Message Forums

Nearside sidelights keep going off (front, rear and marker light).  Fiddle about with the fuses/bulbs/connectors, it comes back on again.  Drive 50 yards down the road, off it goes again.  Drive any distance, then it blows the fuses for the sidelights in the CAR!!!  (on the offside).  

We have now gone through this whole procedure twice (OH is in the process of putting a new fuse in the car to get those lights working again). 

Help.  Any suggestions?  

Don't really want to have to take it to a workshop, if this can be avoided....god knows what they will charge.  I have confidence the experts on here will have the answer to this problem.  Please.

I would suspect the 12n wiring where it connects / enters, in the car .

atb

Wizard

Ta Wizard.  OH was thinking along those lines.

Do we just buy a new 12 pin connector and wire it in?

Do we just buy a new 12 pin connector and wire it in?

Imo no , you need to find the cause , it's almost certainly a wiring short , as it's blowing the fuse .
When the lights don't work you should use a multi-meter and check where you still have supply to the lights and where you don't .
I take it you have the new 13pin connector ?

atb

Wizard

Not sure if we have the new 13 pin socket or not.  Relatively new towball/electric connection on the car (2006) but the van is 93 and the socket is the original, as far as we can tell. 

OH has a multi meter and will be having a look at things over the weekend.  (Van is in storage so another trip is in order).  Got to get this sorted before we can use the van again.

Do you have a black plug and a grey plug on your caravan, that you plug into the car
http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/towbar_electrics.shtml

atb

Wizard

Thanks for that Wizard.  

Is there anything about caravans you don't know ...  you should set up in business!!

Yes, we do have a grey and a black socket but don't use the grey (as we only have one connector fitted to the towbar).  OH now has all the info to fix it (hopefully).  I'll keep you posted.

Calling Wizard.....

Update - took the car to the towbar fitters, who checked that out and all okay (no charge...so far so good).

Bought new 13 pin black socket for the van (and plenty of spare fuses).  Took a trip to the storage, unscrewed the black socket on the van, one loose wire.  Tightened this and OH put insulating tape around the connection and hey presto - IT NOW WORKS - oh yes.  Wiggled the wires, bounced the car up and down etc. etc. and it still works!!!

Problem now is that this is obviously the original socket fitted when the van was built and its gone really rusty (in fact all the other screws holding the wires are rusted solid).  OH wants to change the socket to the new one we now have but thinks he will have to cut the wires, and fit new "crimped" connectors to those wires before fitting them inside the socket.  Question is - what connectors are you supposed to use?  They are not the blade or bullet type but seem to either be "crimped" into place or perhaps soldered???  We need to know so that we can fit the wiring in the same way as it is  now, into the new socket. 

So, (a) what connectors are you supposed to use and (b) where do you buy them?

HELP PLEASE

and fit new "crimped" connectors to those wires before fitting them inside the socket.  Question is - what connectors are you supposed to use?

I think i know the ones you mean , they just crimp to the bare wire , i can't find them on the net . But a work around that i would use, is to solder the bare wire ends and then fit .

atb

Wizard

Sorry, my mistake, it is a 7 pin plug.  

Can you get a kit to crimp the wires with the connectors to crimp them to?   OH doesn't fancy having to solder them and doesn't have a soldering kit. 

On the 7 pin plug just twist the ends of the bare wires before doing up.

atb

Wizard

Ta Wizard.  Back to the storage again in a few days and fit the new socket. 

Relieved to have got this sorted without an expensive visit to the workshop. 

Just waiting for our next trip out now.....having van withdrawal symptoms.   Who need a fortnight on a white sandy beach in the tropics????  Give me a week in wet, windy Britain in my van and I'm happy.  (keep telling him I'm low maintenance).