Technical Tempra electrics going beserk II

[rattle & squeek]

Tempra lectrics going beserk II
Follow up from last message,

Now my brake lights don't work.
Electic windows still inoperative.
Constant clicking from a reley in fuse box.
Still can't turn the wipers off, (had to remove fuse to stop operation)
Horn is intermittent has a mind of it's own (removed Fuse)
Rear demist now inoperative.
central locking still inoperative.

Plus points,
The engine runs perfectly and the headlights and heater work without a problem.

Has nyone got any costructive advice (apart from the obvious)

Than:bang: ks

 

[Ziomike]

Now my brake lights don't work.
Electic windows still inoperative.
Constant clicking from a reley in fuse box.
Still can't turn the wipers off, (had to remove fuse to stop operation)
Horn is intermittent has a mind of it's own (removed Fuse)
Rear demist now inoperative.
central locking still inoperative.

What's the model ?

Two things that I have had -

1) I had a similarish strange problem with a Tipo (smaller brother of the Tempra, very similar electrically), the windscreen seal had a leak after the screen was replaced, water was draining down the inside screen behind the dashboard and dripping onto the fuse box. All sorts of things started going or not, intermittent door locks, wipers etc.

I fixed the leak then had to unplug the fuse box (all connectors are keyed so you cant get them in the wrong place, but disconnect the battery first, there is nothing between the big thick red wire and the battery !!!) open up the fuse board carefully and then leave it in the airing cupboar on top of the boiler for a couple of days to dry out. Plugged it back in all problems dissappeared. The fuse box is a multilayer flexible circuit board folded in two, water gets into the layers amd all sorts of things happen.

2) Now the other thing to happen with older Tempras is the chassis earths in the engine compartment. There are two, one each on the main chassis members either side of the car at the front just behind the radiator (follow the battery -ve down to the chassis. It's a large bolt with multiple black wires in a big crimped lug. The problem is the wires corrode or rot at the neck of the crimp and loose connection. Cut the wires back to clean wire and re-connect, you may need to extend them.
My current car has not started, lost the dim-dip headlights, lost sidelights, plus other problems all traced to these earth points in the engine compartment.

Of course it may not be either of these, but from your list of faults it realy does sound like the water in the fuse box problem I had.

 

[rattle & squeek]

Ziomike ,

Fiat Tempra 1600
1997.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply to my problem.
Yesterday I removed all the relays in the fuse board and bingo moisture, the wiring running down from under the dash to the fuse board was also damp, I removed and dried all the relays with a hair dryer but have not removed the fuse board.

I have sprayed all wiring and electrical componants with contact spray and now everything seems to be working alright, only the central locking is intermittent but this could be something to do with moisture in the left door as the door switch lights are not iluminated and the window is wet when I raise it.
The car is running better and the headlights are brighter.

The car started playing up on the evening of a torrential downpour so I am sure the problems stemmed from what you suggested.

Your views are better or just as good as the Fiat garage, they were confident it was an earthing problem and nothing to do with moisture, I do believe they wanted me to leave the car for a day or two and charge me the earth.

And yes you are right again, the battery to earth cable is in a bit of a state, thats my next job.

Thanks again for your valuable advice.

 

[Ziomike]

Fiat Tempra 1600 1997.

Yesterday I removed all the relays in the fuse board and bingo moisture, the wiring running down from under the dash to the fuse board was also damp, I removed and dried all the relays with a hair dryer but have not removed the fuse board.

I have sprayed all wiring and electrical componants with contact spray and now everything seems to be working alright, only the central locking is intermittent but this could be something to do with moisture in the left door as the door switch lights are not iluminated and the window is wet when I raise it.
The car is running better and the headlights are brighter. The car started playing up on the evening of a torrential downpour so I am sure the problems stemmed from what you suggested.

Electrics on Fiats and water have always been a problem.

I forgot to ask does the car have a sun roof ?
This is another potential water source as the drains from the sunroof mecahnisim get blocked. Open the sunroof fully and (from outside) in the front corners you will find a small hole, blow it through with an air line, it's usually bits of leaves but occasionally spiders can nest in the pipes - not a wind up, i've seen it. Rarely the drain pipes come off the sunroof housing they need putting back on with a jubilee clip but for that you have to remove the headlining. The mechanisim has four drains, its the front two that seem to be the main problem, each drain connects to the corners of the pan that the sunroof sits in and pipes drain down the windscreed pillars at the front, in an estate, down the pillars for the 5th door, in a saloon, don't know never had one but must be down the rear window pillars into the boot.

In the long run it will be worth removing the fusebox to dry it out by slow heating, if you can put some plastic over the tope of the fuse board to shield it from the dripping, some models of Tipos and Tempras has just this, plastic cover over the fuse board, Fiat had obviusely had the problem.

The central locking will probably be the last to work it does seem to be the most sensitive, the wiper delay can also suffer when water is about. Also check the relays themselves, I've had a couple with water inside the relay after draining through the fusebox.

Make sure you find the source of the leak, don't want to go through this again. For water in the doors look along the bottom edge of the door there should be three small slits, they can get blocked from road dirt.