electrical problem with headlights

[Fizzy]

after putting my car back together after the clutch episode, while out i noticed my lights werent working properly. i thought i had kncoked a wire while putting the glovebox back in or something, but ive just had a look and i've got no loose connections under the dash and no blown fuses. all the connectors at the grill are connected, though i didnt have a look how clean they are.

sidelights work fine
dipped beam works fine
switch to high beam, headlights go off
try to flash from dipped beam, lights go off
indicators, rear lights etc work.
i've never been able to 'flash' high beams with the lights off.

i didn't knowingly pull any wires out during the rebuilding of my interior, and cant see anything jumping out at me. it all worked fine until i had the car apart to do the clutch (apart from the last point on my list), and now its back together, it doesnt. im now going to go out and clean the contacts at the bonnet end, but i dont think its those.

[Fizzy]

well ive fixed them, but i have no idea how. cleaning the contacts made no difference, so i started to unscrew the covers over the stalk switches, pulled the headlight 'clump' out of the stalk, and then they worked fine. :-/

[Paudman]

Beware it's not a short-circuit, check for bare wires as the entire shebang may go on fire some day...a little bit of insulating tape may just be a stitch in time.

[jjferreira]

This is odd, I had very similar situation today.

I went around for a spin, all was fine has the darkness started to approach I decided to turn the lights on, while I was drive i noticed a funny smell.  When I got to the place where i was going I notice the lights where not on any longer, whoever if I was signalling that was working, or if I was doing light signals that was working as well.

How can II find out what was wrong.

tks

[drofgum]

Fizzy,
From what I can tell looking at a wiring diagram, the blue with white tracer coming from the column switch is the main beam. As I remember the wiring, there are splices where the wires from the column switch join the main harness. It would appear that the connection in the main beam wire is the one that has given you your trouble. Simply disconnecting and re-connecting will clean some of the corrosion from the terminals and give you a more reliable connection. The flash function seems to depend on a brown feed to the column switch from the fuse box. If these connections have corroded to the point where you are losing connections, then a more thorough cleaning is a good idea. Poor connections will run hot and heat is the starting point for burned wiring. The headlamp circuit is probably the largest continuous load on the car's electrical system, and most likely to get hot. Don't panic, but it might be wise to check those connections soon.
                                                                        Good luck,
                                                                        Paul