No dims!

[Three Dee]

A couple of weeks back I mentioned my daughter's '84 eta has no dims. I have since swapped out the turn signal/dimmer switch (it seemed a logical thing to suspect), and still no dims. The bulbs, by the way, are all good.

I hooked up the VOM and found I am getting no power to the wires that power the dim filaments in the headlights when the switch is on "Dim." I get all the voltage I need if I have it set on "Bright."

Any ideas? Bad relay, maybe?

[UKFan4Sure!]

Do you have the owner's manual? I think it would identify the relay for the brights. Once you know, I would see if it is the same plug in relay as another one under the cover and swap them to see if anything changes.

I am sure I have an extra relay if you need it. Just let me know...

[Three Dee]

Do you have the owner's manual? I think it would identify the relay for the brights. Once you know, I would see if it is the same plug in relay as another one under the cover and swap them to see if anything changes.

I am sure I have an extra relay if you need it. Just let me know...

Thanks.

By the way: I'm going to be in Louisville the day after Thanksgiving. Any chance we could hook up?

[richardodn]

The usual response for this is to change the headlamp. Too many people don't realize that there are 2 separate filaments in the low beam bulb. However you already checked and found no power at the lamp. No lows could also be a problem with the high beam relay. Does her car have fog lights? Do the fogs work in the low position? The stalk switch is not directly in the circuit for the low beams. Here's how to trace the issue assuming no broken wires.

1. Pull the K4 low beam relay.
2. Check for power at pin 30 of the low beam socket. (+12V all times) If there is no power here there is a fault in the high beam relay.
3. With the ignition on, check for power at pin 86 of the low beam socket. (+12V switched) If there is no power here then there is a wiring or ignition switch fault.
4. If everything has passed so far, pull fuses 13 and 14, turn on the ignition, and set the lights to on-low.
5. You should have +12V on the hot side of each fuse socket. If not, the low beam check relay is at fault.

Try these basic tests. If something doesn't make sense, be sure to post any questions.

[Three Dee]

Now I just need to locate the relay.

Her car DID have fog lights, but they are no longer there. I have an aftermarket set I want to mount on it, but I want first to see if I can locate the pigtails I need so I can use the stock connectors. I REALLY don't want to remove those if I can keep from it.

I'll pull up my electrical manual and figure out where that relay is and give it a try. I ASSUME (and we know what happens when you assume) the relay attached to the turn signal harness is the flasher relay.

(About an hour later...)

I found it! It's in the relay/fuse box under the hood! Imagine it being that easy to find.

I'm not used to BMW's way of putting components like that where they can be found and easily replaced - unlike almost every American car I have ever owned or currently owned.