I've recently acquired a '96 Escort Diesel van and it has some seriously weird electrical issues.
Everything works, lights, wipers, starter, heater, radio etc but the glow plug control relay solenoidy thing is going apeshit and flattening the battery, it's also dragging a huge amount of current from somewhere
- when the engine is running if the glow plug relay is plugged in the voltage at the battery is dropping from 14v down to somewhere around 8v, unplug the relay and it jumps back up to 14v.
I've changed the control relay but I'm still getting this huge current drain when it's plugged in. Glow plugs are working fine (when relay is plugged in) and there are no obvious signs of anything shorting out anywhere. The ignition switch seems to operate fine, but the engine once it is running will only randomly switch off when the key is turned to 'off'. Stalling it seems to be the only way sometimes.
I've checked the fusebox as that can cause weird things with these old Escorts, I've also tried substituting the fusebox with another one which is known to be good but had the same problem so I've put the original one back in.
Another weird thing is the rear fog light won't switch off, irrespective of whether the lights are on or not. Flick the foglamp switch a few times and the tell-tale light goes out, then flickers dimly for a couple of seconds and comes back on again. Occasionally one of the rear number plate lights is staying on as well....
Anyone had this issue and know how to solve it?