Hi

 

I have discovered a recent problem with the interior lights in the boot of my car. Basically I have no lights when the rear hatch is opened. I took my car to Halfords to investigate if it was maybe a bulb issue abut they said they are fine. Any ideas as to what it could be?

 

I have also had an annoying problem with starting the car. Despite previous advice from a specialist garage to simply turn the key to start the car this only works about 60% of the time first time. I sometimes have to add a bit of power from the accelerator pedal to get it going and the idle can be quite lumpy for a minute or so too.

 

There is also an annoying rattle coming from underneath the car. This has been diagnosed as a problem with the heat shield which was tightened on a previous visit to a garage.  However the noise is now getting worse.

 

Any advice or help with the above matters would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Fred

Edited 16 March, 201610 yr by fred1982

Does your car know the boot is open?

 

With the boot open, does the warning light show on the instrument cluster?

It may be the hatch locking mechanism. My vehicle arrived from the factory with the plastic cover for the mechanism lying at the rear of the boot (my friendly Customer Service orientated dealer told me that I broke it as there was no way it would depart the factory like that (just like it would never depart the factory with a failed DMF, which it did!)).

Due to no cover, debris and moisture gets in and affects the 'switch' that triggers the lights. I went several months without any boot lights, but for some reason they have been working almost perfectly all winter. I hoover and squirt WD40 into the mechanism so that 'may' be the reason they have started working again.

The rattle on your car could be the fuel lines mine was

As for the boot lights check the switch and or check the light is getting power

Does your car know the boot is open?

 

With the boot open, does the warning light show on the instrument cluster?

Would I have to have the key in the ignition to see this on the display?

No it should show like when you open a door

No it should show like when you open a door

 

Do you mean on the display in front of the steering wheel? (I have replace dthe standard stereo you see).

Yes the red light on the speedometer should light up when you open the boot, like it does when you open a door.

Yes the red light on the speedometer should light up when you open the boot, like it does when you open a door.

Ah I see. I tested this out this afternoon and noticed that with the boot hatch fully open there was no notification shown for any open doors on the dash. As soon as I opened the drivers door the red open door notification lit up.

That would explain why the boot light doesn't come on then as the car doesn't know it's opened.

I agree with you softscoop. I presume this means there is possibly a wiring fault with the boot catch lock?