Curious Ford electrical niggles...
Discussion
Hi guys. I have a 2001 Ford Fiesta Flight, and despite being nearly 10 years old it's still in very good condition, I bought it last year with 20,000 miles on it and it's now up to 26,000. Up until today, if I ever opened the car door with the headlights turned on and the engine off, a beeper would alert me so I didn't leave the car, lights on and all, and drain the battery. This late afternoon / evening I jumped out of my car, locked it and went into the house. Looking back out the window I saw my rear lights were on, and I had forgotten to turn the car's lights off.
Sitting in it a few minutes ago, I turned the lights on through all positions (sidelights, dipped beam, main beam) with the engine on and off, opening the door, but the beeper has apparently given up the ghost and died. I also noticed that going from sidelights to dipped headlights appeared to do nothing with the engine turned off, previously it was possible to turn the headlights on without the engine running.
In summary, the "don't leave the lights on" beeper has died and I can no longer turn dipped headlights on with the engine turned off. I wonder how concerned I should be about this; I don't often forget to turn my lights off, having only heard the beeper a few times in the past year or so, and I have no real use to use the headlights with the engine off. I'm just concerned that something is going tits up in my car. Perhaps the battery is low on charge and making energy savings? Perhaps a circuit is shorting somewhere or something? I quite like this car, despite it's foibles, and cannot afford to replace it with anything amazing at present anyway, so I hope it's not a bad sign for my car. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
NB: Last Friday I was driving through significant rain, and it was a dipped beams on job. I had some guy in a silver Mondeo flashing his lights at me a few times over the course of a few minutes. I thought perhaps my boot was not secured or something, but that was not the case. Suspecting a possible taillight bulb in need of replacement I had my girlfriend work the lights through all positions on the car while I got out and looked - all lights were working correctly. Perhaps while on the move, he could see something I could not? I'm not really sure if this is related, but perhaps it has some relevance, but maybe not.
Sitting in it a few minutes ago, I turned the lights on through all positions (sidelights, dipped beam, main beam) with the engine on and off, opening the door, but the beeper has apparently given up the ghost and died. I also noticed that going from sidelights to dipped headlights appeared to do nothing with the engine turned off, previously it was possible to turn the headlights on without the engine running.
In summary, the "don't leave the lights on" beeper has died and I can no longer turn dipped headlights on with the engine turned off. I wonder how concerned I should be about this; I don't often forget to turn my lights off, having only heard the beeper a few times in the past year or so, and I have no real use to use the headlights with the engine off. I'm just concerned that something is going tits up in my car. Perhaps the battery is low on charge and making energy savings? Perhaps a circuit is shorting somewhere or something? I quite like this car, despite it's foibles, and cannot afford to replace it with anything amazing at present anyway, so I hope it's not a bad sign for my car. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
NB: Last Friday I was driving through significant rain, and it was a dipped beams on job. I had some guy in a silver Mondeo flashing his lights at me a few times over the course of a few minutes. I thought perhaps my boot was not secured or something, but that was not the case. Suspecting a possible taillight bulb in need of replacement I had my girlfriend work the lights through all positions on the car while I got out and looked - all lights were working correctly. Perhaps while on the move, he could see something I could not? I'm not really sure if this is related, but perhaps it has some relevance, but maybe not.
littleandy0410 said:
Does your interior light come on when you open the door? Could be the door switch- quite a common failure (in general, don't know about Fiestas)
I cannot remember right now if it does, but my gut feeling is yes, the interior light still works.It just seems a very odd set of circumstances, beeper gone, only dipped beams available when the engine is off etc. It's been pretty solid up til now, but it is a cheap Ford :/
If that's all that's wrong on a 10 year old car then I'd be more than happy!
On a more helpful note, check as has been mentioned, there is a little push button switch (kind of long, thin and black) that gets pushed in when the door is closed and they often get dirty. Failing that I'd look for a rusty electrical cable or connector under the bonnet on a car that age.
As for the flashing lights person, maybe they had a light problem on their car? Possibly your brake lights were coming on over bumps if the switch for the brake lights is slightly faulty/dirty. On an old Ford I had they came on when I pressed the clutch and the mechanic that fixed it said the switches were linked, cost about 1 hours labour and £2 for the part.
On a more helpful note, check as has been mentioned, there is a little push button switch (kind of long, thin and black) that gets pushed in when the door is closed and they often get dirty. Failing that I'd look for a rusty electrical cable or connector under the bonnet on a car that age.
As for the flashing lights person, maybe they had a light problem on their car? Possibly your brake lights were coming on over bumps if the switch for the brake lights is slightly faulty/dirty. On an old Ford I had they came on when I pressed the clutch and the mechanic that fixed it said the switches were linked, cost about 1 hours labour and £2 for the part.
poing said:
If that's all that's wrong on a 10 year old car then I'd be more than happy!
On a more helpful note, check as has been mentioned, there is a little push button switch (kind of long, thin and black) that gets pushed in when the door is closed and they often get dirty. Failing that I'd look for a rusty electrical cable or connector under the bonnet on a car that age.
As for the flashing lights person, maybe they had a light problem on their car? Possibly your brake lights were coming on over bumps if the switch for the brake lights is slightly faulty/dirty. On an old Ford I had they came on when I pressed the clutch and the mechanic that fixed it said the switches were linked, cost about 1 hours labour and £2 for the part.
Thanks, I will have a look at the door tomorrow and clean the switch if I can locate it and it appears dirty. Like I say, this isn't a critcal thing, the car still works perfectly fine when the engine is on and it's got 9 months MOT left. I don't think you can fail an MOT for not having headlights that work when the car is stationary.On a more helpful note, check as has been mentioned, there is a little push button switch (kind of long, thin and black) that gets pushed in when the door is closed and they often get dirty. Failing that I'd look for a rusty electrical cable or connector under the bonnet on a car that age.
As for the flashing lights person, maybe they had a light problem on their car? Possibly your brake lights were coming on over bumps if the switch for the brake lights is slightly faulty/dirty. On an old Ford I had they came on when I pressed the clutch and the mechanic that fixed it said the switches were linked, cost about 1 hours labour and £2 for the part.
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