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Topic: Headlights Not Working (Read 1410 times) |
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olltwit
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Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
  
Posts: 21
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Headlights Not Working
« on: Jan 31st, 2007, 4:54pm » |
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Apologies if this problem has been answered before. I did a good search and couldn't find a related one.
I have a 2.0 16v 1996 Scorpio and my headlights have decided to stop working. The bulbs are fine, the fuses are fine and the relay is working. Last night the rear tail lights and instrument panel lights decided to join in the strike. I had the switch out today and with a bit of wiggling, low and behold the instrument light and tail lights returned to work. I determined which terminal socket had the problem, gave it and the others a clean and a squirt, end of problem. Except, the dipped beam still refuses to come back to work (obviously wants more money and longer holidays).
The side lights work fine, as do the fogs and high beam. There is a feature called the "Dim-dip lighting system" which provides front lights with a brightness between side a dipped beam. Quite what you would use it for, I'm not sure, but this works fine and it is the headlamp bulbs that seem to be working but at this lower brightness. Is it perhaps this system which is prone to problems and if so, is there a relay that it uses which needs bashing, sorry changing?
Any advice, gratefully received.
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Snoopy
Administrator
Very old.BAD tempered and missing friends.
Posts: 6278
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #1 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 5:32pm » |
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The switches are known to cause problems like this on occasions. Get another swicth and try it.
Someone on here is almost certain to offer you one for a small fee!
IF you ask. 
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Simmo
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I'm an OAP !
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #2 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 6:07pm » |
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Have you checked fuses 4 and 5. 4 is offside,5 is nearside dipped beam. They are in the central (Drivers side) fusebox.Relay 3 in the same box covers the dipped beams.
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Highlander
Moderator
Expert
13 Scorpios, XR4x4, Suzuki SJ413 for off road :)
Posts: 8244
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #3 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 6:15pm » |
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I have a spare switch if you give me an address
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on Oct 17th, 2011, 12:35pm, Simmo wrote:I give up !  Too much for an old boy!  |
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #4 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 11:04pm » |
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Thanks for the replies. Yes, fuses and relays all OK thanks Simmo (short for Simon perhaps, as per my goodself?). I agree snoopy that to try another switch would be a good idea and thanks very much for the kind offer Highlander. However, I'm in Bucharest, Romania, BUT, as luck would have it, my good friend Octavian_P on the forum here, lives just around the corner from me (well across the other side of Bucharest, anyway he's about 1,500 miles closer than you guys), so I'm sure he'll let me try one of his, to see if that's the culprit. There are only about 4 or 5 Scorpios in Bucharest and he's got 2 of them, lucky devil!! Anyway he's a great guy, very helpful, and his English is 100 times better than my Romanian. He recently invited me along to their Ford Owners meeting which was great and they all made me feel very welcome.
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Highlander
Moderator
Expert
13 Scorpios, XR4x4, Suzuki SJ413 for off road :)
Posts: 8244
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #5 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 11:11pm » |
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Well....
As luck would have it there is a consignment of Scorpio parts being accumulated here in Edinburgh which will be winging its way to Octavian_P in Romania very shortly 
So if that is the problem let me know and i'll pop one in for you.
Stuart
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on Oct 17th, 2011, 12:35pm, Simmo wrote:| I give up ! Too much for an old boy! |
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #6 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 12:55am » |
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Wow, fantastic, thanks Highlander. I will check it out and let you know as it is v unlikely to be able to get one here.
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Octavian_P
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1126
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #7 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 8:57am » |
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Hi Simon, been very busy since the meeting, I'm trapped between school (exams) and work. In the following days I'll make some time to meet with you and try with a working switch, also I'll write-up the cd with the pictures from the meeting.
Cheers Stuart, I'll try to check fast the switch with Simon and if that's the culprit maybe you can include it on the package
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2.0 16V Ultima|2.3 16V Ghia|2.9 24V Cosworth Ghia
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #8 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 2:25pm » |
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Thanks Octavian. I was just about to call you but I wasn't sure whether you are working nights this week, so didn't like to in case you were getting some well earned kip (kip=sleep, but you probably knew that 
I'm not sure the switch is the problem though. Out of curiosity I have just taken it apart and all looks OK. Then I took the top off the relay and when the switch is moved to the headlight position i.e. no.2, click goes the relay and makes the connection. It's this position 1 that puzzles me, giving power to the headlights at presumably a lower amperage to produce this low beam. This works fine but is about as much use to me, as an ashtray on a motorbike. I cannot think why it is a special feature. My guess is that the wiring is as much a misnomer to the people that designed it, as it is to the common end user, so that when they found the headlights kept coming on at this halfway house mode, they tried to fix it but couldn't. So some clever thingy said, "I know, we'll put another position on the switch and call it the 'dim-dip lighting system' and add it to the list of features."
So am I right in thinking that if the relay makes the connection and the fuses are OK, then the harness that comes out of the front of the fuse box, contains the wires that go on to the headlights? I checked the big harness plug on the front and it seems to be clean and well seated. But then surely if the fault is a wiring one, then at least one light should work, as they are both separate, no?
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Octavian_P
Senior Member
Posts: 1126
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #9 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 2:34pm » |
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Hi Simon, regardless if i work at night, i can't sleep in the day time 
Until we meet you can have a look at this schematics, don't mind if it stated as sierra ...they are not.
http://www.carsoft.ru/avtorepair/sierra_el.html
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2.0 16V Ultima|2.3 16V Ghia|2.9 24V Cosworth Ghia
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #10 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 2:38pm » |
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Priceless!! My above post contained the well used phrase "Clever Richard" in it's usual slang form clever d-i-c-k (noun - an intellectual who is ostentatiously and irritatingly knowledgeable as per dictionary.com) but the forum filter has changed the latter to "thingy". If computers do ever take over, there are going to be a lot of British people in the courts and in jail as a result of misunderstandings over all the colloquialisms we use.
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #11 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 2:50pm » |
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Thanks Octavian, I'll take a look.
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Octavian_P
Senior Member
Posts: 1126
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #12 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 11:03am » |
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Okey, i finally had time to meet with Simon, and tried one of my switches, nope no go.
So heres one for you.
1. Side lamps on -> head lights give a faint light also
2. Dipped beam -> no head lights
3. High beam -> OK
We have checked the fuses, relays, even swap them with mine....no go. Also we took out the fuse box connector, checked the pins -> OK ..still no joy
Interesting thing is that looking in the fuse box list theres a fuse for a low-dipped beam. On both my Scorpio on sidelights i do not have a low-dipped beam.
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2.0 16V Ultima|2.3 16V Ghia|2.9 24V Cosworth Ghia
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VSBlue
Junior Member
scorpio 2.9 v6 12v Saloon
  
Posts: 69
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #13 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 2:57pm » |
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my lights did that this is what i did
i have the same problem they just went out
my car n reg scorpio 2.9 v6 12v
the small side / park bulb lights & main bulb only glows but no dip lights
high beam /fog works find but to bright to drive with
a r.a.c .man said i was only getting 6 volts to bulb that why only a glow it was not going up to 12 volts for main beam
he re wired my high beam to the low beam bulb so i have no high beam or flash now but i can drive at night
since then i have changed fuses/relays/switches/bulbs no luck
wired main bulb to a 12 volt supply they work
so i bought a wiring kite for spot light about £6.00
i am going to wire the dip bulbs up to the kite so it bypass the main car wiring & have the dip light on a switch
the lights have been ok after rewiring them
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Octavian_P
Senior Member
Posts: 1126
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #14 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 7:13pm » |
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Thank you
It's exactly the same problem. At the bulbs the voltage is around 6 volts ...
I wander where the loom may break up 
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2.0 16V Ultima|2.3 16V Ghia|2.9 24V Cosworth Ghia
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scorpio_man
Administrator
Ford Kuga awd
Posts: 5654
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #15 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 7:22pm » |
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hi there
check the wiring that runs just about under the radiator (across front of car).
hth
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #16 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 7:22pm » |
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Thanks very much for the help yesterday Octavian. I found out in my manual (which I had conveniently left at home when we met), that the single fuse no.18 is for "Dim/dipped light RHD", so it looks like it is only for right hand drive vehicles which is why you don't have it.
Thanks VSBlue, I was thinking of bypassing myself as it is more inviting than taking all the loom out to investigate where it's leaking to earth.
Highlander, thanks very much for the offer of a switch but as Octavian says we tried his but no different. Thanks anyway, much appreciated.
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olltwit
Newbie
Englishman Abroad Now Without 2ltr Scorpio
Posts: 21
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Re: Headlights Not Working
« Reply #17 on: Feb 22nd, 2007, 7:24pm » |
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I will scorpio_man, thanks for the advice.
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