A Real Problem

[FarmerPug]

I went out to my car, and the doors wouldnt unlock, this happened before so i went and got the other key and it unlocked the car, but strangley the headlights turned on and then the car opened, i got in it started and i began to drive, and a few minuites into my journey i noticed that the passenger air bag light come on on the instrument cluster, then i noticed that the lights were dim so i tried to adjust this by pressing the button, then the thing went mad, all the dials went to the start position and then max, the milometer displayed horizontal bars and most of the warning lights come on. Then all went back to normal, then happened again and this kept happening, the radio turned off, and didnt turn on again. And when i turn off the ignition the climate control stayed on for a while.
Here is some things worth saying:
1. I had a leaky rear light, and noticed some water on my cd changer and i took the rear lights out today and siliconed them.
2. The battery in the car isnt brand new and i can remember my clio went buck mad when its battery was flat
3. The cruise control didnt work.
4. The radio made one loud bleep the same as the bleep it made before it was unlocked.
5. I dont think the sunroof is leaking the footwell feels dry.
6. I snagged the earth of the alarm the other day but its been fixed now.
7. I had to change a fuse for the boot light recently
8. The mfd backlight is not in the car, im waiting for 3 new bulbs.
9. I added footwell lights driven from the power of the door lights (Exec)
What could this problem be, its completely spontanious and i have never had this before, having said that i have only had the car 5 months.

[Doggy]

I would disconnect your recent additions first and see if that helps.

Also check the quick release clamp on the battery +ve terminal.

[FarmerPug]

i pulled away the footwell lights, as for the leds in the boot they have been there in the car since i bought it, i followed the bsi reset guide and to no avail but i can tell you when i turn the key the car made a preculiar noise from the dash like a computer booting up, i have just left the car for the night with the +ve terminal disconnected

[Doggy]

If you have an alternative to hand, it can't hurt to try another battery - the one on my previous Citreon failed with a bad internal connection, (stench of hot acid and fizzing noises - whipped the lead off & legged it)
Prior to this I'd had flickering headlights and some odd behaviour from the instruments. Never recurred once I changed the battery

[FarmerPug]

I really really hope that that works, its an old £20 shite battery i bought used (typical farmer i never actually buy a new battery), but even so its sound, the terminals have been cleaned and there is no acid spewing out, these problems are scary, climate control staying on and the insturments going buzzurk, the mileometer is right at 95175 (just a reference in case the car forgets the mileage) , but the wee trip thing above it seems to have went up to a wrong mileage, but ill give a new battery a go, but i doubt it will solve it, sounds too easy, what else could be at fault, ive checked all the fuses. I have disconnected my footwell lights which just ran off the puddle light but would they do anything to contribute to my problems.

[mjb]

I have disconnected my footwell lights which just ran off the puddle light but would they do anything to contribute to my problems.

They could well have damaged the BSI. Very expensive if they have.

[FarmerPug]

whats the next step

[steve_earwig]

Lordy Try disconnecting the battery for a while, then it's a BSI reset (keep one trouser leg rolled up while you're doing it...)

[FarmerPug]

well now the cars going better, i reconnected the battery this morning and it played a bit with the speedo, and the passenger air bag lit up, but i drove to the farm, and turned the airbag warning light off, then i went away for a while, disconnected the earth for the boot led lights, dried out the left of the boot where the light leaked, and checked all the fuses, and ripped the footwell lights out wires and all, and sayed a few prayers, turned the key and the car has been going fine ever since.
So now that that issue is hopefully gone what can i do to get the footwell lights going again, where is the best place to wire them to or is that the thing about these multiplexed cars do they not like any changes, and is the bsi multiplex the same thing, is it the same as can bus

[mjb]

The outputs on the BSI will be rated for something like 3 amps, which will be not far from the current going through them when the lights are on. What you're doing is similar to taking a 4-way plug adaptor and plugging in a few 13A electric heaters, except there's no fuse on the BSI outputs, so imagine what would happen to your house wiring if you replaced all the fuses with nails and started pulling industrial amounts of current through domestic wiring... It'll set alight.

Thankfully in the car you're unlikely to set it alight, rather take out the thing supplying the power, which is a computer processor... a very very expensive computer processor.

If you can't calculate what electrical load you're putting on a circuit, have no idea how much is safe to pull from the BSI, and have no idea of the rating of the wires involved, STOP and see a qualified automotive electrician.

[FarmerPug]

Advice taken, i also took out the back cd changer and hair dried inside it also found the shocks for it were not in right so that was also solved it was a bit wet there after the light had leaked but now its dry and all the footwell lights have been removed electrically speaking, for the tidyness i kept them in but not connected. So there after putting back in the cd changer i made sure all the fuses were right, some had went over what it said in the book so i downsized them, with that done i took the car for a proper drive a thrash round the lanes of the farm and the first one since i got it, i have learnt 2 things; all the problems did not appear at this time, and the 406 likes to oversteer.

[ribz]

just an idea but would you not be able to run the footwell lights from the battery through an external fuse and relay. then trigger the relay using the door switches. therefore the only load on the bsi is the relay which should be low enough not to cause probs.

just an idea.

not responsible if you do damage lol.

[FarmerPug]

youve brought back a fairly old topic. This problem has been solved long ago, i used an LDR controlled relay circuit that had a relay up by the courtesy light to turn on the courtesy lights with the relay switching on from the battery. Problem solved, and has been solved for about 3 weeks now so its safe for the BSI.