Headlamps have come on by themselves and wont switch off!!??

[MPETT]

Hey Guys, I need some electrical advice please......
I walked back into the garage this afternoon, having washed the car this morning, and the dipped beams were on. I didn't remember having put them on and upon inspection, the switch was pointing to off?!

I thought maybe it was a relay that had got some water on it, so I played around with the switches going from off to dipped and flicking the high beams on and off. During the flicking of switches, the dipped beam turned off when I switched on the high beams, and sometimes when I used the flasher. So having got them to turn off (all headlamps off), I walked away to do the job I had come into the garage to do, then I turned round and they were back on again.

I identified the dipped beam relay and removed it. It appeared dry and I swapped it with the horn relay. SAME THING happened! The dipped beam was on again!

So now I'm wondering what could have got wet in the wings to allow the dipped beam headlamps to come on when the ignition is off??

Any ideas? I've pulled the relay out to save the battery and just in case there is a short. Should I disconnect the battery? I wish I'd fitted the kill switch in the engine bay! (got a bonnet conversion)

Cheers for your advice.

Martin

[MPETT]

R7EBO said:

What year is it? I may be barking up the wrong tree but I've had all sorts of weird goings on with my lights in the past but they were all down to the dash pod itself. I had it refurbeb in the end & haven't had a single issue since. Might be worth having a look inside & giving it a waggle?!

Hi R7EBO,

Its an idea. I'll try wiggling the switch. The dash does sometime come up as 0000000miles, but its fine upon turning the key through all the positions again. My Air temp sensor is all over the place too, and that was a new part!

Cheers,
Martin

[MPETT]

MPETT said:

Hi R7EBO,

Its an idea. I'll try wiggling the switch. The dash does sometime come up as 0000000miles, but its fine upon turning the key through all the positions again. My Air temp sensor is all over the place too, and that was a new part!

Cheers,
Martin

Nope, that's not it. The tail lamps are working correctly and the back lighting on the mirror control switch is fine, so I think the pod is working fine. Some how the dipped beam circuit is getting a feed?

Martin

[MPETT]

The following day I put the relay back in and the headlamps came back on. I fiddled with the high beam and they went off and seemed to be working fine now. I've swapped the relay for the dipped beam with the hi beam relay and Ill have to see how it goes.
I got some advice from Paul smith that it sounding like the problem could only originate from the fuse board and could be water getting where it shouldn't. I had a good root around using my iPhone camera and it looks dry as a bone, so I had to assume it was a faulty relay.

[MPETT]

So the issue has come back....... Straight after washing he car! I had swapped the relays sontheyvTe not the source of the problem. There is water getting into the mirror control switch because the seal isn't that good, so in wondering if there is a link to the headlamps coming on? I need to consult with Paul again!

[MPETT]

I put some more sealant between the scuttle and the windscreen and so far, even after a very wet day in Wales, I've not had any more electrical issues.