Another electrical 400SE question??
Discussion
seem to have something odd going on with my full beam!!!
turn on lights, dipped and side all work fine, push stalk forward and full beam comes on pop up lights and lower driving lights, all good so far. The problem is with the flash, with the engine ticking over when i pull the stalk back the lower lights come on (pop up lights stay down, which i assume is right?) but it causes a significant drop in revs and if held in will actual start to make car stall, once i let go revs go back to normal?
i failed MOT last week due to full beam indicator on dash not working, so changed light (i have aftermarket LED one), it worked 3 times and then failed again. the 2 wires that feed the dash warning light both show 13.7v with engine running and when lights are flashed one wire drops to nothing (earth i assume)
now is it likely the problem is with the driving lights, may be a relay or something, not the actual warning light or possibly could the stalk it self cause a problem.
turn on lights, dipped and side all work fine, push stalk forward and full beam comes on pop up lights and lower driving lights, all good so far. The problem is with the flash, with the engine ticking over when i pull the stalk back the lower lights come on (pop up lights stay down, which i assume is right?) but it causes a significant drop in revs and if held in will actual start to make car stall, once i let go revs go back to normal?
i failed MOT last week due to full beam indicator on dash not working, so changed light (i have aftermarket LED one), it worked 3 times and then failed again. the 2 wires that feed the dash warning light both show 13.7v with engine running and when lights are flashed one wire drops to nothing (earth i assume)
now is it likely the problem is with the driving lights, may be a relay or something, not the actual warning light or possibly could the stalk it self cause a problem.
It would be very difficult to solve this problem just by hearing the symptoms. You probably have a combination of two or more faults that need to be solved. It would need to be investigated by doing a series of tests and then take it from there by using elimination. I, and others on this forum will give you some ideas to try and see how it goes from there.
Firstly, check that the alternator is charging as it should. To do this, start the car and put a voltmeter across battery terminals and see if the reading is around 14.5 volts. If it's not, then its not charging properly. Check that the bulb you have in the dash for the ignition light is the correct one. It should be 2.5v or more. Otherwise the alternator will not charge as it works on an electrical exciter. Then check your battery and make sure it holding 12 volts. Check the earths for your front lights and make sure they are all good. check your earth from the negative terminal down to the chassis. somewhere you'll spot the problem or a combination of problems and use elimination to solve. Finally, let us know how you got on.
Tony. TCB.
Firstly, check that the alternator is charging as it should. To do this, start the car and put a voltmeter across battery terminals and see if the reading is around 14.5 volts. If it's not, then its not charging properly. Check that the bulb you have in the dash for the ignition light is the correct one. It should be 2.5v or more. Otherwise the alternator will not charge as it works on an electrical exciter. Then check your battery and make sure it holding 12 volts. Check the earths for your front lights and make sure they are all good. check your earth from the negative terminal down to the chassis. somewhere you'll spot the problem or a combination of problems and use elimination to solve. Finally, let us know how you got on.
Tony. TCB.
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