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        General >> Problems >> Headlights Not Working
        
(Message started by: olltwit on Jan 31^st, 2007, 4:54pm)

Title: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Jan 31^st, 2007, 4:54pm

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Snoopy on Jan 31^st, 2007, 5:32pm

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. ;D

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Simmo on Jan 31^st, 2007, 6:07pm

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Highlander on Jan 31^st, 2007, 6:15pm

I have a spare switch if you give me an address ;D

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Jan 31^st, 2007, 11:04pm

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Highlander on Jan 31^st, 2007, 11:11pm

Well.... ;D

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

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 1^st, 2007, 12:55am

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Octavian_P on Feb 1^st, 2007, 8:57am

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 ;D

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 1^st, 2007, 2:25pm

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?

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Octavian_P on Feb 1^st, 2007, 2:34pm

Hi Simon, regardless if i work at night, i can't sleep in the day time :P

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

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 1^st, 2007, 2:38pm

;D 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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 1^st, 2007, 2:50pm

Thanks Octavian, I'll take a look.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Octavian_P on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 11:03am

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by VSBlue on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 2:57pm

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

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by Octavian_P on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 7:13pm

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 :-/

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by scorpio_man on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 7:22pm

hi there

check the wiring that runs just about under the radiator (across front of car).

hth

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 7:22pm

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.

Title: Re: Headlights Not Working
Post by olltwit on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 7:24pm

I will scorpio_man, thanks for the advice.