lights not working beyond half lights

Good evening. Need advise on how I can fix my lights.. The side lights work but the main lights don't.. Bulbs, fuses, toggle switch on steering seem fine.. Its a 300 tdi 110. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pk

Have you taken the switch off? The contacts can melt into the plastic resulting in a switch that feels fine, but doesn't work.

Also, you need ignition on to work the headlights..... ask me how I know!

steveo said:

Have you taken the switch off? The contacts can melt into the plastic resulting in a switch that feels fine, but doesn't work.

Also, you need ignition on to work the headlights..... ask me how I know!

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Hi Steveo.
Yes i took the switch out and it appeared ok but perhaps i should look again. The area around the contacts for the main did look darker than the rest so perhaps this is the issue... Would it be reparable or replacement necessary?

replacement - the brass pins start to sink into the plastic. they are cheep though

Im going to have to guryrig it some how

Also check out the bulb plugs. These can run quite hot and eventually melt a bit then stop conducting electricity. Replaced both on my old 300 tdi Disco.

Do the headlamps work on 'flash'? That uses a different power supply effectively bypassing the headlight switch, if it works then you have proved a lot of the headlamp bulb / wiring and I looks more towards switch failure. If you do change the switch don't go for a cheapy otherwise you will be replacing it again, also worth considering a headlamp relay kit as that dramatically reduces the current through the switch and will reduce the chance of it overheating and melting.

Note to self - really must practice what I preach and get on and fit a kit to mine

Gentleman, (who answered a few years back!)
We're currently in Northern Norway and swapped out the 300tdi for td5. No less problems but, at least it doesn't overheat!
Light again though. Switching the main beam on turns off the right lamp completely..... Any ideas??

Sorry for my grammar there! To clarify, when I switch from headlamps to main beam, it turns off the right lamp completely.
I should know this by now but, it's been a few years since I've had an issue with electrics after switching to the TD5.
I swapped the LED lamps for the original bulb style for winter driving but, now that I would like to swap them back, I have encountered this issue regardless of what type I install.
Any pointers, gratefully received.

pete42 said:

Sorry for my grammar there! To clarify, when I switch from headlamps to main beam, it turns off the right lamp completely.
I should know this by now but, it's been a few years since I've had an issue with electrics after switching to the TD5.
I swapped the LED lamps for the original bulb style for winter driving but, now that I would like to swap them back, I have encountered this issue regardless of what type I install.
Any pointers, gratefully received.

Click to expand...

I'd check the relays- start with the headlight, and then the dim/dip. They can fail all sorts of odd ways. Column switches shouldn't be able to do that, I don't think.

I've been spending too long looking at defender wiring diagrams recently...

pete42 said:

Sorry for my grammar there! To clarify, when I switch from headlamps to main beam, it turns off the right lamp completely.
I should know this by now but, it's been a few years since I've had an issue with electrics after switching to the TD5.
I swapped the LED lamps for the original bulb style for winter driving but, now that I would like to swap them back, I have encountered this issue regardless of what type I install.
Any pointers, gratefully received.

Click to expand...

When main beam is illuminated the normal beam is turned off so only one filament of the bulb is lit. The first port of call would be the bulb but If you have the same issue on you LED as your halogens then I would check the fuses. Form memory left and right are individually fused so might be worth checking. If one side it working it is unlikely to be the switches. The dim dip is a prime place to start and my recommendation would be to bypass it either with a dedicated relay, a jumper cable or a modifying your existing one to become a bypass (LINK)

Alpinewoodsman said:

I'd check the relays- start with the headlight, and then the dim/dip. They can fail all sorts of odd ways. Column switches shouldn't be able to do that, I don't think.

I've been spending too long looking at defender wiring diagrams recently...

Click to expand...

Thanks I'll try it. Let you know how it goes. Probs something simple. I did check the fuses and obvious fault finding process first thing.

Check wing connectors

All good, no idea what the issue was but, they just started working again! Landy anomali.