electrical problem
Discussion
Cars been on trickle charge over xmas nice day today so i thought id start it up starts ok but battery light stays on and have no indicators or wipers no dials working (fuel temp oil amp) no stereo no heater the fan over-ride switch isnt working either but clock is working the all the dial lights work and the hazards work all ok the LED light between speedo and rev doesnt come on and go off the immobiliser light works ok
any ideas before i look?
any ideas before i look?
So you seem to have lost everything that works through the ignition? I will check again in a minute.
Two thoughts for you
1. - is there any chance you could have had mice in the car? Any carpet damage or bits of foam visible? I had apparently random electrical failures between a Monday and a Friday, and found that tiny teeth had wreaked havoc behind the dash and on top of the transmission tunnel - two ribbon cables were history as were about 15 wires and the speedo transmitter wires. Mine looked like it was things NOT through the ignition, but in fact it was random chewing.
2. - My probably incorrect understanding is that a lot of things are protected by a single 80 amp fuse inside the car. It's in the brown wire running from the positive battery terminal (not the one that goes to the starter) into the loom in the passenger footwell. It is encased in flexi black plastic and is in a fuse holder, which may be wrapped in black tape. This at least is easy to check.
The previous poster could well be right too - ignition switch, or the wires running to it.
Two thoughts for you
1. - is there any chance you could have had mice in the car? Any carpet damage or bits of foam visible? I had apparently random electrical failures between a Monday and a Friday, and found that tiny teeth had wreaked havoc behind the dash and on top of the transmission tunnel - two ribbon cables were history as were about 15 wires and the speedo transmitter wires. Mine looked like it was things NOT through the ignition, but in fact it was random chewing.
2. - My probably incorrect understanding is that a lot of things are protected by a single 80 amp fuse inside the car. It's in the brown wire running from the positive battery terminal (not the one that goes to the starter) into the loom in the passenger footwell. It is encased in flexi black plastic and is in a fuse holder, which may be wrapped in black tape. This at least is easy to check.
The previous poster could well be right too - ignition switch, or the wires running to it.
mice.. no.... just checked other things the boot release doesnt work either i checked the 100 amp fuse on chassis all ok.. i will take the top dash off just to have a look then look at the large fuse behind the battery
time to invest in a multimeter i think it is and always has been a bit of a mess in the wiring loom department although recently had new carpets in and i did find that they had forgotten to connect the modwise hot start kit back up maybe something else was disturbed but i have driven it 250+miles since september last year when i had the carpets done without problems
time to invest in a multimeter i think it is and always has been a bit of a mess in the wiring loom department although recently had new carpets in and i did find that they had forgotten to connect the modwise hot start kit back up maybe something else was disturbed but i have driven it 250+miles since september last year when i had the carpets done without problems
Edited by MADMAX2 on Sunday 13th January 20:10
Ok, its all ignition related then.
The 100 amp fuse under the car was never going to be the problem. For your future reference, this is between the alternator and the battery, and protects the rest of the car from alternator surges. When it blows, you are driving on battery alone......until the battery dies. Everything works, but your speedo starts to read low, and towards the end the alarm starts misbehaving. Test the 100 amp fuse by putting your multimeter onto the positive at the back of the alternator and an earth (with the engine off). If you battery is ok and the fuse is too, then you get 12 volts from the battery. Start the engine and do the same test, and you get the 14.2 volts being chucked out by the alternator if it is working fine.
The 80 amp fuse is my next thing to check, simply because it is between the battery and an awful lot else. Peter (LuckyLucky this week) kindly took his out to see what he lost when I was trying to resolve on PH what turned out to be mouse damage, and he said he lost a lot of things, and not the thing I lost. My losses were mainly things by coincidence that didn't go through the ignition. He lost ignition based stuff, like you.
The 80 amp fuse is about a foot to 18 inches from the battery in a cable which is wrapped in hard black ridged plastic. It is in a holder rather like the 100 amp fuse one. Therefore not hard to check. And easier than the ignition switch.
Multimeter - you can get a basic one for £8 from Maplins, or the same one for £19.99 from Halfrauds. Its all you need for basic stuff.
The 100 amp fuse under the car was never going to be the problem. For your future reference, this is between the alternator and the battery, and protects the rest of the car from alternator surges. When it blows, you are driving on battery alone......until the battery dies. Everything works, but your speedo starts to read low, and towards the end the alarm starts misbehaving. Test the 100 amp fuse by putting your multimeter onto the positive at the back of the alternator and an earth (with the engine off). If you battery is ok and the fuse is too, then you get 12 volts from the battery. Start the engine and do the same test, and you get the 14.2 volts being chucked out by the alternator if it is working fine.
The 80 amp fuse is my next thing to check, simply because it is between the battery and an awful lot else. Peter (LuckyLucky this week) kindly took his out to see what he lost when I was trying to resolve on PH what turned out to be mouse damage, and he said he lost a lot of things, and not the thing I lost. My losses were mainly things by coincidence that didn't go through the ignition. He lost ignition based stuff, like you.
The 80 amp fuse is about a foot to 18 inches from the battery in a cable which is wrapped in hard black ridged plastic. It is in a holder rather like the 100 amp fuse one. Therefore not hard to check. And easier than the ignition switch.
Multimeter - you can get a basic one for £8 from Maplins, or the same one for £19.99 from Halfrauds. Its all you need for basic stuff.
Suggestion : swap the fuses for LED fuses ... I needed two of the Halfwits LED fuse sets to do all of mine but IMO it's money well spent given where the damn things sit!
Mind you - having said that after reading someone's posting on here a while ago I may even pop all those LED fuses out at some point and replace them with breakers which will mean no more trying to do a James Herriot and change fuses at arms length!
Mind you - having said that after reading someone's posting on here a while ago I may even pop all those LED fuses out at some point and replace them with breakers which will mean no more trying to do a James Herriot and change fuses at arms length!
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