Just got the 914 back from the shop and going over some loose ends with a few things. Currently I'm dealing with some weird headlamp operation stuff...

With the fuses all good and in place, the headlamps don't seem to operate correctly. The headlamp switch operates correctly, lifting and lowering the headlamps, but the fog lamps and high/low operation don't seem to be working. The fog lamp switch will illuminate when pulled on but the fog lamps only illuminate when I pull a low beam fuse.

Here's what they look like with the headlamp and foglamp switches in the fully ON position. They appear to be both in the high beam mode and never change regardless of high beam switch operation. I dont even think I hear the relay clicking.



Then I pull the left low beam fuse and this is what happens. The Fog lamps come on (and operate on/off relative to fog lamp switch as intended) but the passenger seems to be in the Low beam mode.



I plan to pull both headlamps and pin out which leads are sending 12v relative to switch positions... just hoping someone else has seen this and may have some insight.

- Rich

I would just wiggle all the pertinent wiring & have somebody observe what's happening. Maybe your high beam switch is shot. Does the blue light in the instrument cluster come on? I hate intermittent electrical issues.

It’s a little bit of a strange circuit. The fog lights cannot be switched on, unless the low beams are on because when the low beams are off the low beam filament acts as a ground, keeping the fog light relay from activating. When the low beams are on the resistance of the filament prohibits the fog relay from grounding, and then the switch can be activated or something like that.

When you pull the low beam fuse, it’s allowing the fog circuit to work. That would indicate that there’s a problem with the low circuit and low beam from not coming on. Try jumping directly to the low beam bypassing all the switches and make sure that the low comes on and if it does check to see if you can switch on the fog lights as well. If that works, then you need to work your way back through the low beam circuit and find out why the low beams are not coming on as they should. In my case, there was a wire loose from a ring terminal. It was a ground under the left side of the dash. For some reason to me, it sounds like the relay isn’t switching between high and low.

The fog lights do not come on when the headlights are on high beam. The circuit is designed that way. What you are doing by pulling the fuse is tricking the circuit to think it is on low beams. So the fog lights come on.


Start with the high/low relay on the back of the relay board. It is a square silver can that has a metal clip holding it to a hole in the relay board. If it is not clicking when you pull the turn signal stalk, then the light are probably stuck on high beam. I would replace it, as they are fairly cheap.

The original one only had 4 pins, the replacement has five. To use this new part, plug the four wires in the orig config, ( red / white to 56, yellow to 56A, yellow / red to S and white/blue to 56B or F and then jump 56 to the new 30).

That will get your car so it will switch between low and high beams, and the fog lights will come on when the lights are on low beam.

Sorry- I had it backwards- the high beam filament acts as the ground for the fog relay. When the high beams are on the fog relay is no longer are able to ground though the filament.

Thanks, friends.



Not when its supposed to... lol. It comes on when the headlamp switch is in the half (parking lights only) position. Then when the switch is pulled fully out for headlamps, it goes out... and no high beam switching changes that indicator light or headlamp illumination.




Yeah, I did know that. I thought it inhibited the switch from illuminating also but apparently the switch illuminates anytime its in the on position, regardless of if the foglamps are lit or not. This I forgot. I havent driven the car since 2019, lol.




So... with the key in on position, and the headlamp switch in half (parking light only) position, the high beam indicator light is lit (headlamps are still down), but as soon as I pull the headlamp switch to the full on position, headlamps do go up and both are lit (I cant tell if high or low) but the high beam indicator light goes out... and switching them with the stalk from high/low/high/low, the relay is clicking but no change is occuring in the headlamps... and in no position do the fog lamps actually illuminate (the switch lights up but no actual lights from the fogs).

Then when I pull the left high beam fuse, the fog lamps operate as intended (except when I try to click the high beams on, which, because I've pulled one of the fuses, they are inop).

I may replace the headlamp relay as you suggested (possibly the headlamp switch too as sometimes it doesnt work correctly) but the relay seems to be working correctly... at least clicking as if it is. The operation seems to vary on a number of things, none of which result in correct operation, lol.

I havent even had time to get back on it. I'll take a video next time I'm in the garage.

Thanks again,
- Rich

3/26/24 Update:

So I went ahead and replaced the relay with the updated one and that didn’t fix the problem, so I did a little testing and tracing.

I looked on the backside of the fuse block and I see the yellow wire from the relay going to low beam right/ position 4, but there is a little jumper that goes from low beam right to low beam left at the fuse block. Is that supposed to be there? It’s definitely not OEM. It looks like someone jumped the low beam right /position 4 to low beam left a position 3, maybe thinking it would solve their previous problem??

When I disconnect that jumper everything works correctly (except there is no power to low beam left). When I put that jumper back in, the high beams stay on all the time, no matter what in the stalk position is… and the relay clicks like normal trying to switch from high to low but everything just stays on high beams, and the fog lights don’t work (as expected).

When I switch the yellow wire from position 4 over to position 3, leaving position 4 empty, it’s the same as if I have it back on 4 with the jumper to 3.

So basically… when position 4 has power to it but NOT position 3, it seems to operate correctly. But if position 3 / Low beam left has 12v going to it at any point, it makes everything act as if the high beams are on.

P.s., it may be more related to the left stalk than I think. Now I’m thinking maybe the stalk is more the culprit. When I was testing it and it seemed to be working correctly without that little jumper connected, all of a sudden it stayed stuck on highbeam, and would only flash an intermittent right side low beam. Smdh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6nsPqZelzM



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Check the back of the instruments. The "High beam indicator" light you see may be the park light indicator that should be in the back of the speedometer.