Technical Faulty Electrics?

[Bogbeast]

I have a Marea 1.8ELX which has been showing a few electrical problems over the last 6 months. If I press the button to get an external temperature reading it quite often displays the temperature permanently and the only way to remove it is to turn the engine off for about 10 minutes.

In addition the radio reception is pretty dire and intermittently the radio seems to lose power completely for a fraction of a second. It's not so noticable when tuned in to a radio station, but when playing a tape the power loss causes the drive to stop then start again resulting in about 10 seconds of no sound.

I've checked the fuses and they all appear to be OK. I've just found the guide on removing the head unit so I'll give that a go at the weekend and see if there's a loose connection at the back. However, with the temperature sensor fault I'm wondering if it's an earthing problem. Anyone know where the earth is?

Finally, is there any way to improve the pitch of the headlights. Even at max. pitch it can be scary driving around at night.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[Bogbeast]

I have a Marea 1.8ELX which has been showing a few electrical problems over the last 6 months. If I press the button to get an external temperature reading it quite often displays the temperature permanently and the only way to remove it is to turn the engine off for about 10 minutes.

In addition the radio reception is pretty dire and intermittently the radio seems to lose power completely for a fraction of a second. It's not so noticable when tuned in to a radio station, but when playing a tape the power loss causes the drive to stop then start again resulting in about 10 seconds of no sound.

I've checked the fuses and they all appear to be OK. I've just found the guide on removing the head unit so I'll give that a go at the weekend and see if there's a loose connection at the back. However, with the temperature sensor fault I'm wondering if it's an earthing problem. Anyone know where the earth is?

Finally, is there any way to improve the pitch of the headlights. Even at max. pitch it can be scary driving around at night.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

This is getting worse now. When I turn on the ignition I see the milage for about a second then it flips straight across to the temperature. The switch isn't stuck because you can hear the microswitch activate when you press the button, so maybe there's a short circuit?

Still having problems with other electrics too. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[polecat]

Hi,
Sorry I must have missed your first post

The instrument and control earths are behind the dash. One at each side. It would be one of the first things I would check.

Next I would look for wiring problems like:
-signs of rubbing or wear on looms
-signs of water ingress
-loose or dirty connectors, especially around the ECU unit and switch rail.

The headlamps can be adjusted manually using the vertical and horizontal alignment screws. These are normally plastic hex or splined screws on the headlamp adjusters that can be accessed through holes in the front cross member.

Correct alignment is achieved as follows:

Align the beams electrically as far up as possible
Find a level surface with a wall and a bit of space
Draw chalk lines on the wall; vertical down centre of car, vertical through centre of each headlight, horizontal through centre of each headlight and another horizontal line 10cm below that one.

Back up 10M and switch on dipped beams
The horizontal part of the beam should be level with the lower chalk line and the bit where the beam angles up should be where the two vertical lines cross the lower line.

It sounds complicated but is quite easy. Try it on a scrap of paper first.

It also helps if you buy some extra bright headlamp bulbs such as Ring or Philips.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Bogbeast]

Thanks for that. Any chance you could give me a quick guide as to where the earths are? Either I'm going blind or I've turned stupid, but I can't easily spot them.

As for the description of testing the headlight angle, that's great and makes sense. Now I just have to try finding a straight level piece of ground near me!!

Cheers,

Michael