Bongo Fury

Had the day off today & was looking at a young colleagues car with an electrical problem he told me he was having at the weekend....

I only live up the road from where we work (2 minute walk) & he dropped it over mine to look at before his shift..

The problem; an 02 Focus, both headlights had blown.. He had main beam, & was using his fogs as driving light.. He'd been stopped by the law ( i know..!) Bought new bulbs, but they didn't work!!

It wasn't yer standard H4 set up... Separate fuses & relays for each side..(Fair enough.)

The long & short of it was, this car only got 12v to the headlight circuit while the ignition was on.. I fitted the single filament headlight bulbs & the guy was legal..!

Is this a standard Ford thing? Seems a common problem with different solutions on the Focus forum scene..?!!

Don't know about Ford, but all my Fiats have had all the lights powered through the ignition, which means you can't accidentally leave them on You have to turn the ignition key anticlockwise to power the parking lights only.

francophile1947 wrote:Don't know about Ford, but all my Fiats have had all the lights powered through the ignition, which means you can't accidentally leave them on You have to turn the ignition key anticlockwise to power the parking lights only.

Seems like a good idea to me... The kiddie who's car it was was oblivious to this set up, as was i... I only found out when i asked him to start the car so as not to run the battery down with the main beam on..!

Bigdaddycain was having a lot of problems with his headlights on his Focus, because he used to work nights in his car the headlights were always on, and he was nearly going through a set a week.
He bought expensive bulbs from ford, no difference, cheap bulbs from ebay still no difference.
It was just something he mentioned one evening to me about his battery was giving him a bit of problem
I said that could also be the bulb problem as well
He bought a new battery and has not changed a bulb since.

Good point you make about the battery Dave.. The battery on this car looked like it may not have a lot left...

The fiddle with the passenger side bulb is you need to remove the battery & the tray to get at the panel that covers the back of the light? The captive nut & bolt on the battery clamp/strap had had seized i with some WD40 it was moving but turning was all it did..! It would not unscrew.. The welded/captive nut was stationary on the underside so i guess there may have been a cross thread??

Like you are meant to on here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzcY4eGyMAU

I ended up undoing the two bolts on the top of light housing & the one underneath & pull the unit forward to get at the bulb...

Anyway onwards & upwards... Nice to ave a go at something different for a change..
Just been down to the shop where we work (he's still on his shift.) & the lads got me a couple o beers for my trouble!

While i'm currently toasting the health of his battery, i have just been informed that there is a problem with the key-less entry on my wifes Micra...!!

A lot of new motors have that kind of set up....no lights.... until Ignition is "live" via the key.....plus the relay protection too..... and as Dave says many blown bulbs are down to Battery condition and with new(ish) cars fitted with immobilisers and lots of "toys" then Batteries are pushed hard...

mikexgough wrote:....and with new(ish) cars fitted with immobilisers and lots of "toys" then Batteries are pushed hard...

....like stop/start, car is stationary in traffic with lights on and no charge, then keep restarting engine - we save the planet but cause more pollution in dead batteries

why are some headlight bulbs easier to change than others, the nearside dipped has gone on my wifes rover 416, what a blooming nightmare to change, no room to get your hand in so it looks like I will have to remove the battery first, what a load of potch for a bulb. I changed the ones of my sons girlfriend fiesta and it was seconds to do, same on the bongo to be fair but this rover is awful.

jaylee wrote:Anyway onwards & upwards... Nice to ave a go at something different for a change..
Just been down to the shop where we work (he's still on his shift.) & the lads got me a couple o beers for my trouble!

While i'm currently toasting the health of his battery, i have just been informed that there is a problem with the key-less entry on my wifes Micra...!!

Hi, my wife has a Micra with key-less entry, had a lot of trouble when it was under warranty, last time it went in they changed the main unit??? The car is now about 5 years old and no problems since this was done. Unfortunately, I don't know what the main unit is. When we had the trouble, if we walked away from the car waited a minute and went back , it often worked OK

gasace wrote:

jaylee wrote:Anyway onwards & upwards... Nice to ave a go at something different for a change..
Just been down to the shop where we work (he's still on his shift.) & the lads got me a couple o beers for my trouble!

While i'm currently toasting the health of his battery, i have just been informed that there is a problem with the key-less entry on my wifes Micra...!!

Hi, my wife has a Micra with key-less entry, had a lot of trouble when it was under warranty, last time it went in they changed the main unit??? The car is now about 5 years old and no problems since this was done. Unfortunately, I don't know what the main unit is. When we had the trouble, if we walked away from the car waited a minute and went back , it often worked OK

If its any consolation or even help.... My wife's (7 year old?) K12 Micra has the type of keyles entry that you never need to remove the fob from handbag/pocket.. (buttons on the doors, Morphy Richards style button/switch on the column.)

Though once inside the car it would recognise the fob & start (Immobilized without the fob.)
It just wouldn't lock, or unlock by pressing the button on the doors or using the buttons on the actual fob...

Funny enough, like this pic i found on the net... My wife has lost the cover on both fobs too...



What a pullava getting in & out of this vehicle without this feature...!

All i did this evening was disconnect the battery negative terminal for ten minutes, then reconnect!!

Works a treat now...! I must have reset it...? Make sure you have the code for the radio...

newer focus electrics are a total pain in the @rse! the boss' other steed being one. reversing light went crook. easy , i thought , bulb or fuse. neither. checked bulb holder , 12v through it when reverse selected and 0v when in neutral. lots of headscratching and a trip to the local sparks identified a u/s reversing light switch. i still cant get my head around how you can have an earth and 12v live yet still no continuity.....i just put it down to voodoo ...but aparantly its some new tat call sine waves or something to save on a few wires! give me good old fashioned "proper" electrics please!!