Interior lights all out !!

Hi there.

I put a post on this group a couple of years ago with a car problem and got the correct answer so will try again :-)

I have a 1996 Ford Escort. 1.9 L. Automatic. I'm now in Canada but cars are cars !! Lost power for everything while driving and as suspected, it was the alternator. Just had that replaced at the garage (new). After driving away, happy that my car now worked, I noticed that all the dash lights were out. Thought it must have been a fuse. That evening, got pulled up by one of the pleasant Canadian police in their monster truck size cruisers (and he actually had a small box of Tim Hortons Doughnuts on the passenger seat !!!, wish I had a camera there.) and he said my indicators were out, along with the rear driving lights and reg plate light. Sod it! Everything was out. The only thing that worked was the headlights. The indicators made the noise from the inside but nothing was happening outside. One light that is lit is the warning light for the open hatchback door, and that's shut and locked !!

Took it back to the same garage and they couldn't fix it as they couldn't find the cause of the problem. Told me I had to go to a Ford dealer who will probably charge the earth.

Does anyone have any ideas as to the problem? All the fuses are okay, under the steering wheel and the set under the bonnet, but basically everything electric except the headlights is out. Very strange.

Thankyou and I look forward to any replies

Andrew

Reply to
me & me
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The message from "me & me" contains these words:

Ah, this may be one of the Escorts with the notorious "folded PCB" fusebox. They're vulnerable to vibration and on some models water leaking onto them.

You can replace the fusebox at enormous expense, or if you're au fait with circuit diagrams and can use a meter and a smouldering iron you can spend hours and hours working out where the break must be and linking round it using external wire straps. I'd only recommend this if you're time-rich/cash-poor or very weird.

Reply to
Guy King

I have always found it more efficient to charge the battery ;-)

PJ

Reply to
PJ

seconded, probably the fuse box or maybe the garage didn't reconnect something (maybe an auxiliary wire at the battery?) But probably the fuse box, check if you have power available at the relevant fuses, if none then start to pull out the fuse box, the fault is usually self evident as burnt tracking, with care most can be repaired with some wire bypassing the damaged bit, sometimes it is easier to move some wiring to a new remote fuse holder.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

I've not had anything to do with one of these, but it sounds like a load of things to be out through a fusebox fault - unless there's a common feed to all the fuses which protect those circuits. Wonder if there's a fusible link in the cable going to the fuse box?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

These fuse boxes are really awful design, you get several circuits lost through one bit of track burning, usually the heater fan and wipers are the first to go.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Seriously, in the case of the Escort, the fusible link is the fuse box!

Reply to
Guy King

I'll store this up. My brother's just changed from a Maestro to Escort, so I'm sure he'll get every common problem going.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

He has my every sympathy. He'll miss the space, for a start.

Reply to
Guy King

Yup. But hopefully won't need a new windscreen every MOT...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Ouch. We've lost two Maestro screens - one to a vandal and one to a stone thrown up by a passing Merc van.

Reply to
Guy King

He says they just cracked of their own accord. Probably body flex due to rust...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

And you think an Escort will improve this?

Reply to
SteveH

Heh heh - but it hasn't got the same sort of structural screen, though?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

I think you'll find it has. Almost all cars do now.

Reply to
Guy King

First essential conversion on rally sd1 was to put metal retaining clips to hold the windscreen in !!!!

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Considering they've just changed the alternator, your problem is most likely something they've botched. Either they've forgotten to reconnet a power feed to something or they've blow one of the fuse links in the engine bay fusebox.

Reply to
John Egan

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