I have owned my 1974 2.0 only a few months and have been progressing through a long list of small and large projects, but the missing instrument illumination has me a little stumped. The lights did not work when I took possession.

After having fuses randomly showering my feet, I installed the Jwest updated fuse holding panel, which is awesome even if somewhat tedious to put in, and during this process looked for things that might be loose, missing, etc. Nada (nothing). Just replacing the fuse panel did nothing to fix the lighting problem and I did not expect it to.

Is there a relay or some other gathering place for this lighting circuit? For a fairly big guy in a small car I have become pretty good at standing on my head a searching the nooks and crannies where engineers like to hide stuff that will eventually need servicing, but I have not found anything. Do the headlight switch rheostat functions tend to wear out?

Before taking my colorblind eyeballs on a tour of a wiring diagram I thought it best to consult this source of wisdom. Help?

The rheostat could be the issue, check if you have voltage on the rheostats' 2 terminals (head light switch pulled out)

Do any of your instrument lights work?? (including those on the heater/fan controls) and if so do any dim when you turn the light switch?

It's very unlikely ALL the bulbs have blown, and if any work you know its not the rheostat.
That said I did have 12 illumination bulbs out on my car when I purchased it!

Here's the article to rebuild your headlamp switch

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...lamp_switch.htm

I have zero lights in front of me. Nothing. Tested a couple of lights for continuity so I know they are not burned out.

I'll get back on my head, pull the switch and check outputs. Oh the joy!

.... or you could have a fault/break in one of the wires up there (possibly hidden under intact insulation), or a loose/short/bad contact on any of the switch or bulb sockets. Find the right wires & check continuity between the lengths, at connectors/sockets, etc. Then there are also the headlight hi/lo & TS relays etc. just by the fuse panel.

It's a good idea to get the wiring diagram & 8 volume service manual on CD from AA or another source, so you can look stuff up on your laptop, or pop for a print version if you're really serious (or print from the CD & put in binders of your own source).

So it's a bit of a treasure hunt to trace down electrical problems on a +/- 40 year old car .... & especially VW/Audi/Porsche etc. Euro cars, since you can't get the rebuilt/repro harnesses & install & forget as with many of the domestic classic cars.

Enjoy your 74 2L!

Good Luck!
Tom
73 2L since 12/75 2nd owner
///////

Thanks for the reference. I should have checked them.

Lots of spare switches for sale. Place a wtb.

Ok, quick easy check.

Check fuse 7 power across fuse (it feeds the rheostat)
if ok check pin 58b on rear of light switch (power in to switch for rheostat) and pin 58a power out of rheostat to instrument lights. Both cables are Black/Blue.

I hope I can but in here for a sec.

please check there are 14 light bulbs on the instrument panel? correct?
I am looking to get some brighter bulbs.

has anyone done this already? where did you get the bulbs?

thanx
914 luva

Which lights exactly are not illuminating? The nighttime illumination lights that should come on with the headlights? Or the instrument indicator lights such as the emergency brake light and oil pressure light? Or both?

A few things to check...

– It may just be the bulbs. While it's unlikely that they all burned out through normal use, it's entirely possible the a short killed them all at once. Check the simple things first.

– On my 73, the instrument light wiring combines into one of those rectangular plastic boxes with a a spade connector inside (like the ones for the console wiring). Definitely possible that the connectors inside have separated–especially if you've been working under the dash. After 40+ years, the plastic is pretty cloudy and difficult to see inside.

– Out of the connector, there's one wire for each of the light sockets, and one wire that routes back to the (I believe) headlight switch. (sorry...I'm away from the car so can't tell you where for sure). Check to make sure that wire is properly connected.

– If the connectors look good, bulbs are OK and there's power at the fuse panel, my next suspect is a grounding issue. The light sockets have a single + wire. The ground to complete the circuit is through the instrument housings themselves. Check the brown ground wire that terminates at a spade on the combo gauge and continues on through extensions to the other gauges.

Regarding increasing the illumination, I just did Tim's LED upgrade. He does a fantastic job outlining the steps and the difference is amazing. If you don't feel like taking this on yourself, he can do it for you for a very reasonable cost. Highly recommended. Here's the link.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...212130&st=0

Good luck!