Instrument panel - not all lights come on while starting..

[sotirisp]

Hi guys,
here is my second question in this forum ...

When I start the engine of my 406 HDi (actually just before starting it, during the checks...) I think
that some lights that should go on, do not...

To explain what I mean... I made a pic of someone starting his 406 HDi and in the pic I can see the
following (bottom row from left to right) :



(note: i don't know the exact year of his car but it seems to be pretty similar to mine probably a 1999 or 2000 model...it doesn't have the multiplexing controls around the steering wheel...for your reference this is the link to the video
I made the pic from: http://youtu.be/3m7wygVsDSo )

1. Passenger airbag disarming warning light -> goes on (this depends on whether you have disarmed the passenger's airbag or not, but I have...)
2. Diesel engine preheating -> may or many not go on (this is dependent on the external temperature. May or may not go on...Usually preheating takes place at or below 0 Celsius.)
3. Battery charge warning light -> goes on.
4. Engine diagnostics light -> goes on.
5. ABS system warning light -> goes on.
6. AIRBAG warning light -> goes on.

above the bottom row from left to right:

7. Engine oil pressure light -> goes on.
8. central (STOP) warning light -> goes on.
9. Hand-brake and low brake fluid level warning light -> goes on.

All of those lights (except the handbrake light 9. and the passenger's airbag disarm light 1. ) should of course normally go off after starting the engine assuming that there are no problems in any of the related car systems...

Now comparing mine to that guy's 406,
the thing that worries me is that on my car the lights 1, 3, 6 never go on.

Light 1. should go on because I have disarmed the passenger's airbag, but it does not.
Light 3. should go on as well i think (and go off after the engine is started)
Light 6. should also go on and off after around 6 seconds...(assuming that the airbags are ok...)

What might be the problem and i miss those warning lights?

[steve_earwig]

It might be as simple as the bulbs have burned out

[Ares]

Yes,did you check behind instrumental panel?

for example,my light for short lights never goes on because the contact is poor.
I tried to fix it but i had to go somewhere in a hurry so i didnt made it but i know thats the problem.
Could be the bulbs burned,or poor contact,just need to open the panel and try to examine bulbs and tight them better if contact is poor.

I dont think there is any bigger problem than this because you have 3 lights not coming on so the problem must be somewhere in the panel.

[steve_earwig]

short lights

= dipped beam

The bulbs could even be missing, stranger things have happened...

[Doggy]

Looks like a D9 cluster - aren't they all LED?

[Tubthumper]

Looks like a D9 cluster - aren't they all LED?

I thought the same, and have been running my D9 for ages without the oil temp guage being lit, until I took the cluster out, and found it does have bulbs after all

[sotirisp]

ok guys, I removed the instrument cluster of my 406 to check what is going on with the bulbs,
(not the easiest thing of the world though...as the cluster is a little bit tricky to take
it out even when all the screws have been removed... ).

Here is a photo of my instrument cluster... I numbered the bulbs that I was able to identify according to the
list I posted in my first post. So from my previous post we have:

1. Passenger airbag disarming warning light
2. Diesel engine preheating
3. Battery charge warning light
4. Engine diagnostics light
5. ABS system warning light
6. AIRBAG warning light
7. Engine oil pressure light
8. central (STOP) warning light
9. Hand-brake and low brake fluid level warning light



As you can see the "battery charge warning light" bulb (No. 3) is missing.
What I did is that I used one of the bulbs as my testing bulb and I begun to populate the empty positions
which I marked with the letters "c?", "f?", "g?" , hoping to find out if any of them are the bulbs 1 and 6 ("passenger airbag disarming warning light" and "AIRBAG warning light).

Well they are not or they simply don't work.
I wasn't able to identify that bulb with the black holder that I marked with the letter "a?"

It's a mystery as well what the bulb marked with "d?" is for...
During my test I turned on all the electronics of the car that I'm aware that they have indicators in the instrument panel
(lights, hazard lights, etc...) but still I couldn't identify what the "a?" "b?" and "d?" bulbs are for...

Anyway, what bothers me now is why the 1 and 6 indicators don't work (the "airbags warnings" ones...).
Is it possible that someone somehow "hacked" the ECU or the BSI so that the airbags warning lights do not come
on under any circumstances??

--------------------------


FYI, these are the kind of bulbs my car uses for illuminating the instrument panel and its warning lights.
The writing on the very thin bulb says: OS 12 3 W9S (i am not sure though, it's very difficult to read those damn miniature bulbs...)

[V6Exec]

I replaced the bulbs in my MFD - same style.

You can get them either capless or with the cap fitted

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165538
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165538

(also available from many other sources - but the dimensioned diagrams are nice)

[V6Exec]

List from owners manual

(8) master warning (STOP)light

(7) oil pressure
(9) handbrake warning


(b) front brake pad wear
(c) water in diesel filter
(a) passenger air bag
(2) glow plugs (diesel)
(3) charging
(4) engine diagnostic warning
(5) ABS
(d) air bag warning
(f) seat belt not fastened
(g) not used

(the one you used for testing) immobiliser warning light

[sotirisp]

List from owners manual

(8) master warning (STOP)light

(7) oil pressure
(9) handbrake warning


(b) front brake pad wear
(c) water in diesel filter
(a) passenger air bag
(2) glow plugs (diesel)
(3) charging
(4) engine diagnostic warning
(5) ABS
(d) air bag warning
(f) seat belt not fastened
(g) not used

(the one you used for testing) immobiliser warning light

Many thanks V6 !!

I will order some bulbs/holders and I will check again (d) and (a) ...maybe their bulbs were blown, i didn't check those...
I will also populate (f) and (c) (if they do work, I want them to go on... ) ...and of course the missing bulb for the battery charge as well...

Cheers!

[sotirisp]

I prepared this (might be useful to someone with the same instrument panel) :



I hope it's correct...

[Ares]

Well,im glad that you have sorted at least half of the problem.
Thanx for the info about panel,it will come handy.

[V6Exec]

Interesting that on that panel there is no ESP on the diesel version - on my panel there is

[lozz]

Ive seen all this before.

dont you just love it when someone before you as been at a car.
bulb as gone so instead of paying 30p for abulb theyve ripped one out of something else.

[sotirisp]

Interesting that on that panel there is no ESP on the diesel version - on my panel there is

V6, i am not sure at all that my car has ESP. I think it doesn't...
I guess later diesel models had it though... Don't forget, mine is the first edition of the "facelift" version... 1999....

Well, it has airbags, fuel filler cap, seat belts though So I have to try and put some bulbs there ...