2001 (X) Felicia estate 1.3.

Only got this car last week, auction sale so no come back.

All the lights work but when I switch on the side lights the two direction indicator arrows on the instument panel illuminate and the temp guage flicks up to maximum and stays there and the fuel guage also goes up to nearly the top. As I said, the lights all work properly as do the indicators, left and right and 4 ways all operate, it is just the effect on the instruments. I haven't seen it in the dark to see what happens to the panel lights, i will have a look tonight. I have no manual (on order), so have virtually no idea where to start. The main voltage regulator is ok, steady 14v on the battery with the engine revving. Are the lights and dash illumination controlled by relays, or is there a secondary voltage regulator on the instument cluster, or am I looking at trying to find a new panel.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

it sounds like a similar problem i've had with my horn and headlights/

the headlights came on and went off when they felt like it and the the horn came on when i used my indicators.

i found the problem was the indicator stalk and it's connectors were perished by someosort of electrical fault, as if someone had left the sun roof open in the rain and water had got to the connections.

just check the fuses to start with. they are located under the glovebox.

A 1.3 Felicia Instrument panel should be easy and/or cheap to get hold of from a scrap yard or probably ebay and even if it doesn't fix the problem you then have a spare. Seems reasonable to assume power is somehow going from the sidelights to the other instruments. How it could transfer to so many different components I'm not sure.

It get's worse!

I went to Maidenhead last night and although the lights worked normally the temp and fuel guages went up to the top and other indicator lamps came on that shouldn't have.

However, I got into the car this morning, just thought I would try it, and everything is working perfectly and still is, so I doubt the fault is too serious, famous last words. My hatred of intermittent faults goes back to my days as a TV engineer.

One thing came out of last nights little jaunt. The 7 mile queue to the Dartford crossing shows that my cooling system is good LOL.

sound like a bad earth connection somewhere.