63 Plate MOT fail. Fog lamp tell-tale / instrument cluster fault

[cj57]

Car has just failed its MOT as the fog lamp switch tell-tale wasn't showing.  Local non-Ford garage doing the test have traced  to a faulty instrument cluster - shorting across back of instrument panel  (having used them for years I trust them implicitly).  Part is in excess of £200 plus fitting and reprogramming .  As car isn't old and has only done 6500 miles  I'm not very happy - have had cars with massive mileage sail through MOTs.  Contacted local Ford garage regarding fit for purpose out of warranty claim and they want £99 + VAT for their own diagnostic test - worse still they can't look at the car until the end of this month, which is when the MOT expires!  Am going to try and speak to someone face to face  to try and speed things up but would be interested to know if  anyone else has had  similar problems or whether this is a common Ka fault.

[isetta]

i wouldn't pay to have it fixed, i would probably add another light myself, accessory type light and wire it up tapping into fog light wire. I have no idea where the wire routes but if neccessary I would run the wire from the fog light itself to the dashboard.  Not ideal, but it would get an MOT that way. 

(I would not have taken the car for MOT with that light not working)

[cj57]

isetta, if this was a manky old car then I'd consider bodging it, but it's a second car and like new - my very first car had a number of illuminated toggle switch for various things I'd installed.  As its a faulty instrument cluster it is more than likely going to affect other things so needs replacing one way or another - I've seen other reports where people have seen faint warning lights in the background.  Yes I missed the tell-tale light - I checked all the actual lights were working (and the switch lights do all illuminate when the headlights are switched on, just don't change when pressed) -  but switch lights rarely if ever fail on their own on modern cars as very few contain bulbs these days.

[cj57]

Went to the local Ford garage today (TrustFord, Ashton Gate, Bristol) and they couldn't care less. Even if the part was confirmed as faulty they were adamant that as the car is out of warranty it's was just tough, regardless of the fact that it's a non serviceable part.   I really can't be bothered to fight them so it's going back to my local trusted garage to be fixed - no way am I paying them £99 diagnostics,  plus parts, plus their ridiculous labour charges to replace the part.  I am really pleased I delayed my decision to swap my own Golf for a brand new ST3, and neither of our next 2 cars will be Fords - so 2 lost customers for the sake of  around a couple of hundred quid.

[isetta]

"isetta, if this was a manky old car then I'd consider bodging it, but it's a second car and like new" .  I know what you are saying, but it comes down to how much you are prepared to spend and how quickly you want the MOT issued. I appreciate that if you selling the car soon it might not look too good to a prospective buyer. I would do it to my car if the same age but I would not worry about how it looked to a purchaser as I tend to keep cars until they are old and high mileage where it would not make too much difference to the sale of it. 

[delboy]

trust ford ashton gate are a bunch of dicks. i was going to buy a new fiesta and and pay cash and all they wanted to sell me was what they had on the forecourt in the colour of their choice and on finance. they had a really bad attitude and tried the salesmans patter on me but i already prepared for them as i think i know more answers than they did as i always do my reseach first.

next time its a part you need goto the parts place as they go out their way to help you

the car if 4 yrs+ so its obviously out of warranty and you should have done the usual light checks prior to taking for the mot

[TALD]

just get rid of the fog lights and put blanks in. problem solved! MOT Pass. When have you ever actually needed the front fogs. in my 2 years of ownership without front fogs i have not once said 'I wish i had fog lights.'

[isetta]

"When have you ever actually needed the front fogs"   where does it say front fog lights. I assumed it was rear, I admit it does not actually say that but I don't think you can jump to the conclusion is front.   I agree that front fog lights are not a requirement and my Fiesta Style does not have them.

[Tdci-Peter]

On 9/15/2017 at 5:57 PM, cj57 said:

faulty instrument cluster - shorting across back of instrument panel  (having used them for years I trust them implicitly).  Part is in excess of £200 plus fitting and reprogramming .

I have not seen the back of a Ka IC, but repairing a shorted out LED is a dead simple job (to an electronics repair shop or suitably equipped enthusiast!) on most clusters.

Repair has to be cheaper than new & re-programming. A TV/Radio repair shop may be able to do it, and there are lots of places advertising this repair service, either locally, or via mail order.

[Jethro_Tull]

Unless its stored in a controlled environment, and prepped correctly before storage, low mileage is not good for a cars health.  You're less likely to have problems if its doing a typical yearly mileage.  This idea that its only got 3 mikes on it so its ridiculous that its gone wrong is a chimaera.