Hi guys not been on here for a while so bare with me. Left the car standing for 2 weeks as I have been away and started it up when I got back. Now I seem to have an issue with the handbrake. When I pull it up the dash illumination flickers really dim happens when I release it as well but if I pull it up a few times seems to be ok

Also happens as I am driving along the dash illumination just flickers randomly before coming back full brightness.

Any clues guys bit worrying when it happens

Hi

Think where youve left the handbrake on for that length of time.its prob sticking.

If i leave a car for so long i leave it in 1st and handbrake off. Think that means the cable isnt being stretched. Aslong as your back to driving ot again should be fine imo

Hi

Think where youve left the handbrake on for that length of time.its prob sticking.

If i leave a car for so long i leave it in 1st and handbrake off. Think that means the cable isnt being stretched. Aslong as your back to driving ot again should be fine imo

No its not sticking not that I know of its when I either pull the handbrake up fully or release it the green dash lights window lights and cigarette lighter all flicker and dim making them very hard to see.

 

Also happens a few times while driving along just randomly flickers

Ok. Have you got same size wheels all round?does the abs flash too?

Edited 1 January, 201511 yr by vzo25

Ok. Have you got same size wheels all round?does the abs flash too?

Same size all round and no abs light in fact no warning lights at all.

 

Just weird upon looking down into where the handbrake is I can see brown and blue wires

 

Any clues??

Just weird upon looking down into where the handbrake is I can see brown and blue wires

 

 

 

There's a switch on the handbrake for the handbrake warning light. The same warning light also works as a low brake fluid light. I can't understand why it would affect the dash illumination though.

As TMB says

Could be that switch.

The handbrake switch earths the blue/black wire to the brown wire, so it looks like you have another wire, one that works the dash illumination, shorting to this blue/black wire intermittently somewhere in the loom. Does the cigarette lighter surround light up at night? That would be a favourite candidate as the loom is probably bundled together with the handbrake switch wires.

Centre console out, and a careful look over the wiring in that area should show you the problem, I think.

 

Looks like there's a green/blue wire going to a bulb in the cigarette lighter socket, that'll be the one shorting to the blue/black one, I reckon. I'll keep looking at the wiring diagrams, but I guess it can't be fused.

The handbrake switch earths the blue/black wire to the brown wire, so it looks like you have another wire, one that works the dash illumination, shorting to this blue/black wire intermittently somewhere in the loom. Does the cigarette lighter surround light up at night? That would be a favourite candidate as the loom is probably bundled together with the handbrake switch wires.

Centre console out, and a careful look over the wiring in that area should show you the problem, I think.

It does light up until I release or pull the handbrake then it flickers along with the rest of the dash eh the cigarette lighter surround, Speedo and rev counters basically everything with a green illumination flickers which is quite worrying.

 

Like I said tho has started to happen while driving which is even more worrying

Hmmm. If it's happening when the handbrake is off, as well as when it's on that makes my theory a bit suspect (unless you have a dodgy handbrake switch and a wiring short). Maybe the physical movement of the handbrake lever, or sometimes just vibration, is somehow causing a direct short to ground of the green/blue wire going to the cigarette lighter socket bulb? There are some bare steel dash support bits just behind the vertical plastic bit in front of the gearstick that some wiring goes near, maybe this wire has chafed on one of these?

Hmmm. If it's happening when the handbrake is off, as well as when it's on that makes my theory a bit suspect (unless you have a dodgy handbrake switch and a wiring short). Maybe the physical movement of the handbrake lever, or sometimes just vibration, is somehow causing a direct short to ground of the green/blue wire going to the cigarette lighter socket bulb? There are some bare steel dash support bits just behind the vertical plastic bit in front of the gearstick that some wiring goes near, maybe this wire has chafed on one of these?

 

Wouldn't have a clue I'm not very good at DIY so will have to take it to a garage. I just hope it won't cost the earth as I've already ploughed quite a bit into the car and only had it 2 months. Its intermittent but just annoying.

 

I could only see a brown and blue wire down there tho. I'm thinking its one of these wires chafing otherwise it would be permanent and not intermittent like it currently is. Very strange the lights don't fully go out just dim quite low. Also after pulling handbrake up as much as I could it dont happen as much is this coincidence??

 

Thanks guys

Hmmm. If it's happening when the handbrake is off, as well as when it's on that makes my theory a bit suspect (unless you have a dodgy handbrake switch and a wiring short). Maybe the physical movement of the handbrake lever, or sometimes just vibration, is somehow causing a direct short to ground of the green/blue wire going to the cigarette lighter socket bulb? There are some bare steel dash support bits just behind the vertical plastic bit in front of the gearstick that some wiring goes near, maybe this wire has chafed on one of these?

I can see some metal when the handbrake is fully up. Them brown and blue wires are right near it.

 

When released and down that metal must be chafing them wires I'm thinking

That might be it, but I don't think so, or at least that's not he only thing happening.  See, the handbrake switch connects the brown and blue-with-black stripe wires together when the handbrake is on.  The brown wire is bolted to chassis anyway, so If either wire was shorting to something metal, it would just be the same as the handbrake switch being on; the handbrake warning light would come on, but no effect on the dash lighting.

 

For something to affect the dash lighting, it needs to be something happening to (one of) the grey/blue (sorry, I said green/blue earlier, that was wrong) wires that go to the various bulbs that light things up, including the cigarette lighter surround. Now if it was that grey/blue wire that was getting chafed by the metal of the handbrake, or somewhere else, it might explain what you're seeing.

 

Whereabouts are you? It's not that hard to remove the centre console, it's all in Haynes.

I'm in Ireland. Don't have a Haynes but something funny just happened as I stopped in traffic it conked out and the battery light came on. Coincidence??

I think if the engine stops but the ignition is still switched on, it's normal for the battery light to be on; same as it comes on when you switch the ignition on before starting the engine.

The car actually cut out and the battery light came on. So restarted the car and got it home. Just been to get the battery tested and it came up bad battery with a voltage of 12.5v.

Is that what could be causing the flickering lights I'm wondering. The headlights don't flicker just the dash lights

12.5V sounds OK to me, fully charged is only 12.7V approx.

At this time of year putting a battery on charge for a few hours is usually a good idea (or take the car on a good length drive in daylight with minimum electrics on), but I don't honestly think it's the cause of your flickering dash lights. Try it and see though.

That was after driving it for a good hour before hand before he tested it for me

OK, what was the alternator charging voltage?

He's going to have a look after lunch for me as it was busy after the new year. Will report back when I know

Cheers

Need to take centre console out and I also now have a rear left door seal leaking.

How much is this going to keep costing me ugh this is now going to cost a few hundred as I can't do it myself.

Is it worth getting rid??

Thanks guys

Need to take centre console out and I also now have a rear left door seal leaking.

How much is this going to keep costing me ugh this is now going to cost a few hundred as I can't do it myself.

Is it worth getting rid??

Thanks guys

 

It's not hard to take the door card off and seal the door carrier. You would probably need some spare trim clips as some of them nearly always break. All four door carriers should have been sealed as a matter of course to prevent leak issues. Centre console is also pretty easy to remove.

 

I wouldn't get rid of the car just for those simple issues.

It's not hard to take the door card off and seal the door carrier. You would probably need some spare trim clips as some of them nearly always break. All four door carriers should have been sealed as a matter of course to prevent leak issues. Centre console is also pretty easy to remove.

 

I wouldn't get rid of the car just for those simple issues.

Managed to fix the handbrake situation myself just by moving the wires from round the handbrake area more towards the cigarette lighter socket area and tucking them under the plastic centre console trim.

 

Now for the door panel. Any chance of a rough quote on costs from a garage to do this as its currently raining and yet again my rear left door card and footwell is damp.

 

Also the windows have misted up any clue on any temporary fixes to get rid of this until i get the door done.

 

Thankfully this is the only door thats leaking.

 

Thanks guys

Also when i had my battery changed my radio would not come on anymore. Power is going to it but can't select anything and it just dies 10 secs later.

 

Checked all fuses and they are all ok even the one behind the radio.

 

Bare in mind it is an old radio with a cassette player but only use the radio anyway

 

Any clues or fried the radio??

 

Cheers guys

My radio does that after disconnecting the battery but it just starts working again on its own eventually. Mine is the old MS 402 radio cassette.