31 replies to this topic

[tomo2001]

Yes , does not look like they are going for a recall , unless the problem gets alot worse , i can't understand why they need to change the bulb though if they think its a wiring fault , could it be the bulbs are the true fault causing the wire problems.

Bulbs run too hot / draw too much current which damages the wiring perhaps ?

[cuke]

Hi, if that was the case we'd all have the issue. It is interesting though that the fault comes up when we've just been through our shortest day...

[tomo2001]

Hi, if that was the case we'd all have the issue. It is interesting though that the fault comes up when we've just been through our shortest day...

Perhaps it has shown up on mine before yours Chris because I'm now on 40,000 miles. Do I use my car more than yours so the headlights have seen more use ??

[cuke]

Hi, I don't think that the current draw would increase with age, the resistance and the breakdown of the insulation over time perhaps. Has anyone else done a similar mileage and experienced the problem with the xenons. I think there are those who've done more but it would still, maybe, depend upon the usage of the lights.

[tomo2001]

Lights still not 100%. DRL's now seem to flicker quite noticeably when car first started. Just wondered if this was down to the cold weather with the front and rear screens on and the heater on full demist.

Anyone else's do this or it is a trip back to the dealers ?

[Stoney871]

A lot of power's being drawn with window demisters on and air running.
If the lights are flickering with the screens etc off then I'd be concerned.

[nigwith]

My March 2012 reg, 11,000 miles Tit X 'misbehaved' with an erronious warning about a failed headlight bulb on only one occasion since when all has been well. It has to be said that the warning coincided with a (correct) message saying that the tailgate was open and I'm wondering if this has something to do with the peculiarities of the CAN-BUS system.

Whilst reading up on the CREE 5w LED lamps, I found this interesting article which readers might find useful:

"To put this into perspective,what is CAN-BUS? THISexplains it in fancy technical terms.Or in the case of any mark 4 Golf or Bora,it's a digital data network that lets the central locking/electric window module in each door,the CCM (Central Convenience Module),the instrument cluster and on later cars the ECU talk to each other,it's actually kinda like having a small version of the internet in your car.
This is a network that in our case has nothing to do with the car's lighting system,in fact in all cases no light bulbs are directly connected to the CAN and never would be and therefore can't cause errors with it.This is the same as selling household light bulbs and claiming them to be "Internet error free",something which anyone should know can never happen.
This seems to have started with a bad case of Chinese whispers and got a bit lost in the translation from Chinese (they were first made in China).This is significant because some people are starting to blame problems with their cars because they DON'T have CAN-BUS error free bulbs fitted,and think that if they spend money on these little bits of magic,it will cure all their problems
The reason we need the built in resistors in interior light bulbs in our case is because the CCM that controls them needs to see the much lower resistance of a filament light bulb (a couple of Ohms),but doesn't like the almost infinitely high resistance of an LED.This is a problem because the CCM isn't really sure if there's a bulb there or not,so sometimes won't switch it off fully (it will stay dimly lit) and it won't put the +ve supply to it to sleep as it does with the proper bulbs,hence flattening the car battery if left for any length of time.
So yes we do need LED bulbs with the built in resistors for our interior lights to work as they should with the full fade in/fade out action,but this can never have anything to do with our CAN-BUS system and shouldn't be bought as such.The only time I have ever seen car lights cause this sort of error is cheap Chinese HIDs (yes I know!!!!!!).I've also seen them completely kill ALL radio reception in the car,bring up the airbag and ABS warning lights and stop the speedo from working,another reason to throw crap like this in the bin."

[tomo2001]

Well that post wasn't particularly helpful as the DRL's on the Titanium X are factory fitted not cheap Chinese imitations. The rest of the bulbs are all the factory originals too !!

[Johannapam1]

Lights still not 100%. DRL's now seem to flicker quite noticeably when car first started. Just wondered if this was down to the cold weather with the front and rear screens on and the heater on full demist.

Anyone else's do this or it is a trip back to the dealers ?

Sorry to show my ignorence but what are DRL's ?

Regards

John

[cuke]

Lights still not 100%. DRL's now seem to flicker quite noticeably when car first started. Just wondered if this was down to the cold weather with the front and rear screens on and the heater on full demist.

Anyone else's do this or it is a trip back to the dealers ?

Hi, mine and a few other owners have this but only when the drl's are switched on as sidelights. In fact with mine I watched them first flicker on the passengers side then, after a while, the flickers seemed to move over to the drivers side. As of yet there hasn't been a fix from Ford for this however as I do not use sidelights I'm not particulary bothered about it.

[tomo2001]

I'm not too bothered either but just noticed it when car was defrosting the other day. Thought it might have been after work by Ford dealer.

[cuke]

Hi, I am still going to bring this up with the dealership when the car is due its second service in september though, by then maybe they have found the fix...

[Preee]

Hi, I am still going to bring this up with the dealership when the car is due its second service in september though, by then maybe they have found the fix...

I'll check mine see if they flicker on side light mode

[Foci_st3]

Was sat in the petrol station today and while waiting behind a black car I noticed the drl slight flicker on left side, so began to play a bit as the heaters and dips were on. Turned heaters off to start with and they stopped, heaters on they start, dips off heaters on they stop, dips on heaters off still ok so started the heated seats seams ok, flicked on front window heater the drl dims switch back off the brighten up again. Must be a power drain thing so until they actually fail or flicker constantly I doubt ford will do anything. On the plus side if do go into dealer about it I can hopefully make them flicker on que.

[nigwith]

The item was posted more as a matter of interest rather than as specific help Tomo 2001 and might be relevant for readers who are keen to upgrade their cars in this way. It illustrated to me, at least, the interaction of various components in modern cars - doctors would I suppose call it the 'holistic' approach!

Apologies if I posted in the incorrect area but I thought it would link in with topic under discussion.