V40 electrics problem
Discussion
Hi all,
I bought a '98 V40 1.8 at the weekend, it was being sold by a friend of my sister and it was cheap. Very very cheap. Its only done 72k miles and the bodywork is almost entirely rot free (though not without a bit of faded paint and the odd scratch!). Its a great comfy barge for me to use over the winter and so far I'm loving it (this shocks me btw, I'm 29 and single with no dogs. There is no reason why I should have this car never mind like it!). Its had the cambelt done, new discs and pads all round and there's MOT 'til august, all for around half the cost of winter tyres and a hard-top for my MR2
So I knew it wasn't a perfect car when I bought it and I'm not going to spend any money on it other than usual running costs. But one thing that is annoying me is the electrics not operating when the key isn't in the ignition ie, the interior lights don't operate on door opening (switch position noted), trip computer and clock reset themselves to zero and the radio loses its memory presets etc. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? If its going to be an expensive issue then I'll just leave it! But if it could just be a relay or something I'd like to sort it.
Any ideas or comments , as always, appreciated
I bought a '98 V40 1.8 at the weekend, it was being sold by a friend of my sister and it was cheap. Very very cheap. Its only done 72k miles and the bodywork is almost entirely rot free (though not without a bit of faded paint and the odd scratch!). Its a great comfy barge for me to use over the winter and so far I'm loving it (this shocks me btw, I'm 29 and single with no dogs. There is no reason why I should have this car never mind like it!). Its had the cambelt done, new discs and pads all round and there's MOT 'til august, all for around half the cost of winter tyres and a hard-top for my MR2
So I knew it wasn't a perfect car when I bought it and I'm not going to spend any money on it other than usual running costs. But one thing that is annoying me is the electrics not operating when the key isn't in the ignition ie, the interior lights don't operate on door opening (switch position noted), trip computer and clock reset themselves to zero and the radio loses its memory presets etc. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? If its going to be an expensive issue then I'll just leave it! But if it could just be a relay or something I'd like to sort it.
Any ideas or comments , as always, appreciated
Edited by irodger on Monday 15th November 09:12
Hi, thanks for the reply.
Yeah, I figured it was one thing causing all of the faults, wasn't sure if they all went through a common fuse/relay/terminal etc. I'd already checked the fuses, but the one for "Interior Light" wasn't fully ruptured, so I didn't notice it in the dark. Looked again in the daylight just now and noticed the degredation at the tip of it. Swapped with a spare and I now have power to the clock, trip comp etc!
I also have permanent power to the radio, is this normal? ie it doesn't turn off on ignition switch off. Its a cheapo Goodmans job, so I'm presuming its been wired 'old skool' at the back to a live feed as opposed to being fitted with ISO connectors.
Yeah, I figured it was one thing causing all of the faults, wasn't sure if they all went through a common fuse/relay/terminal etc. I'd already checked the fuses, but the one for "Interior Light" wasn't fully ruptured, so I didn't notice it in the dark. Looked again in the daylight just now and noticed the degredation at the tip of it. Swapped with a spare and I now have power to the clock, trip comp etc!
I also have permanent power to the radio, is this normal? ie it doesn't turn off on ignition switch off. Its a cheapo Goodmans job, so I'm presuming its been wired 'old skool' at the back to a live feed as opposed to being fitted with ISO connectors.
So my other car is off the road for the winter now and I've been driving the tank for a few days. In this time I've noticed another couple of gremlins in the electrics. None of them are inflicting on the ability to use the car, but they do grate on my mind slightly so hopefully someone can help me out with them
1. The stereo permanently switched on issue is still there i.e. the stereo works off the power on/off button and not the ignition switch/barrel. This isn't a problem TBH, pressing a button twice a journey is no major drama!
2. The electric windows have a permanent feed to them, even with the ignition turned off and the key removed they still operate and the backlighting on the switches illuminates. I've removed the EW fuse to prevent the battery draining. I think the windows (when functioning correctly) are supposed to have a feed to them if one of the doors is open, could anyone confirm? If so, one of the 'door open' plunger switches could be permanently 'open'?
3. The switch for the lights appears to be knackered. Of the three positions off/sides/dipped, the lights only work at off/dipped and in both these positions the lights are dipped. When switch moved to side lights, the lights go off, until parked when the nearside lamp comes on. Anyone experienced this before?
4. Interior lights work off the switch, but do not illuminate when any door is open when switch is selected to 'doors'. Presume switch knackered, as unlikely to be all four door switches?
Any help, experience or advice will be hugely appreciated!
1. The stereo permanently switched on issue is still there i.e. the stereo works off the power on/off button and not the ignition switch/barrel. This isn't a problem TBH, pressing a button twice a journey is no major drama!
2. The electric windows have a permanent feed to them, even with the ignition turned off and the key removed they still operate and the backlighting on the switches illuminates. I've removed the EW fuse to prevent the battery draining. I think the windows (when functioning correctly) are supposed to have a feed to them if one of the doors is open, could anyone confirm? If so, one of the 'door open' plunger switches could be permanently 'open'?
3. The switch for the lights appears to be knackered. Of the three positions off/sides/dipped, the lights only work at off/dipped and in both these positions the lights are dipped. When switch moved to side lights, the lights go off, until parked when the nearside lamp comes on. Anyone experienced this before?
4. Interior lights work off the switch, but do not illuminate when any door is open when switch is selected to 'doors'. Presume switch knackered, as unlikely to be all four door switches?
Any help, experience or advice will be hugely appreciated!
Edited by irodger on Tuesday 23 November 07:52
irodger said:
So my other car is off the road for the winter now and I've been driving the tank for a few days. In this time I've noticed another couple of gremlins in the electrics. None of them are inflicting on the ability to use the car, but they do grate on my mind slightly so hopefully someone can help me out with them
1. The stereo permanently switched on issue is still there i.e. the stereo works off the power on/off button and not the ignition switch/barrel. This isn't a problem TBH, pressing a button twice a journey is no major drama!
2. The electric windows have a permanent feed to them, even with the ignition turned off and the key removed they still operate and the backlighting on the switches illuminates. I've removed the EW fuse to prevent the battery draining. I think the windows (when functioning correctly) are supposed to have a feed to them if one of the doors is open, could anyone confirm? If so, one of the 'door open' plunger switches could be permanently 'open'?
3. The switch for the lights appears to be knackered. Of the three positions off/sides/dipped, the lights only work at off/dipped and in both these positions the lights are dipped. When switch moved to side lights, the lights go off, until parked when the nearside lamp comes on. Anyone experienced this before?
4. Interior lights work off the switch, but do not illuminate when any door is open when switch is selected to 'doors'. Presume switch knackered, as unlikely to be all four door switches?
Any help, experience or advice will be hugely appreciated!
Can't help you with the others but no3 if it's the same as my V70 i can.1. The stereo permanently switched on issue is still there i.e. the stereo works off the power on/off button and not the ignition switch/barrel. This isn't a problem TBH, pressing a button twice a journey is no major drama!
2. The electric windows have a permanent feed to them, even with the ignition turned off and the key removed they still operate and the backlighting on the switches illuminates. I've removed the EW fuse to prevent the battery draining. I think the windows (when functioning correctly) are supposed to have a feed to them if one of the doors is open, could anyone confirm? If so, one of the 'door open' plunger switches could be permanently 'open'?
3. The switch for the lights appears to be knackered. Of the three positions off/sides/dipped, the lights only work at off/dipped and in both these positions the lights are dipped. When switch moved to side lights, the lights go off, until parked when the nearside lamp comes on. Anyone experienced this before?
4. Interior lights work off the switch, but do not illuminate when any door is open when switch is selected to 'doors'. Presume switch knackered, as unlikely to be all four door switches?
Any help, experience or advice will be hugely appreciated!
Edited by irodger on Tuesday 23 November 07:52
There should be a little screw next to the switch. In one position the lights are on all the time (Canada i think). In the next they're on dipped when the switch is off, sidelights just gives you side lights and on is on. (UK) and the 3rd is like a normal light switch.
I have mine in the 3rd position and just leave the light switch on all the time. When the ignition is off, all the lights are off anyway.
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