headlight woes (again!)

Help !! Ive got some serious issues with my headlights!!!

The picture shows the 2 parts of the problem. Basically I?ve got Full/High beam and side lights but no dipped beam. Ive changed headlight switch 4 times now and that helped the problem once but only for 3months. So we have come to the conclusion it isn?t that, we?v checked the earths too so that rules that out (taken the lower portion of the passenger side dash off and cleaned and swapped (where necessary) the earth ?screw? (flower shaped thing that they all attach to) so that rules that out and all the fuses have been checked also.
Using a Fluke multimeter we have checked that there is a circuit/power getting to the necessary bits, and as expected we are getting 11.7 V  (approx) to all terminals on both the switch and the actual unit that?s wired into the car (pictured) EXCEPT for the 2 im pointing to however when we put the multimeter onto either of the 2 suspect  terminals and made a circuit with something else (in this case the battery terminal in the engine bay) the circuit was complete and the meter beeped at us! So we figured it must be the wiring circuit that goes between the headlights and the unit!
All the bulbs have been checked and they are fine, but when using the multimeter again on the plug at the headlights end of the circuit there isn?t any power coming thru. So its therefore a wiring problem SOMEWHERE after the fusebox and before the headlights themselves, how common is this, how likely is it to be this and not just something else we are overlooking (my fellas a sparky and this has stumped him!)

Is it worth me just gritting my teeth and phoning and autoelecrtician? Or could the problem be elsewhere and id be wasting my pennies?!

you know i love thise site!


all these "experts" and enthusiasts yet nobody can help me!

Check the connector blocks on the back of the fuse box. I had exactly the same issue - turned out to be a dodgy connection inside one of the blocks. From memory the switch runs into the fusebox at the blue block and out at the white one - block A. Check fuses too - there are seperate fuses for main and dipped beams.

Have you tried different bulbs to see if the dipped beam is not working on them (very unlikely I know but worth checking all the same).

Consider getting (making) an uprated loom with dual relays while you are at it. Won't fix this particular issue but is a worthwhile mod to do if you are haveing all of the wiring out to check it anyway.

thanks! wev checked all the fuses individually, and as far as im aware on my particualr fuse box there are no relas associated with the headlights as they are all switched via the controls on the swtch in the dash!

but ill check the other thing u suggested! thanks!

Don't think there are any relays as standard. But consider fitting this (or one similar for mk1 - not sure if they are the same or not)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/…ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The current for the lights runs from the battery, to the fusebox, to the dash switch, back to the fusebox and then out to the lights… Lots of old wiring = less than 12v at the lamps. Higher wattage bulbs will burn out the loom too.

Using the above upgraded loom, the current runs from the battery direct to the headlamps (via the relays). Much brighter lights and can use higher wattage bulbs. Also makes it simpler to sort out your issue as there is less wiring involved to check (I just stripped all of the unneeded  bits out - tidies it up and saves a bit of weight).

Ah. Here is the one I got…

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/…ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem