Questions and Answers

Volvo Lights Q. Hi, I'm trying to troubleshoot a headlight problem. The car (1988 Volvo 740) has a high beam light and a low beam light on both sides of the car. When the high beams are on, all four lights are lit. When the low beams are on, only the right low beam light works.

Obviously the bulbs are OK, so I guess the electrical system needs help. Where do I go from here? Also, the dashboard lights do not always work right away. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes or so before they come on. It seems like they don't work until the car is warmed up. That completely baffles me.

Any help would be appreciated,
Cynthia

A. Ahhh Cynthia, you fell into a common mistake. What you have here is simply a burned out head light. The reason it works on high beam is that there are two filaments inside the low beam bulb. One filament is for when low beams are selected and the other is for when the high beams are selected. The low beam filament is burned out, but the high beam one is still good. Replace the headlight and all will be well again. First check fuse number 19 in the fuse box. That supplies power to the left low beam headlight.

I suspect the problem you have with the dash lights is the dash light rheostat. It is a simple, coil style rheostat that simply wear out. When they do, it causes a symptom such as you describe.

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