Interior Lights On 2.8 V6 2001

[frogeye]

Hi,

 

Recently all my interior lights have stopped working in my 2.8 V6 Gal. I get a message on the dash when which ever door opens but no lights and the switches on the lights themselves don't do anything either.

 

I have checked all the fuses in the fuse board (below steering wheel) and they are all fine (with multimeter)

 

Could anyone suggest where to look next.

 

Thanks in anticipation,

 

Frogeye

[MrT]

I had a similar problem many years ago when I had a windscreen replaced and they did not properly refit the earth tag (for the heated screen) which is mounted just above the centre of the windscreen in the roof, this can be accessed by removing the light unit in the header.

 

There is also a relay with a timer that controls these lights but that should not affect the light not being able to turn on locally.

 

I also have vague recollections that the door switches are dual in that they have one set of contacts for the sensor and another for the lights, but I may be totally incorrect on this one.

 

You need to check at the lights if you have both an earth and 12V, (switched and unswitched)to the unit. You need to check if anything else is on the same fuse as the internal lights and if this has also failed, but bear in mind the fuse location in the fusebox does not always agree with the handbook, the stick-on label or marking on the on the lid of the fusebox is more likely to be accurate.

 

Again it is a long time since I went in the fusebox so I might be confused between vehicles, but are there any fuses behind the first panel that you see in the fuse/relay box in the second or third layer panels?

[frogeye]

I had a similar problem many years ago when I had a windscreen replaced and they did not properly refit the earth tag (for the heated screen) which is mounted just above the centre of the windscreen in the roof, this can be accessed by removing the light unit in the header.

 

Thanks Mr T

 

I have struggled to see too much through the gap in the header after removing the light fitting.. however the windscreen was replaced before I bought the car (although the interior lights had been working since then). I'm not too sure how I can check the earthing strap 'remotely' but the heated screen seems to work as the revs dip when I switch it on.

What was the link between the screen earth strap and the lights - some kind of short?

 

Regards

Frogeye

[MrT]

There was a bolt or stud fitted to the roof metalwork and there was a plastic strap with embedded copper strips just like a PCB board connector from the windscreen to this stud. There were other earth wires also connected to this stud which I assume were for the lights in the roof panel, but these were not connected to the stud after the windscreen was replaced. If this was not connected your heated windscreen would not work.

 

You should check the voltage or continuity at each end of the bulb and see if your earth or 12v supply is missing.

[frogeye]

There was a bolt or stud fitted to the roof metalwork and there was a plastic strap with embedded copper strips just like a PCB board connector from the windscreen to this stud. There were other earth wires also connected to this stud which I assume were for the lights in the roof panel, but these were not connected to the stud after the windscreen was replaced. If this was not connected your heated windscreen would not work.

 

You should check the voltage or continuity at each end of the bulb and see if your earth or 12v supply is missing.

 

Thanks for your help Mr T.

 

I did a bit more wresting and spotted the ribbon copper strip thingy bolted to an earth wire on a stud behind the light fitting - it all seemed to be in order.

 

As I mentioned in my other (now clearly related) post, found the cause - fuse 53 had blown

 

Like a muppet, I had tested across the fuse with it still in its holder - thought I had proved its continuity and discounted it. It wasn't until later a colleague pointed out my ineptitude that I revisited my fuses removing them all one by one and testing them across the 'legs', found that I had a blown fuse. Replaced with 10A fuse and was suddenly blinded by half a dozen interior lights

 

I ended up having the take all the front trim off around the fuses to get to fuses 51 -53 as they are a bugger to remove without doing this - as I felt that I was looking for a loose relay or something I was on my was to the back of the fuse board in any case. My fuse information card on the back of the cover indicated that the lights shared a fuse with the central locking so I had already spent a fair while under the passenger seat checking the level of dampness/corrosion under there as it has clearly had some kind of water exposure previously.

 

Many thanks for your input - sorry to have taken the forums time with something so minor, especially when I know I have several major issues to deal with in the coming weeks/months.

 

Regards

Frogeye

[Nick A]

There was a bolt or stud fitted to the roof metalwork and there was a plastic strap with embedded copper strips just like a PCB board connector from the windscreen to this stud. There were other earth wires also connected to this stud which I assume were for the lights in the roof panel, but these were not connected to the stud after the windscreen was replaced. If this was not connected your heated windscreen would not work.

 

You should check the voltage or continuity at each end of the bulb and see if your earth or 12v supply is missing.

 

Thanks for your help Mr T.

 

I did a bit more wresting and spotted the ribbon copper strip thingy bolted to an earth wire on a stud behind the light fitting - it all seemed to be in order.

 

As I mentioned in my other (now clearly related) post, found the cause - fuse 53 had blown

 

Like a muppet, I had tested across the fuse with it still in its holder - thought I had proved its continuity and discounted it. It wasn't until later a colleague pointed out my ineptitude that I revisited my fuses removing them all one by one and testing them across the 'legs', found that I had a blown fuse. Replaced with 10A fuse and was suddenly blinded by half a dozen interior lights

 

I ended up having the take all the front trim off around the fuses to get to fuses 51 -53 as they are a bugger to remove without doing this - as I felt that I was looking for a loose relay or something I was on my was to the back of the fuse board in any case. My fuse information card on the back of the cover indicated that the lights shared a fuse with the central locking so I had already spent a fair while under the passenger seat checking the level of dampness/corrosion under there as it has clearly had some kind of water exposure previously.

 

Many thanks for your input - sorry to have taken the forums time with something so minor, especially when I know I have several major issues to deal with in the coming weeks/months.

 

Regards

Frogeye

[Nick A]

Thanks for all the above - the interior lights on my galaxy have recently stopped working (after some problems with the towbar wiring). I checked fuse 53 and it has blown and seems to be the problem. I didn't need to strip away any of the trim to remove the fuse - you just need a pair of long-nosed pliers to gently pinch the fuse and pull it out.

I have also used information on the forum to replace the glow pin in the auxillary heater when it stopped working, and also replace the a/c condensor which was leaking. I have found the forum very useful so thankyou to all the members who share their knowledge and experience.