General 2009 500 light problem along with centre wheel indicator blank

[p0689109]

I have just bought my first 500 and I am chuffed to hell. I noticed the offside tail light bulb was not working and asked the handyman at the garage to replace it before I drove it away. Whether or not it was deliberate but he reckoned he had blown a fuse and did not want to finish the job as he was not an electrician! He was welding a exhaust pipe on another car earlier and so perhaps he was right but I cannot work out how he could do what he said. Any way I took the car home and found both rear bulbs were not working now. Upon removing the light units I found the offside bulb u/s but the nearside one was good. So i perused the handbook to find the location of the fuses and found that the tail lights were not listed! The engine bay box of fuses checked out as all being good and the fuse box in the passengers foot well did not list the tail lights as being one of them. Is there a inline fuse somewhere or am I missing something?
The dial information details does not read at all so what controls that? Is it a computer or something?

 

[bugsymike]

I have just bought my first 500 and I am chuffed to hell. I noticed the offside tail light bulb was not working and asked the handyman at the garage to replace it before I drove it away. Whether or not it was deliberate but he reckoned he had blown a fuse and did not want to finish the job as he was not an electrician! He was welding a exhaust pipe on another car earlier and so perhaps he was right but I cannot work out how he could do what he said. Any way I took the car home and found both rear bulbs were not working now. Upon removing the light units I found the offside bulb u/s but the nearside one was good. So i perused the handbook to find the location of the fuses and found that the tail lights were not listed! The engine bay box of fuses checked out as all being good and the fuse box in the passengers foot well did not list the tail lights as being one of them. Is there a inline fuse somewhere or am I missing something?
The dial information details does not read at all so what controls that? Is it a computer or something?

If you have just bought it I would take it back and get them to fix it, especially if their guy messed it up! If he shorted something he could easily have damaged more than just a fuse.

 

[John202020]

Do any of the side lights work, turn them on with the key out, does the green light come on, on the dash? Try fuse 12 or 13 under dash

 

[p0689109]

Do any of the side lights work, turn them on with the key out, does the green light come on, on the dash? Try fuse 12 or 13 under dash

Thanks for your replies. Taking it back is a option certainly and I will be going to see them tomorrow. I knew of the blank dial and so having accepted it I doubt they will take that as a return. The lights are a different thing. If he has damaged the circuits then I will be asking for it to be fixed or full refund.
When you say under the dash I take it you mean the LH footwell. If so that shows in the manual that F12 and F13 is referencing the headlamps! As I say the manual does not mention the side lights but the light switch system is different to any other car having only "off" and "all on" meaning no side lights selection. Also when headlights are on the fog lights are on! Weird and in this time of saving money and trying to save the planet I find that set up to be wrong but I am stuck with that!

 

[John202020]

The only fuse the wiring diagram shows is 1 and 3 the big ones under bonnet
By blank dial do you mean the central part of the speedo that shows the mileage and time is thst not lit up when the car started regardlessof light setting?
If you turn off the headlights then the engine and take the key out, then turn on the headlights you can leave the side lights on if required.
The headlights are above the bumper the main beam in the bumper(separate) but also contain the day running lights(if turned on) and side lights, fog lights if fitted are in/next to the radiator grille just to clarify

 

[John202020]

Under the bonnet

 

[p0689109]

Thanks for your reply john202020 Very helpful.
I removed F01 and F03. Not blown but F01 leg connections one of them had a form of white rust on. Cleaned it with a file but this car is not playing! I turned the lights on and the rear nearside worked as when I bought. I then fitted a good bulb into the offside light and fitted both units back on the car and now neither rear side lights work! The front lights all work as they should. The lower units are both side and main beam as you mentioned.
As for the info dial it is just blank all the time but after my first go at the defects after I switched the engine off the screen flashed a gooble de gook display of flashing red letters/numbers so it is getting some sort of power albeit garbled and intermittent.

 

[John202020]

I wonder if there's some corrosion on the rear of the fuse box connections, pulling the fuses in and out several times may clean up the connection?

 

[bugsymike]

I wonder if there's some corrosion on the rear of the fuse box connections, pulling the fuses in and out several times may clean up the connection?

I have had Punto re light issues caused by corrosion on the aluminium terminals at the re lamp plug. Sometimes with light on wriggling the plug can prove or disprove it with the lamp cluster unscrewed from the car but still plugged in.

 

[John202020]

I would replace both 1 and 3 fuses with new ones regardless did you leave the lights on AS you pushed the cluster back in place did they go off as you pushed it back or didn't work after replacement?
Do the number plate lights work? Carefully check the bulb holder on the one that was off check any connectors the general condition of the cable( its known to fail/snap) as the tailgate wiring issue, try to get the car back to the one rear light working state? Then go from there ? The display can fail a second hand unit can fix it assuming it's not a different issue causing it.
Two well known issues tailgate wiring issue wires snap and short things out, engine earth strap causes odd problems.

 

[p0689109]

Fondly enough I have disconnected/connected the rear clusters a few times and the LH side with the good side light bulb was OK when I got the car then after first disconnect it did not work then the next time I removed it then refitted it did work and now after refit it does not. So I am thinking maybe the connector/s are the problem. I will check if the number plate lights work and let you know tomorrow. No I did not leave the lights on when fiddling with the units. Old school ex RAF engineer taught me that!
So the display is a unit that is replaceable. How does it come off then?
I take it all the trim in the boot has to come off then to inspect the cables?

 

[p0689109]

As you have the wiring diagrams john202020 could you let me know which cable goes to which light using the cluster plug wiring colour codes?

 

[John202020]

Here may help

 

[p0689109]

I tried to print your attachments but they came out blank pages. Now I am not computer sava but my daughter might know how to reproduce them for me.
By the way I forgot to mention that I have had Fiats before. Pandas One was a 4 wheel drive and the other had the soft top but otherwise normal. I regret selling the 4 wheel drive. I bet they are selling well now! The first one I purchased in London, was for my daughters 18 birthday. It was the soft top and she left London to go to University here in Stoke. Unfortunately some scum broke into the car to steal not the car but what was left in the car. Rubbish basically but "it" was probably on drugs and did not know what he was doing. The daughter did not feel safe then so i bought a new roof and eventually sold the car on.

 

[p0689109]

john202020 Is the photos taken from a Haynes Manual and if so is it the 04-12 one in blue? I ask as I normally try to get a manual for the cars I have.

 

[John202020]

john202020 Is the photos taken from a Haynes Manual and if so is it the 04-12 one in blue? I ask as I normally try to get a manual for the cars I have.

Yes

 

[p0689109]

Thanks. I will order one.

 

[p0689109]

As promised it arrived less than 24 hrs of ordering through Amazon. Free delivery too! £19. Due to non stop rain today I have not been able to continue sorting out the problems.

 

[p0689109]

Despite the rain today here in happy Stoke I managed to move the car into the drive entrance(drive has three cars parked,all non movable.One is a Jimny with brake pipe corrosion and a pressure fed fuel pipe that decided to be a spray pipe! I covered the hole with two pack which stopped the leak but I would not use that on the road. Besides I doubt that would pass a MOT. I have a spares Jimny which I removed the pipe from but it was a struggle to get out and that was with all the rear off the car along with engine and box removed. So trying to refit this pipe would be, in my opinion. impossible as the pipe has numerous bends in different directions. Now the pipe is metal but not very wide. Do you know of any tubing that will/can be substituted to suit the car taking into consideration the end connections at the tank and the engine?) Anyway back to the 500 I managed to remove the 16 fuses from the passenger footwell without mishap(fiddly job but luckily I have a extra long long nose pliers that fit the bill) and they were all intact. So when the next bout of dryer weather allows I will get back on the rear clusters. I believe there are replacement made up looms as it is a known problem. My local garage told me about it.

 

[p0689109]

Sorry for long delay. Wife has a broken femur and is in hospital. She has full blown MND and was in a care home. They are still investigating how it happened. Lifes a bitch sometimes.
Anyway I have checked and proved that the light clusters are all working plus the number plate light works. So the problem is the wiring plug connector/wiring. It is strange that both sides are defective.Out of the four light systems (brake, indicator, side light and reverse lights) the two systems not working are brake and side light on both sides. So now it gets difficult. My local garage owner/mechanic remembers doing one and mentioned the dealers do a kit so it is obviously a known problem. I believe the kit is plug and a cable length so I will be landing him the job with my hands full of seeing to the wife