rear window heater switch bulb from hell..

Hi all,

96 Escort 1.3. Started it the other day and the rear window heater switch light came on. Since then it has never gone off again, even without the keys in (which apparently should be 'impossible' according to the ford garage up the road). Pulled the heater fuse, bashed the switch every which way, nothing, still on. The wirder thing is that the switch seems to still operate the heater, it's just the damn light won't go off! I know the inconvenience is minor as it will last at least 24 hrs before draining the battery enough so that I can't start it..but even after 8 hours it takes a few turns to get going instead of firing straight away as it usually does. What the hell could this be?? I was thinking water in the fuse box and the garage actually blew an air hose through it to see if there was any but nothing came out, though there had been a little bit of water on the edge of the box cover. They are now saying they'll need to take the fusebox out completly and have a look at it to see what's wrong and if it is the fusebox it's a couple of hundred quid for the part.

So I now look to the combined millennia of experience in this group to suggest what else there might be going on that neither I nor ford have thought of.

Chandy

Reply to
Chandy
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Is the window on a timer, so the switch not a plain on off? If so, the actual timer unit - to which the light is a tally to tell you it's in operation - will be sited elsewhere, probably on the fusebox, and will be similar to a relay. And that timer is very likely on a different circuit to the actual high current window feed, so *could* operate the warning light without the window. In any case my first approach would be to try another timer.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

they do suffer from fuse box problems, id check the wires that go through the tailgate haven't chaffed through and is causing it to get back fed.

Reply to
reg

Additional: Today I noticed that the wipers can keep running even when there are no keys in the ignition. Can't be 100% sure that it didn't start doing that since at same time though.

Chandy

Reply to
Chandy

the tail gate is earthed through the hinges as well might be worth checking them, i have in the past made another earth point up.

Reply to
reg

ahaha..after I wrote that I went back out and all the ignition lights were on. Basically it now behaves as if the engine was running even with no keys in; heater, lights, wipers etc will all switch on. Now when it's off it sits and most of the bashboard lights light up dully and intermittenly, the immobiliser light flashes constantly and there are clicking noises everywhere. I have to disconnect the battery to get all this to stop. Once I start the car though it runs fine and all the odd activity ceases!

Sounds like this one's for the bin though! *heads for autotrader*

Chandy

Reply to
Chandy

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