Headlights Staying On

Monster-Mat · January 5, 2010

ive said in a previous post, if you constantly use the auto lights on function this can burn out the relay, causing the lights to come on

eigenvalue · January 5, 2010

Thanks for your response - but no, I have never used the auto-lights facility.

On thinking further, the original owner had the windows tinted. There are no internal stickers anywhere on the windscreen, so it may have been removed for tinting, and possibly not re-sealed properly. I must have a closer look tonight.

new666uk · January 7, 2010

any the plot thickens on mine now. The lights are coming on and flickering now instead of just being on. The relay under the bonnet buzzes once the engine is off untill I yank it out.

Its been too cold and dark to get back into the drivers footwell panel and check for damp but on Sunday it was snuff dry.

Any ideas or is it time to move on to another car?

sparkystav · January 7, 2010

ive been thinking about this.

with the cold weather you have condensation on the window. that could then trickle down the window to the junction box?

Plant · January 7, 2010

new666 my relay is also buzzing. Looking through the thread there seems to be 2 problems discussed

1) Lights won't turn on/off - relay problem

2) Lights coming on after 10mins, sometimes with relay buzzing - water in drivers side ECU, likely following windscreen replacement

Can anyone who had 2) and solved it confirm their relay was buzzing ?

new666uk · January 7, 2010

new666 my relay is also buzzing. Looking through the thread there seems to be 2 problems discussed
1) Lights won't turn on/off - relay problem

2) Lights coming on after 10mins, sometimes with relay buzzing - water in drivers side ECU, likely following windscreen replacement

Can anyone who had 2) and solved it confirm their relay was buzzing ?

Hi Plant - the window is the thing everyone keeps mentioning but the wiring and carpet in the drivers footwell were bone dry on Sunday when I checked. I finish early tomorrow so can look again before it goes dark.

To be honest if its not a problem with a definite solution I'm more inclined to swop the car for something else rather than spend months and £ trying every idea that comes up.

:(

inflames · January 8, 2010

I had this problem not so long ago. With the headlights switching them self on and draining the batt I had to remove the fuses everynight what was great fun. Anyway i done a few cheap easy repairs and things are fine now.

I started by putting some sealent around the gap of the window screen. Then cleaning the contacts and plugs on the junction/fuse board in the footwell. It worked fine untill we had a huge down poor and it started again. So i had to stop the water getting in, i done this by filling the gormet up with sealent and spraying the cables with WD40 to displace the water. Its been fine now, fingers crossed.

new666uk · January 8, 2010

I had this problem not so long ago. With the headlights switching them self on and draining the batt I had to remove the fuses everynight what was great fun. Anyway i done a few cheap easy repairs and things are fine now.
I started by putting some sealent around the gap of the window screen. Then cleaning the contacts and plugs on the junction/fuse board in the footwell. It worked fine untill we had a huge down poor and it started again. So i had to stop the water getting in, i done this by filling the gormet up with sealent and spraying the cables with WD40 to displace the water. Its been fine now, fingers crossed.

Hi Inflames - where did you find gaps in the window seal? Do you mean under the scuttle panel? I've not removed that yet, will have a look over the weekend weather permitting. Is it easy to remove or do I need special tools?

thanks

eigenvalue · January 8, 2010

Hello all. There are two threads presently running on this problem...........

Apart from the headlights coming on issue, I also have several instrument dials reading zero, e.g. petrol gauge, MPG meter, engine temp, outside temp reading 'E', rear heated screen not working, alarm going off (but no-longer doing this), etc. Do any of you have these other problems as well, or is it just me?

Thanks for all the suggestions.......and I intend to try the hairdryer again but followed by WD40 and sealant.

inflames · January 8, 2010

hi new666uk. i found the gap under the rubber corner bit at the bottom, the sealant had completely gone in this section!!!!

Hando · January 9, 2010

Re: replacement windscreens

Mine is cracked and needs replacing - obviously worried about it being fitted properly so contacted the Autoglass my insurance co. arranged for me to discuss.

They were well aware of the problem and told me that from 2000 the screens from Pilkington had a defect with the seals which caused the moisture to get in (not just down to improper installation). This apparently has recently been fixed with new screens.

Still it was reassuring to know that they were aware of the problem.

new666uk · January 9, 2010

hi new666uk. i found the gap under the rubber corner bit at the bottom, the sealant had completely gone in this section!!!!

Hi inflames - how did you solve this? I've had a look at the rubber in the bottom corner on both sides (a piece about 2-3 inches) and it can be lifted up. Underneath is just black gunk. Is this where you are suggesting the water is entering? Would a bead of clear silicone under the rubber help I wonder?

I checked under the drivers footwell panel again yesterday and pulled IH3 and the one above it. Both completely clean and dry. The rubber grommet where the wiring passes through the bulkhead and under the carpet is all dry so I'm wondering if the short is occuring elsewhere. Any suggestions?

Does anyone know how to remove the scuttle plate? Do I need to remover wipers etc to get it out to inspect where the glass meets the bodywork?

thanks

eigenvalue · January 11, 2010

The scuttle plate is quite easy to tilt up. At the weekend I removed the wipers - just pop off the caps and use a 14mm socket to remove the nuts, I found them a lot less tight than the 19 ftlbs specified. The wiper arms then came off the splines easily. Prize out the round plastic fixing at either side and the scuttle can be unclipped by pulling out some plastic fixings and pulled forward to unclip from the lower edge of the screen. The bottem edge of the screen can now be seen......but not much else of interest. I could not see if there were any gaps in the adhesive because this is underneath, about 2 inches up from the lower edge. I don't know how to find out if there are any gaps in the adhesive around the screen, short of taking the screen out and re-adhering. Reading the manual, several things have to be removed before cutting the screen off with piano wire....... I suspect my screen may have been taken out when the first owner had the windows tinted. Does anyone know if the screen can be tinted without removal? (being at the front it is a very light tint). How well would the adhesive stick to the tinting film?

When the scuttle was tilted up I saw two wires going to the bottom edge of the screen - I did not realise that the front screen is heated (from the lower edge). Presumably this is part of the defogger system together with the rear window and door mirrors.

Anyway, as other people have done, I again played a hairdryer on the plugs in the relay board in the driver's footwell. I removed 4 of the plugs around the lower left corner, sprayed with WD40, and replaced. All the problems seem to have gone for the present. Next would be to seal around the wire loom with silicon where it comes through the bulkhead behind/above the accelerator pedal. There are two black tubes, one with a plug, coming through the bulkhead grommet - I wonder what these are?

widnes_is200 · January 11, 2010

right chaps , hope this helps, ive sufferd with this a couple of times the first time 2 years ago i dried out the board and all was well, just getting in the car with wet feet or snow on them can create enough condensation too give u a short!, this time in the snow it happend again so got a new fuse board from the breakers, after fitting i had all lights butt not the dip beam, so i got the alarm control unit from the same breakers total cost of parts 30 pounds, this has cured perfect . the short on the board can short out the alarm control unit causing this fault my old acu smelt of burnt out wires so i hope this helps. my prob is now solved, i only payed 20 pound for the board and 10 for the acu.

eigenvalue · January 12, 2010

Thanks for this widnes_is200. So it seems that the moisture issue on the relay board may then damage the anti-theft ECU. I am sure every case differs - and in my case drying the relay board and using WD40 on the lower left connectors cured all the problems, for the moment at least. I have never experienced a buzzing headlamp relay like some others.

Could you see any damage or deterioration on the original relay board you took out, e.g. on the back? Are there solder joints on the back or is it all crimp connections?

This whole issue shakes confidence in the car which is a great pity as it is so good in other respects.

widnes_is200 · January 12, 2010

the second lug up on the left (above the grey 1) is the 1 for the lights,mine was pretty goosed, green and perished but the board has had a prob for quite some time, no auto lights for many years, butt all sorted now, if u get the chance change it, its easy too do and will solve any weakness in ure board.

new666uk · January 12, 2010

the second lug up on the left (above the grey 1) is the 1 for the lights,mine was pretty goosed, green and perished but the board has had a prob for quite some time, no auto lights for many years, butt all sorted now, if u get the chance change it, its easy too do and will solve any weakness in ure board.

Starting to get annoying now. I pulled IH3 and the one above out and inspected them on Sunday. Nothing wrong there. Plugged it all back in and its been fine Sunday, Monday and today. The relay buzzing has stopped and its been left in since then too.

Thought I might put some silicone under the rubber pieces in the bottom corners to try and prevent water ingress. I'll wait till it warms up a bit first so I can work with silicone (bet is cures badly in this cold weather).

One thing that came up when discussing this with my Dad (he's also got the exact same car) and he reckons that as Autoglass refitted the replacement window to solve a whistling noise they can't have completely cleaned the adhesive from it before refitting so that could be preventing a solid seal being formed. I'd forgotten about that but it makes sense. Might chase Autoglass for a brand new replacement screen and ensure its well sealed.

eigenvalue - thanks for the advise on the scuttle plate. I've left it in place if you don't thing I'll see anything.

eigenvalue · January 13, 2010

Thanks for the additional info and advice widnes_is200.

After the hairdryer and WD40 treatment mine has been fine now for 3 days. The connectors in question look fine (like brand new) and seemed perfectly dry but the hairdryer treatment still cured the problems. Coincidentally it is much milder here now, so possibly the exceptionally hard frost was a factor.

Also, I have been wondering if the condensation problems I have been having for some time might be linked to a possible screen leak......but every time I look everywhere seems to be perfectly dry.

true blue · January 28, 2010

Hi, I have been reading through this thread in the past ,hoping it won't happen--looked out of the window last night h/lights full on I have checked the connectors pins etc in the drivers foot well all seems dry and no joy ;before I go out and buy some magic electro spray I have 2 questions as I am well versed in mechanics but not too confident with the electrics I have a digital meter is there a simple test for the headlight relay in case that is the fault ? also is it ok to use the car with this relay removed I,m charging the Battery at the moment so I don,t know if it will start with it out Thanks

Stacey5426 · January 28, 2010

Hi, I have been reading through this thread in the past ,hoping it won't happen--looked out of the window last night h/lights full on I have checked the connectors pins etc in the drivers foot well all seems dry and no joy ;before I go out and buy some magic electro spray I have 2 questions as I am well versed in mechanics but not too confident with the electrics I have a digital meter is there a simple test for the headlight relay in case that is the fault ? also is it ok to use the car with this relay removed I,m charging the battery at the moment so I don,t know if it will start with it out Thanks

Ive just had this problem, the drivers footwell was dry etc, the relay was buzzing until it got taken out. All we did was push in all the connectors in the footwell and its solved the problem, it was just a loose wire

pablo200 · January 28, 2010

I have this problem now. Only started after it took a little knock in the snow, although I had a Pilkington screen fitted about 3 years ago too, hmm.... Its craked now from a stonechip, so will be getting changed before the mot is due. I will investigete the footwell connectors too now, thanks for the info.

Also went to Lexus today to see how much they wanted for a relay and it was £61. Luckily I think I have have secured one from eBay for £12 posted which is much more manageable right now.

Oh, and I'm a serial auto light user :)

Stacey5426 · January 28, 2010

I have this problem now. Only started after it took a little knock in the snow, although I had a Pilkington screen fitted about 3 years ago too, hmm.... Its craked now from a stonechip, so will be getting changed before the mot is due. I will investigete the footwell connectors too now, thanks for the info.
Also went to Lexus today to see how much they wanted for a relay and it was £61. Luckily I think I have have secured one from ebay for £12 posted which is much more manageable right now.

Oh, and I'm a serial auto light user :)

Thats when mine started playing up, got a relay for £10 from scrap yard, but didnt need it in the end, got the old one in and ot works fine after the connectors in the footwell were pressed back in

whiteman · January 31, 2010

I had this problem and it is explained what I did on the other thread...

has been a month now and no problems....don't buy a relay as it is not the problem... I found the grey plug in the fuse box that is linked to the headlights and unplugged it and gave the connectors a clean and tightened them up a bit by bending them very slightly and sprayed the plug with WD40 plugged it back in and problem sorted....

Don't know where the moisture was coming from as it is still the original windscreen.. I think it must be from the snow on the carpet.... who knows but it is fixed.....for now

eigenvalue · February 1, 2010

My experience has been similar to whiteman - no problem with the headlight relay. Removed some of the lower plugs in the driver's footwell relay board and replaced them after heating with a hairdryer and a spray with WD40. Still OK after 3 weeks now - but confidence in the car has been badly shaken! The problem seems to have been linked to the extreme cold weather.

fjcfarrar · February 1, 2010

My experience has been similar to whiteman - no problem with the headlight relay. Removed some of the lower plugs in the driver's footwell relay board and replaced them after heating with a hairdryer and a spray with WD40. Still OK after 3 weeks now - but confidence in the car has been badly shaken! The problem seems to have been linked to the extreme cold weather.

Problem mainly with lights in auto:- If the headlights sometimes come on or stay on, when they do, open each front door in turn and jiggle the plunger switch on the pillar. If the lights go out, the switch you are jiggling is faulty and needs to be replaced or removed and thoroughly sprayed with a proprietry switch cleaner (RS is fine) so as to penetrate as far as the contacts. Be warned, the wires to the switch are very short, so tie something to them or they wil disappear into the pillar. This is a common fault and is due to the contacts in the switches oxidising and making unreliable connection when the door is opened to get out of the car which seriously upsets the auto headlight function/alarm and can also trigger the lights to come on or stay on in manual lights mode. It is not the only cause of headlight faults but is worth investigating because it is easy.