I'm lightless in Oregon: need help

[Drumster]

My road trip has gone really well all down through Wa, Idaho, Utah (where I explored off the map dirt roads in 101 F temps with the Dellie never over-heating or skipping a beat.) into Az back up through Nevada and I'm now near Crater Lake in Oregon. This is an AWESOME van!

However, tonight, completely out of the blue my exterior lights quit. They just completely blacked out while I was tooling around exploring back roads in the dark out in the middle of nowhere. I had my high beams and stock fog lamps on at the time.

Under the hood I found one 10 amp fuse blown so I replaced it with a different one from further back on the fuse box which evidently was for the radio & dash lights. Oddly, after replacing the fried fuse, the lights remained dead.

Fortunately Mitsubishi put the 4-way flashers on a separate circuit so I was able to make my way slowly back to the motel with just the flashing 4-ways lighting the way.

I've put the good 10 amp back where it had been and am now wondering what to do with this tomorrow.

I've checked all other fuses and they each appear to be intact so I'm kinda' baffled.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Super Exceeded]

You may have a short somewhere, looke for a frayed wire behind the light. Just a shot in the dark!

[thedjjack]

Could be the headlight switch to...try jiggling it...

Other then start at one end and test connections and look for shorts. Wiring just takes time (but short makes sense given the roads you have been on).


Best of luck...

[DelicaDJ]

You might make a shocking discovery!
All puns aside, they both have valid points, check it out when you have some daylight.
Hope you get it all figured out so you may continue on your journey!
Hey, if you pass back through Washington, stop in North Everett & shoot me a message, I'd love to see your van!

[FalcoColumbarius]

• Check in your battery area for the fusible links or burnt out plugs.
• PM Jay of the TardisDeli.

Falco.

[Drumster]

Thanks guys. The way I see it, it's not likely that the 10 amp fuse burning out is just coincidence so I figure this problem has something to do with fuses. There's one odd looking fuse in the box that I can't check visually and I'm guessing/hoping that's the one for the head lights. I'll start this morning by trying to open that one up for inspection. Other than that I'll probably just leave it alone and limit myself to daylight driving 'til I get home Saturday.

[tonydca]

If you don't have a voltmeter in the van, this would be a good excuse to get one. Even the cheapy $3 special at Harbour Frieght (BTW my new favourite US store chain of all time) is good enough for simple troubleshooting like this:

Start with the fuse (resistance check across the fuse should be close to zero ohms if good).

If the fuse is OK, check resistance downstream of the fuse holder to ground (with the lights switched on). If close to zero ohms, you likely have a short. Trace along the wiring til you find it.

If not, leave lights switched on and check voltage of upstream (towards the battery) side of the fuse holder to ground. Should be close to 12V. If not, you just have to keep tracing back towards the battery until you find the short/break/LooseWire/fusible link connection and restore the 12V.

I had a weird one the other day; similar prob with my folg lights not working. Fuse OK, 12V into fuse holder, nothing coming out. WTF? Turns out on of the pins deep within the fuse holder itself had pulled out of its mount, so the fuse never actually made contact internally. Yanked it back in place with pliers, and good to go. Sometimes you have to look carefully...

But don't be scared of checking the wiring in a vehicle. And for goodness' sake, stop in at a Harbour Freight next time you're near one (they have an online store locator). For $50 you can outift an entire toolset for your van. Like Princess Auto on steroids. Trust me - you won't regret it...

[Drumster]

Cool, thanks. I'll pop into their store in Everett & pick up a v-meter tomorrow.
BTW,Do you know which fuse is assigned to the headlights?

[Drumster]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I bought a pack of fuses & replaced the fried 10 amp to no avail... and once I saw that other mystery fuse in daylight there was nothing unique about it and it was OK. So... back to the drawing board. I'll be home tomorrow (Sat) & at least then I can park it and and he pressure will be off.

[tonydca]

Fuse box translation (UK site):

http://www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopi ... 7185c03660

[DelicaDJ]

Cool, thanks. I'll pop into their store in Everett & pick up a v-meter tomorrow.
BTW,Do you know which fuse is assigned to the headlights?

I live in Everett, & would love to see your Delica while you're here tomorrow, I know where Harbour Freight is, so I could meet you there if it's not too much trouble I am just a bit curious, having never seen one before in person!

[Drumster]

Another long over-due follow up: The blown 10 amp fuse is still a bit of a mystery and at the time - was a bit of a red herring. The actual problem in this case was not the 10 amp fuse and also not the switch itself but the main 40 amp head-light fuse. Yes, I initially checked it - but only visually... in the dark, in Oregon, with a flashlight! (Visually it looked OK.) After that I disregarded it completely! Silly me!

Anyway, happily, with the help of Tony & his knowledge + meters etc, the culprit was isolated and very easily & inexpensively replaced. All my lights are now back to normal (and have been for some time) and I'm very gradually piecing together the required bits to have nice bright off road lights. That way I won't need to over work the standard high/low beam set up ever again.

Back when this all happened, the fact that a 10 amp fuse blew at or around the same time as the 40 only served to divert attention from the real problem and convolute the situation. So un-neccesarily I started looking into the expensive possibility of a worn or faulty steering column switch etc, etc.

Bottom line: Live and learn. It's all good!
Cheers!
T