New owner of 86 Safari Hightop with 3.3T diesel

[dwrjr]

Hi all,
I have been enjoying the forum, so better post too. My 91 SWB pajero with 2.5 turbo diesel started getting noisier and I needed to tow heavy boat, so bought '86 Safari. It did great towing, great to drive on hiway. Then the brake lights stopped working. I found it was a fuse, put in the spare. Then noticed headlights now don't work on either high or low beam, not sure when they quit. had brake job before I would buy it, maybe related to problem? Anyway, the adventure continues.. Love to work on old cars, where you can understand how they work. Used to own Nissan '67 Bluebirds, great little Japanese BMWs they were. Also owned a Nissan U13 Bluebird SSS ATTESA 4WD, really nice cornering that car had (till an idiot drove into the back of it). Then drove an Australian built Nissan Skyline R30 fastback with L2.8E straight six engine, real nice but drank petrol like a drunk sailor drinks rum.
Cheers,
Donald

[MQ MAD]

Headlights not working will be the light combination switch on the steering colomn
Take the plastic cover off,rip the steering wheel off, remove the combo switch and give it a thorough clean , itll either have dust and stuff in there reducing the contact points from working or itll be totally shagged
Its a common problem with these oldies
When or IF you buy a replacement part ensure the contact pins are the same as there are a few different pin styles ( round pin,rectangle flat pins)
Not a hard job

[dwrjr]

Hey thanks for the info, MQ MAD. I have got the headlights working again. It turned out that a previous owner had connected a wire from one headlight to the other, just wrapping the wire ends and wrapping with electrical tape. That wire had come loose. When I reconnected it, the lights worked again. I found that without that jumper from one headlamp to the other, there was only about 6 volts at the light (on 24 v system). I can't tell what the problem is yet, as the wire involved is all in a harness, but somehow the voltage is not getting there (partially broken wire? short?). Anyway, my clutch stopped working (hose leaking) so I have more important problems than fixing working lights right now..