Donny Carlson
08-20-2005, 08:00 PM
I'm having a problem with autolamp on my car. My headlights stay on in the day time, and when I turn the switch to "off," the headlights stay on (parking, taillights, and instruments, too). The headlights (only) turn off when switched to parking lights, then, of course, come on again when turned to "on."
They go out whenever the car is turned off and the key is removed, after the set time. But, when you use the key fob to lock the car, the headlights immediately go out. My horn chirp also is not working.
The problem is this - the instrument panel is on, and my digital gauges (including the aftermarket ones) are dimmed, thinking it's night time. This makes them hard to read in bright sun light. Also, with under drive pulleys, the AC on in the summer heat, sound system on, etc. etc. I'm reading lower voltages, especially at a red light with my foot on the brake, which drops the voltage below 12 v causing the voltmeter to flash a warning.
Also, I note that at highway speeds my voltage hovers at 13.4-13.6 volts. Normally this voltage is over 14. Around town it drops into the mid 12's, whereas before it stayed over 13.
More back ground:
When I had the Nordskog digital gauges installed in the gauge pod below the dash, my installer hooked the dim wire to the instrument panel circuit. The manufacturer called for this to be attached to the headlamp circuit. There wasn't a problem until the third gauge was added later, then that gauge would flicker at night, jumping between the dim and not dim setting. Nordskog's tech support said the circuit board in the gauge was not getting 12 volts constantly on the instrument panel circuit, which was causing the flicker. The Dakota Digitals in the A pillar were attached to the headlight circuit.
Today, my installer connected the Nordskog gauges to the parking lamp circuit, and connected the DD's and the new Auto Meter gauge to the parking lamp circuit. This was suggested by Auto Meter's instructions instead of the headlamp circuit because some newer headlamp dimming systems aren't compatible with Auto Meter gauges.
I did not have the problem with the autolamp/headlights until after the change was made to the dim circuit on the gauges THAT I NOTICED. I drove over in the dark this morning, and did not notice anything wrong yesterday. One possible irrelevant thing happened this morning - my radio would not play even though the head unit was on and was defnitely not muted. It required restarting the car, then the radio worked.
My installer thinks the Lighting Control Module may be defective. Anybody had a similar problem? What is the part number of this module, and anybody know what it costs? Is it a simple swap out, plug and play, or something to leave to the techs? Is there something else at play here? Could the dim circuit switch out to the parking lamps somehow resulted in this?
Long winded, I know, but help would be appreciated.
PS. When I noticed the voltmeter was showing unusually low readings (low 11's) at idle, my tech checked the alternator (which was okay) then the battery (which is original). The battery test came back "replace battery." So, new Motorcraft 850 battery installed.
They go out whenever the car is turned off and the key is removed, after the set time. But, when you use the key fob to lock the car, the headlights immediately go out. My horn chirp also is not working.
The problem is this - the instrument panel is on, and my digital gauges (including the aftermarket ones) are dimmed, thinking it's night time. This makes them hard to read in bright sun light. Also, with under drive pulleys, the AC on in the summer heat, sound system on, etc. etc. I'm reading lower voltages, especially at a red light with my foot on the brake, which drops the voltage below 12 v causing the voltmeter to flash a warning.
Also, I note that at highway speeds my voltage hovers at 13.4-13.6 volts. Normally this voltage is over 14. Around town it drops into the mid 12's, whereas before it stayed over 13.
More back ground:
When I had the Nordskog digital gauges installed in the gauge pod below the dash, my installer hooked the dim wire to the instrument panel circuit. The manufacturer called for this to be attached to the headlamp circuit. There wasn't a problem until the third gauge was added later, then that gauge would flicker at night, jumping between the dim and not dim setting. Nordskog's tech support said the circuit board in the gauge was not getting 12 volts constantly on the instrument panel circuit, which was causing the flicker. The Dakota Digitals in the A pillar were attached to the headlight circuit.
Today, my installer connected the Nordskog gauges to the parking lamp circuit, and connected the DD's and the new Auto Meter gauge to the parking lamp circuit. This was suggested by Auto Meter's instructions instead of the headlamp circuit because some newer headlamp dimming systems aren't compatible with Auto Meter gauges.
I did not have the problem with the autolamp/headlights until after the change was made to the dim circuit on the gauges THAT I NOTICED. I drove over in the dark this morning, and did not notice anything wrong yesterday. One possible irrelevant thing happened this morning - my radio would not play even though the head unit was on and was defnitely not muted. It required restarting the car, then the radio worked.
My installer thinks the Lighting Control Module may be defective. Anybody had a similar problem? What is the part number of this module, and anybody know what it costs? Is it a simple swap out, plug and play, or something to leave to the techs? Is there something else at play here? Could the dim circuit switch out to the parking lamps somehow resulted in this?
Long winded, I know, but help would be appreciated.
PS. When I noticed the voltmeter was showing unusually low readings (low 11's) at idle, my tech checked the alternator (which was okay) then the battery (which is original). The battery test came back "replace battery." So, new Motorcraft 850 battery installed.