Tailights, and dash lights out, relay?

[sk66]

Apparently I am experiencing the notorious driving lights/dash lights/horn circuit gremlin. It started with the switch being a little quirky when I'd turn the lights on and the dash lights didn't immediately illuminate until I wiggled the light switch. Then this weekend they stopped operating at all, along with the parking lights, tail lights and horn. I first checked the 15 amp horn fuse (third from left on the top) and sure enough it was blown. Popped another one in there and as soon as I turned on the driving lights it blew again. So, I removed, disassembled and cleaned the combination switch from the steering column as per the instructions in this excellent tutorial: http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=98&t=11284
Unfortunately that didn't solve the problem and the circuit continued to blow fuses when I switched on the parking lights. I did test the horn to make sure it wasn't blowing the fuse. I hope I'm wrong but it seems likely that the switch is just worn out and somehow shorting and causing the fuse to blow. Any ideas or suggestions to troubleshoot and resolve this issue is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I would pull the headlamp relays and check the marker lights for moisture/shorts... After that you're probably looking for a shorted wire somewhere (which sucks).

 

[ccmickelson]

I would pull the headlamp relays and check the marker lights for moisture/shorts... After that you're probably looking for a shorted wire somewhere (which sucks).

Thanks for the reply. If I understand it correctly, the parking light circuit is not connected to a relay (only the fuse)...no?

Also, it just seems logical to me that since the switch exhibited the first symptoms that this is where the short would be. If it is, I just don't understand how the mechanism is shorting the circuit.

 

[sk66]

The #3 fuse is the supply for enabling the headlight relays. It does make sense that the switch would be the likely culprit... but you've already done that so it's kind of a guessing game from there. Disconnecting the harness plugs and checking each wire for continuity to ground would be next if all of the easily removable/replaceable bits (relays/bulbs) do not resolve it.

 

[ccmickelson]

The #3 fuse is the supply for enabling the headlight relays. It does make sense that the switch would be the likely culprit... but you've already done that so it's kind of a guessing game from there. Disconnecting the harness plugs and checking each wire for continuity to ground would be next if all of the easily removable/replaceable bits (relays/bulbs) do not resolve it.

Gotcha. Will do. Thanks.

 

[Terence Yuen]

If your Delica Star Wagon has the front fog lamp switch, operate the switch. The front fog lamp switch bypasses the lighting switch to turn on the tail lamps. But if your Delica does not have front fog lamps (like my L300), pull out the fog lamp switch blind cover to reveal the fog lamp switch connector and connect a bridging wire between the red-black and the green-white wires. Now check whether the tail lamps operate or the fuse burns out again.

 

[ccmickelson]

The #3 fuse is the supply for enabling the headlight relays. It does make sense that the switch would be the likely culprit... but you've already done that so it's kind of a guessing game from there. Disconnecting the harness plugs and checking each wire for continuity to ground would be next if all of the easily removable/replaceable bits (relays/bulbs) do not resolve it.

Well, I found the short in this circuit and it wasn't in the combination switch as I had suspected which is good news. It turned out to be the pissant driver for the left side LED Halo lights I installed a few years ago. The white wire that comes from it had melted insulation and all three wires had continuity between each other. I found it by methodically going through the circuit and turning on the combination switch unit the fuse didn't blow. I blew over 20 fuses in the process. : ) Now I need to try to get a replacement LED driver so I can once again run the driving/halo light on the left side. Do you know if these are available from another source aside from the Taiwan seller I got these headlights from?

 

[sk66]

Good catch... it didn't even occur to me that the halo ring is connected to the park lamp; which runs off fuse 3. I posted a link to one source for halo drivers in the other thread (and they look to be better made w/ aluminum heat sink housings).

 

[pamaguahiker]

When finishing up a reconnect for the pod after installing a Glowshit gauge, I had the dash lights/park lights/horn go out. I replaced fuse #3 after seeing that it was shorted and it blowing fuses now. I did not reconnect the harness at the pod because I am not reconnecting any of those features or the green backlights. I believe my issue is with a loose wire in the harness. I, at least, know that was the area when it blew the fuse and everything went out. I just need to figure out what is up. Question....with the old harness removed, will that interfere or prevent any other features from not working?

When I was waiting for the replacement sensor and harness to come in, I left it disconnected and had no issues with the dash lights, etc. It didn't seem like it was essential but I'm not the knowledgable one in this area...or any area to be exact.

 

[pamaguahiker]

I was able to do a quick fix on my dash/lights outages but I truly feel that it highlights the ongoing issues and the diversity of possible causes. My issue was merely when a bare wire was touching another bare wire part. Both were stock and not anything that I had worked on. I merely trimmed the bare wires and all is well.

 

[jixaw]

I am also plagued by this issue. I had been troubleshooting ac issues and was testing the ac button/switch when I jumped two wrong wires and wound up blowing number 3 fuse..I thought I had resolved it but the next day when I turned on my parking lights I kept blowing fuses...

i unplugged the horn..still blows fuse

I turned on the fogs and it still blows the fuse ...does this mean my headlight switch is fine?

does anyone have any thoughts ?…if both headlight switch and fog light switch blow the fuse where should I start?...does this mean my parking lights might be shorting?

 

[jixaw]

Tore dash and steering column apart....burnt maybe a dozen fuses

turned out to be that little ashtray bulb ...I had swapped it to an led bulb...it was laying wedged against the chassis ...shorting :/

 

[JohnK]

jixaw, I found you post of interest as I also lost my dash lights after filling some R152a into my A/C and trying the A/C switch numerous times. Where I differ is in the fuse is not blown, so horn, taillights, etc., are still working. Still trying to figure out my best troubleshooting bets, don;t actually see a light for my ashtray.

 

[Subidobydo]

Same problem here. Fuses are good, fusible links are fine, bulbs are good, took apart and cleaned the combination switch.

Brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, headlights and high beams all work.

Dash lights, tail lamp and license plate lamps will not come on. Light buzzer stopped working a few months ago, but from looking at the diagram, don't see how that affects the running lights.

Going to get a wire tracer now to follow @sck_nogas plan , but just curious if anyone has any other thoughts on how to trace this down?

Did you ever find the issue ?

Been pulling my hair out for a few days with this exact same issue. No blow fuses, all bulbs intact, fusible links good, tested continuity at column switch (works fine).
Studied the circuit diagrams for literal hours. Shows “multi fuse 19 & 20”
No dash lights, tail lights, horn or buzzer…BUT all other lights work so it must be Horn circuit somewhere ? Really in over my head and need some help please!

 

[joelightshoe]

I also had dash lights/tail lights/buzzer out. For me it ended up being a bad solder joint for one of the copper pads on the circuit board. Resoldering fixed the problem.

 

[botefdunn]

If your Delica Star Wagon has the front fog lamp switch, operate the switch. The front fog lamp switch bypasses the lighting switch to turn on the tail lamps. But if your Delica does not have front fog lamps (like my L300), pull out the fog lamp switch blind cover to reveal the fog lamp switch connector and connect a bridging wire between the red-black and the green-white wires. Now check whether the tail lamps operate or the fuse burns out again.

Hey, we'll see how far I get, but for the moment this bypass is working and its a big help, thank you.

 

[Foxusmc]

Did you ever find the issue ?

Been pulling my hair out for a few days with this exact same issue. No blow fuses, all bulbs intact, fusible links good, tested continuity at column switch (works fine).
Studied the circuit diagrams for literal hours. Shows “multi fuse 19 & 20”
No dash lights, tail lights, horn or buzzer…BUT all other lights work so it must be Horn circuit somewhere ? Really in over my head and need some help please!

Ever find a solution to your issue? I'm running into this as well but just came across this thread. Haven't super dug into it yet.

 

[WanderingPeso]

Looks like my van has this same problem. The dash lights won't come on when turning on the headlights, but the headlights look like they are enabled. Another symptom appears to be that the taillights also don't turn on, which is awful for night time driving. We can work around not having dash lights, but taillights are a must for night driving.

What's strange is that they'll come on after some time, completely intermittent. So, it might be temperature or humidity dependent.

Another symptom is that the alarm that signals when you open the door and have the headlights on doesn't work.

I'll be checking all the things in this thread and the one Growler linked.

Mine is also intermittent. Did you ever figure out the issue?

 

[Foxusmc]

Mine is also intermittent. Did you ever figure out the issue?

Hey I was having the same issue. Was intermittent then just stopped working. Headlights were good but dash lights, taillights, license plate lights and radio dimmer didn't work at all. I ordered and installed a new Headlight switch today and it instantly started working again. Every time. Prior to thus everything checked out good in terms of fuses, wired and connections. Idk if the Headlight switch replacement was what was needed but it works now.

 

[Growlerbearnz]

Yup, it's common for the the headlamp stalk/switch to fail. A new switch is often the best fix, but they can be repaired which can sometimes give them a little more life:

Combination / headlamp switch repair

Reposted from Delica.ca, original writeup by Falco. ... It is a simple switch, complex in style but simple, none the less. The images in this posting were taken with cell phones in dubious light conditions, my apologies for poor quality. There is a small carriage that slides back and forth...

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