23 replies to this topic

[D3YMO]

So heres the story: Wednesday. Last wednesday i hit a speed bump (small type which you can straddle in normal cars), it was on a narrow back road in town, street was unlit, and unfortunate for me a pot hole to one side of it... I wasnt paying attention and foolishly straddle it and damaged my front splitters and smashed my number plate to pieces...when i took the car out the next day the brakes seems to sqeak at low speeds, what could it have damaged - it was a horrible thud and crash when i went over it Saturday. Went to the Trafford Centre in the VX as it was a nice day, usual space under a low ramp (no other car can get under or near it) was blocked by a mondeo...so i had to park in a normal space, all is fine. I spend a few hours shopping, come out to find (what i think was an old dark blue clio that was in the space next to me when i arrived) a car has hit and scraped my front, leaving blue paint and gouges... safe to say i was not impressed, angry and frustrated...especially as when i went to report it i was told id have to pay £10 to fill the complaint form out!! - costs to rewind and check CCTV apparently...so i reluctantly paid it ------ I got back to the car, started it up and the car died...so i checked the fuses and the 'ignition services' fuse, 10amp, had blown... so i made sure the keys were out and changed the fuse...as i did this the box sparked and once pushed in my headlights came on... so i doubled checked the fuse diagram etc and i was doing everything right, after all how much can you mess up by replacing like for like... anyway i went to start the car and the same thing happened, fired up, then cut off again... at this point i had no spare 10amp fuses and the great people at the Trafford Centre didnt have any either... so i resorted to taking out the abs fuse and trying that, this time it blew straight away. i then asked an old woman if she had one spare as she returned to her car from shopping (long shot), she said no...but then 10 seconds later came back with one, thought my luck was changing so tried that - note: the headlights still come on when replacing the fuse, even though the car is turned off, keys out of ignition, light switch says off etc i get in the car and nothing this time, nothing engages when i turn the key, no stereo, no instruments etc...so i flick the headlight/sidelight switches on an off in various combinations to try and get the lights off, they stay on... now heres where im confused... after flicking the headlight switch on and off the car suddenly came on as if the key was turned to position ready for me to press the start button...i try the start button, it takes a while but the car fires...all fans etc come on too (which they shouldnt) how has it done this when the keys at this point where in my pocket and not in the ignition? i can now start the car if i have the switches on in a certain combination ive not looked into it anymore this weekend as ive been decorating...what should i do?

[chris_uk]

Sounds like a good antitheft device to me

[TheRealVXed]

This is why I hate electrics.... I would call an auto electrician.

[J4EY D]

Sorry to hear this mate I remember hearing about an old lotus that you could start up by swapping over a two light switches... Without using the keys. Thought their wiring had moved on since! Can't be more help though, sorry

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

Check all wires around the damaged parts, From bump and damage from speed hump And repair

[D3YMO]

Check all wires around the damaged parts,
From bump and damage from speed hump
And repair

all seem fine, apart from the headlight bulb, i need to take the unit out and have a luck as it seems on bulb has gone...

not sure how this would affect anything though

[J4EY D]

Sorry to hear this mate :(/>

I remember hearing about an old lotus that you could start up by swapping over a two light switches... Without using the keys.

Thought their wiring had moved on since!

Can't be more help though, sorry :(/>

Turns out it was a Vauxha Nova, not a lotus... My bad.

[christhegasman]

Check all wires around the damaged parts,
From bump and damage from speed hump
And repair

all seem fine, apart from the headlight bulb, i need to take the unit out and have a luck as it seems on bulb has gone...

not sure how this would affect anything though

fcuk knows with auto electrics but if a bulb is faulty and shorting to earth it can cause all sorts of probems
i remember a problem with an old alfa where the rev counter playing up turned the brake lights on dull (cant see in the day and even on when the keys were out and the car locked) and flattened the battery
so if you know something electrical is faulty sort that first before looking any further

Edited by christhegasman, 02 April 2013 - 09:47 AM.

[D3YMO]

first port of call at the weekend, cheers chris

[techieboy]

Got HID's fitted? Remove them and revert back to regular bulbs. Battery secure? That might have moved and one of the terminal's shorted against the chassis. Earth connection from battery to chassis in the front compartment okay?

[D3YMO]

i did try and wiggle the battery when i had the front open and its secure HID's are fitted yes, do you think it could be a ballast doing the funny things?

[Gedi]

Definitely sounds like a short circuit or bad earth. Where that's gonna be is anyone's guess Do you have a meter? Sounds like you're gonna have to start tracing wires and checking for continuity and voltage. It's a sh*t job, but at least it isn't gonna cost you money. Btw, did you drive through westhoughton on your way back from the trafford? I saw a car likes yours on friday.

[D3YMO]

Definitely sounds like a short circuit or bad earth. Where that's gonna be is anyone's guess
Do you have a meter? Sounds like you're gonna have to start tracing wires and checking for continuity and voltage. It's a sh*t job, but at least it isn't gonna cost you money.

Btw, did you drive through westhoughton on your way back from the trafford? I saw a car likes yours on friday.

Tell me about it...im not looking forward to it

And nope, never really up that way, i live on the other side of Manchester...must have been a clone

[smiley]

I´ve seen a fusebox underside once which was corroded to hell on the underside. Maybe the bump triggered a short somehow. Remove fusebox from wheelarch and inspect it´s underside.

Edited by smiley, 02 April 2013 - 10:25 AM.

[NickB787]

also worth checking the in boot relays for wiring damage?

[Gedi]

Start with the easy stuff. - Check the voltage between the engine and the chassis, it should be around zero. - Put the pos terminal of a multimeter on the pos terminal of the battery and the negative on the chassis itself. It should be the same voltage as the battery (~14v) - Attach a piece of wire to your neg terminal and start touching it on different negative points on the car (chassis, headlights, wiper motor, heater, etc) and check if your electrics start to work again. This'll help to diagnose the problem area.

[-Dab-of-Oppo-]

Sounds like you could have messed up somewhere with the wiring of your switches mod that you PM'd me about? Did you have them all finished and working prior to this happening? Insulated that metal(?) panel you mounted them in like I mentioned? I can't see how the headlights can be activating the ignition as they should all be independent circuits with little to no bearing on each other, unless by way of pressing one of the buttons you are somehow bridging what should be one of the ignition switched lives for the illumination? The immobiliser should still function even if you where able to make the ignition live without turning the key. You say you had the keys in your pocket when the car reluctantly started could a slight movement of your body in the process of doing this have been enough to bring the key within close enough proximity for it to start? The car should crank endlessly if the key is not present or close enough. Have you tried to start the car with the keys left inside the house or well away from the ignition barrel so the transponder is definitely out of range?

Edited by -Dab-of-Oppo-, 02 April 2013 - 02:10 PM.

[D3YMO]

Yes left the keys in the house and it still starts Yes did all you suggested regarding the switches and all were working fine This was my understanding, them all being serperate, this is what makes me confused and worried... The car did try and turn over for a long time the first time i did get it started again

[D3YMO]

Got HID's fitted? Remove them and revert back to regular bulbs. Battery secure? That might have moved and one of the terminal's shorted against the chassis. Earth connection from battery to chassis in the front compartment okay?

ordered some osram nightbreakers and ditching the HID's

[Anarchy]

Did the CCTV reveal anything? I hope so.