Hi all,
Can some one help me, I have the 2.0D SE X type, recently all the side lights both front and rear have stopped working as have the dash lights. I have replaced a front dipped beam light and now I have front dipped lights, Main beam , fogs but no side lights. I have checked all the fuses listed in the manual both in the car and under the bonnet but can not find any blown. I have used a meter across the bulb connector but I get nothing.
Any help would really be appreciated as I have run out of ideas.
Cheers Lee.

 

ganers, first off, welcome to the Forums. I think you will like it here. But, please stop by the New Member Section and tell us a little bit about yourself. We are quirky that way. We pride ourselves in our friendliness and willingness to help others. But, as a result, we want to know something about you. This will also give you a chance to meet those that make this site what it is. So, grab a cup of Joe, sit back, enjoy a little reading and go from there.

As for your problem, I would want to check my diagrams, but it is sounding like your headlight switch has failed and that is what is causing your marker lights to not come on. It is possible that when you (or someone else) was getting out of the car, a knee caught the headlight switch and pushed it in a little bit and that was enough to break the switch internals. The headlights and the marker lights operate off of a different layer inside the switch. So, let me look at my diagrams and see what more information I can send your way.

 

Cheers Thermo. I'll certainly do that in the new members area but just posted before going to work. Thanks again.
Cheers Lee.

 

Lee, first, check that fuse F38 in the passenger footwell area is good. PUll the fuse out and use a multimeter to measure the fuse. Next, turn the headlight switch on to the running light position. Look on the dash and you should see a green light come on (circle in the center with 3 green lines on each side facing left and right). If you have this light, then your problem is either a fuse box problem or you have 2 blown fuses (F47 and F48 in the passenger fuse box). If you are suspecting you have 2 blown fuses, then I would recommend getting a multimeter and seeing if you have 12 VDC on the top of both posts of each fuse. If you need help with this, let me know. I will walk you through this.

 

Hi Chris.
I checked F38 15amp and found it blown, I would never have put something as listed as "EXTERIOR LIGHT SWITCH" to the side lights. However when I changed it and then turned the lights on I got nothing. I went back to the switch and found the new fuse blown? I have swapped it out again and this time it is holding and all the lights are working as they should. Does this mean there is another underlying problem?
Cheers Lee.

 

ganers, it is possible that you have an underlying problem. See how things go. A little known thing is that fuses do "wear out". As they get older, their point at which they open will drop, especially if they are subjected to near max current a lot. Keep an eye out and see what happens. If you need to do more troubleshooting, let me know. We can get you taken care of.

 

Thanks a lot for all you help mate.
Cheers Lee.

 

Hi again.
Went to use my car for the first time in darkness tonight, turned the lights on and everything was fine, switched it to auto and poof lost all the side lights and the front nearside dipped again as well as the dash. Im pretty sure the front near side bulb has blown and the fuse for the exterior switch will have gone again but not able to check it at the moment. Does this sound familiar?
Cheers Lee.

 

ganers, from the sounds of things, your problem lies in the AUTO circuit. Odds are, the most likely suspect is the headlight switch. But, let me look over the diagrams and see what I can find.

 

ganers, well, I got some good news, I got some bad news. I am 99% sure I know what your problem is. Unfortunately, you are looking at a bad headlight switch. It is easy to fix, but it is a little on the pricy end. Granted, if you are wanting DRLs or the like, now is the time to do the upgrade as the upgrade is simply getting a different headlight switch. Then you can get your choice of the Canadian DRLs (low beams are on all the time-headlight switch can be off, park, or on), the Scandinavian (low beams are on with the headlight switch in the OFF and On positions), or you control them manually. Unfortunately, this will disable your AUTO light feature. If you are wanting to keep the AUTO light feature, then you will have to get the AUTO light headlight switch. So, you have 4 headlight switches to choose from (basic, Canadian, Scandinavian, or AUTO).

If you are curious as to what is going on, this is what I am suspecting is happening: the headlight switch has failed internally and the 2 decks are coming on contact with each other and the one deck is powered from fuse F38 and the other deck is tied to ground. When contact is made, it is a direct short to ground and the fuse gives (as it should).

 

That makes sense. I've found the auto switch on eBay described as new for. £30 so it's not too bad. Would this blow the front near side dipped bulb as well?
Cheers Lee.

 

ganers, it is possible as it could be shorting things together and what the power does is hard to say. Granted, may want to try disconnecting the plug from the headlight assembly in question, install a new fuse and then try putting things into the AUTO Mode. If the fuse doesn't blow now, then that would change things slightly to a problem in the headlight assembly. But, I can't see how that would cause what you are seeing. But, stranger things have happened.

 

Thermo you are spot on. When switching to auto it goes pear shaped but if I leave on manual it works fine. I've got the new switch but is there a trick to removing it from the dash without leaving marks?
Cheers Lee.

 

ganers, if you do some looking, there is a process to remove the headlight switch. If I remember right, you end up pulling out on the headlight switch and going beyond the 2 fog light positions, the knob will pop off. THen you rotate the knob (away from the rest of the headlight switch) 180 degrees. From there, you re-install the knob (upside down) and then you rotate the knob clockwise until it will not turn any more. From there, as you are holding the knob in this position, the headlight switch can be pulled out. From there you can undo the plugs on the back and swap the headlight switch out.

But, don't take what I just posted here as gospel. I think I have it, but not 100% sure.

 

Hi Thermo.
Think it's sorted now hopefully.
To fit the switch you have to pull it out to full fogs. That allows you access to a small hole near the steering wheel put a small flat head driver in here and press to release the knob and pull it forward. Then there is a spring loaded latch on the top to the left of the knobs shaft. If you compress the spring the top releases and can pulled forward. Then it's a bit of left and right wiggling to release the catches on both sides and viola out it comes.
Everything seems fine at the moment I can switch to auto and no fuses are blowing ( fingers crossed).
Thanks for your time mate. Just got to look at my dads rear door seals now.
Cheers Lee.

 

Lee, not a problem. The rear door seal issue most likely is just the seals having moved a little bit and it is now blocking the drain holes. Keep the lights on and have some fun driving the kitty.