Lighting issues, freedom bar

[Dela]

Specialists - you know who you are - my freedom bar doesn't turn on with key all of a sudden.

Brake lights work, turn sigs work, hazzards work, but no headlights with key turn...

Any thoughts?

[JohnnieB]

Blown bulbs.
If they are halogen, they could have gotten zapped if they were turned on while cart batteries were on charge.

Or, a blown fuse
Or mice chewing on the wires.

[Dela]

Odd thing is the brake lights turn on with brake pedal pressed and with blinkers and hazzards on - but not with key turned to lights on

Fuses are all good

I did disconect the horn yesterday and then replaced as was but don't see how that could have done it.

[Bmatlock00]

Get your multimeter and check for voltage at the light if none then trace the wire back checking for cuts

[LostHusker]

Get your volt meter out, pull one of the lights out from the back and see if there is voltage there. If there is no voltage trace it back towards the fuse area, the wires should run under the driver side back to the fuse panel.

[yurtle]

Is there an echo in here?

[JohnnieB]

What happens to the +12V on the battery side of the fuse block when you turn on lights?

I'm thinking the wires from the +12V source and from B- are the only things the brake lights/turn signals and headlights have in common.
A bad wire or connection there might pass enough current to run the lower amp stuff and drop too much voltage for anything to work when the high current headlights were turned on.

I had a piece of wire that had most of the strands broken doing something like that and I chased my tail for quite a while before I accidentally found it by feel.
(The wire simply didn't feel right when it slide between my fingers, so I yanked on it and broke the last two or three strands. Then the insulation would stretch when I tugged. )

[gornoman]

The separate 12v circuit contacts in the keyswitch may have worn out. I replace that keyswitch about once a year it seems. That's probably because I don't use a relay to trigger my headlights circuit, forcing full circuit current thru those contacts.

[Dela]

Welp, I got lucky boys!!

Voltage meter showed all good - so traced wires back, all good - hmmm....

Unscrewed ring nut holding key switch and then screwed back on... lights all good

No idea what it did, but it worked...