Spaces for Brands tomorrow:
Discussion
gizard said:
Wish I could go - just got my car back from the factory in un-drivable state - the rear light clusters are completly messed up - put my foot on the brake whilst the lights are on an the indicators come on permanetly!
Intersting, as the left and right plug-in connectors can only connect one way round?! Perhaps a bulb has blown and is shorting the system?!
obes said:
That sounds like a bad earth somewhere. It is quite often a bulb but it might be a broken wire, they usually go aroung plugs / sockets first. Have a look at any visible connectors. Might be worth a quick look in the fuse area in the passenger footwell incase a wire has come out.
Sounds like the earth wire has come away and so the current finds the next best thing (your indicators) to get the current to earth. It could be water ingress (take the connectors apart and spray with contact cleaner) or a blub that has blow and shorted to earth (take each one out and shake it to check the filament is still intact).
Finally, take each relay out and reseat it (and/or try swapping them around).
You should get it working back quickly - if none of that works give us a shout and I'll suggest some simple tests to find out where it is.
If it is just the connectors then unfortunatly if you don't regularly waterproof them with an appropiate spray (WD40 is OK, proper water repellant and switch cleaner is better) you will suffer from this occasionally as the connectors are of the same "good old" british sportscar make and aren't terribly waterproof on their own.
A quick squirt everytime you wash the car will stop these sort of things happening.
J
DanH said:Not really. The bulbs use the holder as the "return" path. Two classic mistakes are
Whilst you'd think all the lights would be uncoupled with each other, in the Elise if one of the bulbs is gone, it cocks up the other lights. Then again the previous owner 'enhanced' the lights on my car so maybe its something he did.
1) Cross wiring the bulbs so they are "backwards" - then when you loose a light the electrons (which actually work 'backwards' have to go the wrong way, which they can't so they go the only other way they can which is through all the other lights.
2) Using a common stared earth, which depending on how the bulb goes means that you get a potential difference between the blown bulb, the other bulbs and the earth point - enough to light another bulb, but you can tell if it is that as the other bulb won't be at full birghtness.
3) Corrosion on the earth wire connection creating a high resistance joint. This acts as a series resistor and hence when the bulb lights up it actually creates, say 5V on the earth wire (simple resistor ladder). Beacuase of this the other bulbs see +5V and that then goes "backwards" through the bulbs lighing them up.
Follow that lot???
J
sorry, switched off at 'Not'
As I suspected, slightly bodge job by the guy who upgraded my lights! At least its obvious when a bulb has blown - going into reverse lights up the rear side lights too. Its confused by the fact he's used those two element bulbs.
>> Edited by DanH on Thursday 1st July 15:46
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