Hello all! It's been awhile. Recently, I've been half assed chasing two electrical gremlins. The FIRST problem occurred a week and a half ago my dash lights quit coming on. Headlights are good - hi/lo no dimming. Dash turn blinkers blink. High beam notice comes on when switched on. Open doors and emergency brake warning lights work as well. Never used the dimmer knob so I don't know if that ever worked. My Second problem is - where in the hell is the seat belt warning relay located?

 

Well, after five days of topic searches, I think I found my answer so I hit the local junkyard and as I'm looking for a replacement headlight switch to test my theory, an old VW hippie mechanic looking for parts comes over and tells me about how things work with his vdubs. 

 

The old man says "check your headlight relays." He believes the older soobs relay for the left side light provides power for the dash lighting or maybe it's the other way around. Never heard of this! His theory for this issue is when one sides relay is out, power backfeeds though the ground from the other sides headlight and glows the lamp dim, which by the way, is the suggestion he asked me to look for. As I stated before tho, my headlights are strong no dimming. So is this guy correct? If not, I'm also open for suggestions. Lastly, Does anyone know where the seat belt warning relay is located? Any and all responses are appreciated!

 

Thanx T

I have seen some peculiar things with different manufacturers. I had a '61 Ford Falcon that did weird things like mentioned except the involved were the turn signals and it had a nonsensical result. It has been so long that I have forgotten just what it was. My '84 Subi GL wagon has had a wire linking the low beam headlamps together as I got it that way. I now suspect that you have just uncovered the reason regarding the relay. Thank you. I wish I could send you some answers but I don't know them. Have a great day and Best of Luck to you!

It is more likely the dimming pot in the headlight switch as I've seen this before. Replace it as planned after checking the power out to the dash lights and you should be ok. I am assuming you checked the fuses. lol