No reverse lights but all fuses working

[goosergus]

Sprinter 208d. T reg. Reverse lights were glowing very dim so decided to clean bulb holder terminals and replace bulbs but crossed the connection points causing healthy spark. I have no blown fuses in fuse box under steering wheel or in board under drivers seat but now have no reverse lights. Have checked new bulbs;they are okay.
Is there another fuse box i should be looking for?
A friend suggested there may be in-line fuses but i cant find any in obvious places.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Grrrmachine]

In my experience, check the cluster connection that clips the light to the wiring loom (a bit like a car stereo connector.) Not seen the back of a Sprinter, but a lot of vehicles have this type of connection for the rear lamps (brakes, lights, reverse etc) and a healthy spark may indicate that the connector has burnt out. Just unclip it from the light box at the back on each side and look for scorch marks inside. May also be a good idea to use a circuit tester - read that current is getting to the lamp cluster, and put some volts across the bulbs directly to check theyre ok.

 

[goosergus]

I did try to disconnect that terminal but it was stuck fast. Obviously i didn't try too hard but i will go at it again but wouldn't the fuse blow as well?
I am waiting on a friend bringing me a multi meter/circuit tester but it would probably be qiucker buying one knowing him. Are they easy to use?

 

[television]

Multi Meters

You can buy a multi meter from £4.00 up to ......£2000.00 Small cheap multi meters mesure. Volts/ohms/amps and some times semi conductors. the DC volts range on cheap ones is the only range of much use in a car. that will tell you if a voltage is present at a certain point. The ohms range can be used to find breaks in cables and swich contacts, but the test leads are too short for long cables. The Amps range (current) on these meters is far too low for car use unless you use an external shunt as current has to be measured in serries with the object under test. that's it

Your reverse light switch could be faulty, could be on the gear box or leever

Malcolm

 

[goosergus]

Thanks for your suggestions people. I went at the problem yesterday. stripped everything down tested everthing from the gearbox switch to the bulb and every wire in between and everything seemed to be in order.
Once i had put everything back together would you belive the lights started working! Probably had residue on the terminals preventing good connection.

When I was younger and something didn't work i used to dismantle it and put it back together and it often proved successful. I don't know why i stopped thinking like that cos the success rate wasn't bad.

Circuit tester £9.99 and common sense prevailed in the use of.

Again thanks for your replies Grrrmachine and television.

 

[dogsbody]

Next time try a new clean earth to chassis (temporary) - 50% of all wiring faults with lighting circuits are due to bad earth connections, and are usually overlooked