Wiper and headlights not working

Tiny
ABDUL AMAL
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 SUZUKI MAROTI
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 12 MILES
My wipers and headlights not working. I think the fuses are gone. How can I check those? Whether any other problems may cause this?
Saturday, August 27th, 2016 AT 9:54 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,908 POSTS
If you look at the smaller spade-type fuses, there are two small holes on top where you can poke the probe of a test light. Turn the dead systems on, the test at each fuse's two test points. The light should light up on both of them. If the light is off on both test points, that circuit is dead or turned off before that fuse. If the light turns on at both test points, that fuse is good. You're looking for a fuse where the test light turns on at one test point but not the other.

Be aware that both the wipers and head lights are considered safety systems, and as such are not protected by fuses because when a fuse blows, you're done. They use auto-resetting circuit breakers that trip when they get hot from too much current, and they reset automatically very quickly. That way, if the short is intermittent, as in when a wire is rubbing against metal and vibrating, the safety system has a chance of working again long enough for you to safely stop the car.

Those circuit breakers don't fail very often, and to have two fail is not likely. I would look for something both circuits have in common, and that may be a large fuse in the under-hood fuse box. Some fuse styles have rather large test points on top and you can use the test light on them. Some only have a clear plastic cover that you have to look through. The best way I can describe what one of those looks like when it is blown is to compare it to the other fuses like it. The blown fuse may be black, or there may be no nice silver wire running through it. It will look different than the other fuses.
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Saturday, August 27th, 2016 AT 10:38 PM

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