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        General >> Problems >> dash and contol lights
        
(Message started by: moonster on Feb 29^th, 2008, 11:27pm)

Title: dash and contol lights
Post by moonster on Feb 29^th, 2008, 11:27pm

Can someone tell me, should both the heated front and rear window buttons illuminate? And should the headlight dial control illuminate? Everything else does so I assume these should too.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Simmo on Mar 1^st, 2008, 6:48am

Yes they should. :)

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by davem on Mar 1^st, 2008, 7:12pm

As stated...yes they should all illuminate. The light control switch is on 24/7 or shall I say when you drive the car (or ignition on), so this bulb often fails quicker than others. Remove the switch from the dash, discconect the multiplug and replace the bulb in the switch.
I have not disassembled the heated rear and front screen switches, but I imagine there is a bulb in there as well, allbeit smaller
Dave

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Chieftain on Mar 1^st, 2008, 11:00pm

When I first got my Scorp I had lots of trouble with the lights in the heated windows in the end stripped them down and replaced the bulbs with 12v grain of wheat bulbs from a model shop, (2.50 for 12) now been in over a year and no probs.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by davem on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 8:19am

I just realised something. Perhaps you mean the surrounding lights for the heated screen controls (front and rear). Well...no...I don't think there are any....or I have never found them (does anyone know different?). The only illumination I am aware of in these switches is internal to the switch and only lights up when the switch is pressed (internal small orange light). I know what you mean. How can you find the switches in the dark? Well after 8 years I seem to know where they are now, but I dont think there is any illumination for these 2 switches that comes on with sidelights. Yes, it always looked as so there should have been.

Dave

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Tompion on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 9:25am

2 bulbs in the heated screen switches, If I remember correctly the surround is on with the ignition.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Chieftain on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 9:39am

[]

Correct, see my previous post on replacing the bulbs

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by davem on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 12:10pm

Bob (Chieftain), you mean there are 2 bulbs in each switch? One for on/off operation and one for illumination?

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Chieftain on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 1:16pm

Yes it was the permanent illumination that I replaced. All the switchs I had worked a treat when pushed in on came the orange light but no green glow to show location of switch in dark.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by moonster on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 9:21pm

Well cheers guys. My rear heated surround illumination works, but not for the front screen, around the button. The green and orange light works, once one presses it, the little bright dot in middle of round buttons. And the whole thingypit glows, apart from that spot and towards the right side is dim, and the headlight surround dont glow either. So I prob need a couple of likle bulbs.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by TiberiuS on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 10:45pm

Heated screen switches.

The green illumination is a normal wire ended 12v bulb with a little green boot over it, the yellow 'on' light in the centre of the button is a 5mm LED and shouldn't need replacing. You can strip them and replace the bulbs if you can solder.

Regards, Bruce.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by davem on Mar 13^th, 2008, 3:42pm

Well this topic started me thinking. I never noticed any surround illumination to the heated front and heated rear switches, but you are right...they both should be illuminated. The silly thing is the lights come on with the ignition, not with the light switch (side lights) as they should do, in the same way the clock light does. No wonder many Scorps have the bulbs blown if they are on everytime you drive. I can only see a good reason for this in the case of the illumination for the light switch itself and I even had to replace that bulb.
Anyway....after a bit of switch-stripping and soldering, I fitted 2 new illumination bulbs to these 2 switches. The yellow LED was ok in both cases (comes on when the heater circuit is on). This time however, I decided to cut the wire that supplies 12V to each bulb (via ignition on position) and instead I wired the bulbs to the clock illumination circuit, which is conveniently just above it. Basically I cut the wire at the back of each plug (you need a meter and a needle to find out which wire is 12V via the ignition) and I then connected the same wire from each switch to the illumination wire (meter and needle needed again to find out which wire has 12V via the light switch) on the back of the clcok. The 2 old wires (12V via ignition) are no longer used so I simply taped them up.
Job done. I now have two illuminated switches again, but this time the bulbs should last a bit longer, only coming on when I switch the lights on, along with the rest of the bulbs for the climate control display and the clock.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by harry.m1byt on Mar 15^th, 2008, 10:09am

on 03/13/08 at 15:42:37, davem wrote:

The silly thing is the lights come on with the ignition, not with the light switch (side lights) as they should do, in the same way the clock light does. No wonder many Scorps have the bulbs blown if they are on everytime you drive.

Lamp life is a trade off between output efficiency and life. The hotter/whiter they are run, the shorter their life. The brake light filaments are over run to produce more light, whereas the tail lamps and panel lamps are under run - yellow light rather that white. That is why the brake light filament so often burns out before the tail light filament - that plus the number of drivers who leave their foot on the brake instead of using the handbrake.

So when replacing such panel lamps, they need to be the right ones to last as long as the original ones lasted.

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Octavian_P on Mar 16^th, 2008, 6:30am

If you are interested, and i have a bit of spare time i can write a tutorial on how to change the bulbs in the heated front/rear windows and the bulbs in the heated seats switches. Also i have converted the rear passengers electric windows lock button. All above with leds ;D

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d190/Octavian_P/028.jpg

Title: Re: dash and contol lights
Post by Simmo on Mar 16^th, 2008, 6:36am

Sounds like a great idea to me. ;)