Let there be light....

Well, it has been an extraordinary gap between posts - appalling blogging form, but I hope excused by the fact that in the meantime there's been an extension built at home and more importantly a new bundle of joy in our lives. The van has had to take a patient back seat.

That said, the extension has demonstrated that a T3 is an excellent workhorse as well as a leisure vehicle. 8x4 sheets of building materials, 3m lengths of timber and even 250 roof tiles have all been shifted around during the project and this has saved much time, money and hassle - pat on the back Jasper.

One fault had developed in that time - the reverse lights stopped working. Now that the nights are longer our very dark drive needs illumination, so it was long over due for me to do some investigation.

I try to take the approach with jobs like this to eliminate the easiest option first, then gradually get to the more complicated parts if needed. With this in mind, the first port of call was light bulbs. It couldn't be easier on a T3 - simply remove the four screws holding the lenses in place and lift them out.

The image shows the four screws that have to be removed. Having done this, I removed the reverse light bulb and used a multimeter to do a continuity test. The bulb was fine on the nearside but the offside one was blown. So.. bulbs weren't the issue.

Next, I tested using the multimeter to see if any power was getting to the light fitting. I put ignition on and the van in reverse, then used the meter to test for 12V. There was nothing there, so the problem was further upstream.

Next thing to check was the switch which is located on the underside of the gearbox. The one on my van is as seen here on the Brickwerks site - with two spade connectors.

I disconnected the two wires going to the switch and made up a new piece of wire with two male spade connectors. I plugged this in across the switch wires to 'short' them. Once I did this the reverse light came on, so the problem was the switch.

The switch and wires on mine were all covered in silicone sealant which I suspect was there to keep moisture out. The problem is, in my experience it tends to do the opposite - traps moisture in. I removed the switch from the gearbox using a 19mm socket. Note that there is a washer on the old switch, but one didn't come with the new one, so the old one needs to be kept safe. All this was done with the van on the ground with me lying underneath - one advantage of a standard height van!

I tested the switch on the meter and found it was not functioning, so ordered a new one from Brickwerks. I will renew the connectors on the switch cables and then insert the new switch.