stevezx6steve

hi ya all

first of all let me bore ya with whats going on with my rs

ok i brought my s2 a month ago for 600 quid with a gearbox fault so i had the box changed with a new clutch and then went for the mot yesterday only to FAIL

so it failed on track rod ends and inner joints ,, ive changed them so thats no worries

it also failed on both tail lights out and the fog light. also i noticed the dash dont light up either ! and the fog light switch aint lighting up ,,,, all other lights work so im in a bit of a pikkle....... few have said get a election and few have said get new indicator stalk i dont mind a spanner but im use less with wires lol

oh and all fuses are ok not sure how you check relays but hoping you guys could help out thanks

Jimmyc

First question, do u have a multimeter?

stevealien

iTrader: (1)

2nd question,whats an election

Jimmyc

Haha

stevezx6steve

no multimeter jimmy and erm it was ment to be electrician !!!!!!

dave_s2_rst

iTrader: (2)

jesus at these two

these old escorts had shoddy wiring to begin with so you can imagine many years on and its only going to get worse.

clearly there's an issue with your lights and as mentioned above a multimeter would be a good start. tabetha off this forum is good when it comes to electrics.

Its a case of fault finding in steps and checking bit by bit.

stevealien

iTrader: (1)

just pullin ya chain bud

stevezx6steve

no worries steve im a newbi so i expect it lol

been reading on google and alot of problems have been the indicator stalk faulty but surley that would not affect the dash lights ect any one know how to check the relays ?

escoskmv

check your earth in the boot, i remember having trouble with my lights in my rs turbo days. got to love them thow

stevezx6steve

there great cars but made so cheaply ,,, its more of a project as i had one 12 years ago and thought id try and save it but in a month and not even driven it yet has cost me £890 and thats not to mention the guy who had it before me spent nearly a grand on welding

just hitting problem after problem

stevealien

iTrader: (1)

thats rs ownership for ya.lol.

the plugs on the rear lights do play havoc mate and can cause allsorts of crazy faults.
for example,my last rs,when you pressed the brake,you could turn the ignition off,take the keys out,and the car would stay running till i took my foot off the brake.

try unplugging the multiplug and cleaning up the connectors on the wiring plug and the light cluster.
use a bit of sandpaper and give the metal a buff up.
akso pinch the connectors together tighter inside the connector plug ,lever em a bit with a screw driver or something.
you really need a multimeter mate as your gonna need one with a car like that.
or failing that,get a bulb,and put live and earth wires to it and use it like a test meter.
then you can test if youve got voltage going to your light clusters

stevezx6steve

cheers i shall try that tomorrow do you think it may be the stalk?

stevealien

iTrader: (1)

could be,but id lay money on it being corroded connectors on cluster
haveyou got no lights at all at the back?
if so,put hazards on,and try wiggling the connectors and see if they light up

stevezx6steve

maybe i will clean them up first but wierd how both the elements in the brake bulb lights up when brake is pressed!!

stevezx6steve

i have hazards and reverse but no dash or rear lights for light dont work either and the fog light switch does not light up either ! but i also have brake lights but ther lighting up both the element in the double bulb !

tabetha

Sort out the earth to the rear light bulb holders, when there is a bad earth, it will seek out a new earth wherever it can, it is trying to find a earth path through the other filament in the bulb, that's normal.
The best thing to do with these bulb panels is run a seperate earth to each direct from the body, drill a small 3-4mm hole in the earth track and solder a wire in here, ring terminal on the other end, bolted down to a nice clean earth, I normally use a serated lock washer on the bolts/studs that hold the lights in the body, works a treat.
tabetha

tabetha

DON'T use a digi meter, or analogue multi meter, use a test light, for tracking down power in out etc, the reason why a digi meter is no good is that it can read 12 volts perfectly but the wire could still NOT light a bulb, as there is no ability to carry current(amps), so it just leaves you/me confused, with a test light it won't light the bulb, so would be seen as a dead wire, there are loads of wires with stray current but so low it causes no issues.
Think logically about the issues, as you have front lights you know there is power getting to the main light switch and out, all of the issues at the rear can be caused by a earth fault, disconnect the plug from the bulb holder and with a assistant and a note pad/pen note down each terminal/wire and whether working or not.
Ford used galvanised steel for the bulbholder lecky tracks, which frankly is shit at 20+ years old, they suffer enormously from micro arcing where the contact areas burn on the board, I always hard wire these in zero problems for ever more, by drilling the tracks and wiring direct into them.
A seperate earth is the best thing you can do to these, even with new light boards.
The fog light not lighting up ?, do you mean the fog light ON light in the centre, or the switch illumination ?, the fog light ON indication is a led in the centre, orange I seem to remember, first establish if the switch is getting power when the main light switch is being turned on, as if it isn't the fog won't work, if it is, check to see at the rear plug on the tail lights if it is getting a fog feed when switched, if it is then led has gone, so new switch needed.
The main dash lights are controlled by a dimmer, is the dimmer there ?, I think on the rst it is the one on the left in the clock surround lower left corner, check you are getting power to this dimmer with lights on(sidelights).
If you look carefully at the tracks on the bulb holder/s each side you will see what terminal does each light, the brown is earth, this track will be the only one going to all the bulb holder areas, now picture the bulb holder panel in the rear of the light and you will see what colour wire does each light, the brakes are from memory black/red ?.
tabetha

stevezx6steve

thanks for all the help guys but i went to me local breakers yards and got a new stalk before testing the wires and lucky enough it was the stalk ,, but still need a new fog light switch grrrr but looking good for re test on monday