Dip Beam problem - Is it the Switch

[Bahamayellow]

Good evening just been tinkering with the Sprint as on my summer (honeymoon) trip last year to Corsica the headlights started to pack in and I could only use the sidelights or switch on the full beam on the column, to the annoyance of the French on the trip home. When the car went over a bump the dip beam would flicker back on sporadically and I could flick the full beam off but it completely went when I got back home. After a few months rest in its garage I have bought the sprint out this week for a clean and service and to eradicate the lighting problem. I have removed the black under trim from the drivers side to look at the switch and eureka or so I thought there was a blue and yellow wire with spade dangling near the switch. I looked at the wiring diagram, although I suspect the manual I have is for US cars, and it confirms a UY wire should be attached to the switch and this appearing to be the only male connector free I connected them back together which put the dip beam on when the switch was in the off position and a squealing noise came from one of the three relays which went when I switched the switch to the on position ie dip beam but the headlights went off but the sidelights stayed on. Confused I am.

I am the worlds worst electrician but am assuming that the switch needs replacing and can't understand why the relays would make a screeching noise. The dip beam worked previously so I assumed all that had happened was the connector had come loose and fallen off. Help would be very much appreciated.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Mike,

a few years ago my S4, which had had a modern re-wire, suffered from identical symptoms to those you have encountered.
In my case the problem was more confusing because there were no "dangling" wires or connectors.
After contacting my "tame sparks" I removed the switch with its attached wires from the steering column for him to take a look at.

The switch was pretty mucky, having many years of grime mixed in with the switch lubricating grease.
Having cleaned up that mess, the switch itself looked mechanically OK.
However my "sparks" soon found the problem.

The soldered joint of one of the wires into the switch had fractured = source of problem.
Cause of problem = those wires going to the switch are old & have lost some of their flexibility due to the loss of plasticiser in the insulation.
When the dip-switch is switched those wires move with it subsequently loading the soldered joint & the solder tag on the switch.

Simple solution was re-solder the connections on the switch.
Better solution solder new wires to the switch.
Even better solution done by my sparks was to fit new thinner gauge wires that would reduce the mechanical load on the switch.
Top job done!

I hope that the solution to your problem is as simple

Cheers
John

[oldelanman]

Hi Mike,
As your main beam is working the headlamp switch itself must be OK. There could be a fault with the dipswitch as John suggests but before you take it out I would check out the relays.

The blue/yellow wire you have reconnected is for the headlamp flash function and is not the source of you problem, it was probably disconnected by the PO to disable the troublesome (and probably illegal) flash function. It is live when the headlamp switch is in the off position which explains what you found when you connected it. Disconnnect it - you don't need it. The noise you heard was probably from the flash relay - low voltage and/or bad connection can cause a relay to buzz.

Check out your dip relay - simplest way is by elimination. Swap the wires from the main beam relay - you know that circuit works OK - to the dip relay. If the main beam still works the dip relay is OK and the fault must be in the dip beam wiring or the dipswitch itself. If the main beam no longer works the dip beam relay is faulty.
You can identify which relay is which by the wiring colours......
Main beam - blue/black and blue/white
Dip beam - blue/brown and blue/red

Hope that makes sense. Good luck.

Regards,

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Ah,

the S4 / Sprint switch does have a wire for a headlamp flash function; probably a Triumph facility but not do-able in an elan; so that may account for that dangling wire, which I have distant memories of my car having.

John

[Bahamayellow]

Thanks chaps for the replies. I will check the relays first as to get at the switch the dash will have to be removed.

After hearing the relays buzzing I checked all connectors were properly connected and when I drove off last night the dip beam worked only to go off after 1 minute again. Will check again today and let you know.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Thanks chaps for the replies. I will check the relays first as to get at the switch the dash will have to be removed.

After hearing the relays buzzing I checked all connectors were properly connected and when I drove off last night the dip beam worked only to go off after 1 minute again. Will check again today and let you know.

Mike,

I think that all you have to do is remove the 2 plastic half shells around the steering column & the switch is fixed to the column with 2 screws.
The column will need to be lowered by releasing the upper clamp but nice & easy as you've already removed the under-tray from the dash.
quick & simple job; no need to remove the dash.

John

[Bahamayellow]

Thanks John I was relating switch to one in dash now all makes sense

[oldelanman]

Mike,
If you do have to take the dipswitch out make a careful note of where the wires go before you pull the bullet connectors apart. The wire colours shown in the manual are for the loom only - the tails soldered to the switch are different colours and don't match up - at least they don't on my car. Could save you some time !

The wires from the switch run inside a conduit on the underside of the column and you will need to completely remove the top clamp to get the conduit off - you might be able to pull the wires out but I doubt would get them back in again without removing it.

Regards,

[RichC]

there's 2 pressure switches which are the cutouts for when the pods are down. Suggest u check these out as well as these were the cause of similar problem I had last week.
RichC

[Bahamayellow]

Finally sorted out on Sunday Roger was correct the fault was in the relay. I found what appeared to be a faulty connector on one of the relays as it caused the lights to go on and off when moved. However upon soldering wire to connector I still had the problem so undid the relay and it looks as if over the years with heat etc the contact points were not aligned directly under one another so with some careful surgery the lights now work perfectly but I will invest in a new relay as the contact points don't look like they will last forever. Thank you everyone for the replies

Now onto sorting out the exhaust as per my earlier post

[elansprint71]

Glad you sorted it Mike. There is a colour wiring diagram on this site, which Gareth produced a while back; it really is worth getting a big print made before you need it!



Relays are often a first place to look- I think that they can retain moisture due to temperature changes; condensation has nowhere to get out, on most relays, leading to corrosion.

[Bahamayellow]

Thanks Pete that looks a good idea.

Thanks

[elans4dhc]

Lucas made some 6RA relays fully sealed for marine applications . I've used them without problem to date. Don't know if you can still get them.

Andrew