darthdicky Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Trying to work out if there's something wrong with my electrics, or if it's just a case of them all doing that at this age... Vehicle hasn't been used much for the last year or so, not sure if that has anything to do with it? Both headlights were replaced about 18 months ago, one has now failed on the dip beam, and both sidelight bulbs have gone black but after cleaning up the corrosion on the copper earth contacts, both bulbs work and one light is now functioning. One of the indicators went as well but again after cleaning up the corrosion it's fine. Will be ordering two new sidelight units and a halogen conversion for the headlights, but am I likely to have this problem again? Would a poor earth cause bulbs to go quite regularly? Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Not had the same issues as you, so no idea why the light units keep corroding and failing on you.... The more typical issue with Defenders is the glass fuses. The fuse holders corrode and you get random electrics. Easily remedied by replacing the fuse box with blade type.... Turbocharger posted a thread about it some time back. I did exactly the same as he did and not more "guess the light that's not gonna work today" Might be worth doing a search. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 If you live near industry or the esa, this can agravate bi-metallic corrosion which is what is going on. Try a very thin smear of vaseline on the contacts before assembly, or even a tiny squiz of WD40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 When you say the sidelight bulbs have gone black do you mean inside the glass? Are you using decent quality bulbs? I'd check the alternator output, it should be in the region of 14.4 volts when charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthdicky Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 Cheers for the suggestions guys. Neil, my fusebox is the blade type already so I can't put it down to glass fuses unfortunately. Errol I'm not especially close to the sea or any industrial area, but will definitely put some vaseline on the contacts on the new units. Roger, yes the insides of the bulbs look black, but the element itself seems fine. The bulbs are from Halfords or a local motor factor - not super cheapo ones. Last time I checked the alternator output I did wonder if it was a little low - it gets up to about 14v at higher revs though. The battery is a bit suspect and will probably be changed as soon as I get a job to pay for it, might have to get the alternator checked out as well then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mateyboy Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 somewhere hid away, in a place accessible only by a fully trained marmoset monkey, an earth connection will look ok but it will be rusted under the nut and/or strap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mateyboy Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Have you sussed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthdicky Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 I'm not sure, I've changed the headlights and sidelights for new units and they all work fine, just hope they last longer than the last ones. All the earth connections to the lights were fine, have to see how it goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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