UK Car Repair: Vectra B electrical problem, rear fog lights, marker lamps

Question
Hi,
  Thank you.  I don't really understand your answer. What do you mean by "3 lighting conditions" ?  What are "marker lights" ?

My headlights (dipped beam, full beam), side lights, indicators and brake lights are fine.

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Followup To

Question -
Hi,
  I have a 2000 W-reg Vectra 2.0 CD (saloon).  This generation ov Vectra is known as "model B", I understand.

  Out of the blue, the following electrical items stopped working:  

Illumination of the dashboard instruments
Front and rear fog lights
Rear number plate light
The buzzer that tells you the headlights are on

There is no fuse that covers all of these.  I checked all fuses, found that fuse 18 was blown.  The manual describes this as "number plate lamp".  Thinking I had found the answer, I replaced it.  The replacement blew immediately.  Any ideas ?

Answer -
Shorted headlamp switch is my first bet. Because it is only affecting the lamps on one circuit. On all cars you see three lighting conditions. Off, Marker lights, all lights. I believe that the marker light setting has shorted out in the switch and is causing your fuses to blow. Replace the switch and take it from their.

Regards,


John


Answer
Lighting conditions are the settings of the lighting switch.
Marker lamps are all the lights of the car except the headlamps.
They mark the corners of the vehicle and illuminate the license tags and are also used as the directional lights "blinkers".
It is imperative that you have it looked at if you feel that you are unable to replace the switch and continue the diagnosis yourself as the switch is my first bet but not the only option and the diagnosis becomes more of a hands on affair if the problem persists. If you feel that you can handle the intensity of a hands on project in wiring I can help you but you will need to do the switch first to rule it out.

Regards,


John