interior lights/intermittent wipers,etc

[chris williamson]

My 1st week with my 500 city diesel van and aside from being rescued today (Sat9th) by the AA due to a failed relay all is reasonably OK, just a few questions though:

1) I seem to have no working interior lights. Are they there for show on the base van or do they work? Bulbs are present and correct in passenger and load space light but nothing comes on whatever position the switch is in. All fuses check out, however one of the non existant relays is marked on the cover as "interior lights or fuel pump".If they are meant to function should they just work off the fuse?:confused:

2)The wiper switch is just on,off and single wipe, is it possible to upgrade to intermittent or even timed delay if an appropriate lever can be found? If so how would I go about adding a relay, which I presume it would need?

3)Aside from scrapyard (where they are apparently as rare as hens teeth) where can I source a drivers side door seal? Any suggestions where I can buy the appropriate seal and make up my own seal?

4)I have a new heater matrix ready to install but being new to the world of Maestros I am somewhat reluctant to whip out the dash alone. :eek:Is there anyone in reasonable distance of Coventry familiar with this procedure who would be willing to come and assist?

[Russ]

Firstly re lights check chat the door switches have a good earth and the contacts on both the switch and the switch on the lights themselves are clean and free from corrosion
Wipers,not too sure but if you fit the stalk and the appropiate relay they should be ok
Heter, drill out the plastic rivets that hold the glove box in place,remove it and you will be looking at the end of the heater matrix.Undo the allen bolts that hold the pipes to it and the screws that secure the matrix to the heater housing,pull the old matrix out and insert the new one. AS simple as that

[emanresu]

Wipers,not too sure but if you fit the stalk and the appropiate relay they should be ok


i believe people with mk1/mk2 metros have issues here due to additionall wiring. i had a D reg metro L and tryed this and it simply would not work.

not 100% sure but check metro owner forums for more info. they do this a lot more due to a lot of metros not coming wiht it as standard.

[Rich]

Check the contact which moves in the interior light as these can corrode. A quick flick with a bit of emory cloth and some grease on the contact points can work wonders. As already mentioned earth points on the door the switches.

The wipers would need, an additional relay, of which there will not be a socket for, modifcations to the wiring from the switch to the relay etc. I did do a guide on how to retro fit variable delay wipe to a car which didn't have it, but not sure where it is now.

Door seal can be bought from "woolies", and you can cut and fit it to length. They only do black however.

[chris williamson]

The non functioning electrics issue rumbles on. As I said in the opening question the interior lights dont come on though all the bulbs, both in the cab and load area are fine, and the door contacts are OK too, I replaced both front door ones but no joy. Since then I have added other goodies, a cigar lighter, illuminated glove box and still nothing comes on though I did add a radio and that circuit seems to be working OK. The fuse No.A6 seemed fine but I have also swapped it twice, again with no luck.
My experience of electrics, both domestic and vehicular is very limited so if you have any advice and instructions assume I know nothing and keep it very basic!

[chris williamson]

Forgot to add a thank you to Russ regarding advice with heater matrix replacement. I had heard all the horror stories about pulling the dash apart but his method of coming in via the glove box was perfect. One thing I did discover though was you need a right angle drill or a flexi drill drive for the strip down and a rivet gun or fatish self tapping screws for the rebuild.
With the box out and laying on your back looking up under the dash you are faced with 2 vent pipes, 1 unclips but one is fixed to the glovebox support which in turn is fixed to the underside of the dash. With these rivets drilled out, the vent pipe can be pushed up, the support bent 90* and the Allen bolts undone between the pipes and matrix out it slides, in my case both it and the pipes were holed so it was a job well done.

Thanks again Russ

[chris williamson]

OK, another question for you, is the small rubber pipe that comes out the sump on the 2.0 diesel engine prone to blocking, and can I remove it with the oil still in or is the normal level higher than the pipes outlet?
I ask because I am getting a mist of oil coming out the PCV breather and when I remove the oil filler cap it becomes a visable white vapour out of there. I have been advised it is possibly a blockage in the breather system and I have examined every pipe but that one, (for obvious reason) or is there a more serious cause?

Any suggestions re my non functioning electrics further up this thread?

[Russ]

Glad to be of assistance, RE the breather on the sump you will need to drain the oil as it sits lower than normal oil level

[chris williamson]

Thought I would let you know I have solved the non working interior lights, glove box light and cigar lighter, seems it was nearly all down to the relays.
When I got the van in early May no int lights and it didnt have g.box light or cigar lighter anyway. Then relay went leaving me stranded. Mr AA man put in an old one which got me going but no joy with electrics when accessories fitted. This weekend my mate did an electrics check and found replacement relay was suspect, replaced it and fully working accessories,also cab area bulb looked fine but non functioning, replaced with new bulb, bingo!
Might be of interest to anyone else with niggling electrics problem