Missing half my lights and my dimmer! Help!

[McMadCow]

This is my first post in this forum, so please go easy on me...

I've got a '74 and I've owned it for almost a year now. Last night I was driving home and I noticed I had a rear marker out. When I pulled in I took out the bulb and sure enough the base was broken at the contact. When I turned on my lights to make sure nothing else was out, boy was I in for a surprise!

I'm missing:

-Running lights, front and rear on the passenger side.

-Side markers, passenger side.

-Cluster and hazard illumination lights. Not dimming up or down, obviously.

-License plate markers.

What DOES work:

-Headlights, high and low

-Brake lights

-Cluster indicator lights (P, High beams, Etc)

-All turn signals

So yeah- no lighting in my cluster, my hazard button doesn't illuminate, and the right side of my car has no lighting. It's really stumping me. I can't see any obvious frayed wires or bad connections anywhere.

I'm thinking my headlight switch went bad since the cluster dimmer is controlled right from it. I'd like to get a second opinion, however, since a replacement is almost $200. Has anyone seen anything like this before?

[Chamonix72]

Start simple and cheap: check your fuses.

[McMadCow]

Start simple and cheap: check your fuses.

Sorry, should have mentioned. All checked out, all intact.

[ifayeoh]

Pull and clean contacts for Fuse 8, then pull and clean all Fuses and Contacts.

8 should be a 8Amp fuse as well.

HTH

Frank

[McMadCow]

Well, I'm an idiot. I pulled fuse #8 to clean and re-seat it, and sure enough, it falls apart in my hand. I guess it had blown or broken, but the split was so small I couldn't even see it.

I don't have any fuses here but I'll pick one up tomorrow, I'm assuming it will work after that.

Thanks guys!

[ifayeoh]

Good find, just use another one in the fuse box and test it real quick to be sure, but i am sure that was the issue.

Have fun,

Frank

[Swiftus]

Welcome!

#8 fuse for sure. Does your car still have the factory sticker on the hood that describes the fuse layout for the car?

These kinds of fuses are pretty finicky. The only way I ever trust a fuse is by checking its continuity while it is in the car. And regardless, pulling the fuse takes 5 seconds and can only help diagnose what is wrong.

So yep, #8 fuse. We all at some point think to quickly about a problem... Don't worry about it.

On to my mandatory maintenance statement. The fuse blows because it gets old or overloaded. Not much you can do about the old part other than replace the fuse. Overload, however, means you should clean all of the grounds on that circuit. I will take an hour to pull the various lights and clean the contacts.

Good luck!

[Mike Self]

wear out! Preventative maintenance on 2002 fuses includes pulling 'em periodically to check for corrosion and wear on the ends where the contact their brass retainer clips; clean both fuses and clips as necessary; replace any fuses that are worn or corroded.

They aren't really hard to find as they were used in countless VW Beetles and other German cars of the era.

cheers

mike