes fitted.....you will burn out the new switch as well.......


if you have standard globes....and all your wiring is in good order......then the new switch should last for years.......

[Blknight.aus]

As an emergancy fix If you pull the horn fuse and then the headlights fuse and patch past them with a singe inline fuse holder on wire you and get them back on but you have to place/pull the wire to get them on and off.

[CraigE]

You can also just put in a standard on off switch as a temporary measure.