Hi,
I am going to an astronomy event next weekend where lights are restricted at night. I want to use my Mk3 estate (2012 petrol 1.6) to store my telescope but am worried because every time you open and close the car the lights flash or stay on.

Is there a fuse I can pull to stop the exterior and interior lights coming on but which will still allow me to lock and unlock the vehicle?

Orbinspector

the interior ones you should be able to switch off

As for the Headlights  why dont you just cover them with an old blanket of something like that  even make a template of cardboard and use masking tape  

Thanks Tasape,

Thats a possibility but mask would have to be for headlights,rear cluster on body and rear cluster on estate door. Much easier if I could just pull a fuse.

Orbinspector

Surely everyone has a car there, what do they do about it?  There is no single fuse for all the lights but could pull separate ones for interior lights etc.  Make sure 'guide home' lights are switched off to stop the headlights staying on.  I'm also fairly certain you won't be able to cancel the indicator flash when using central locking.

TBH last time i went to one of these sky watch doo's, we were allowed to unload the car in then we had to park in a car park away from the Viewing area

 

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Surely everyone has a car there, what do they do about it?  There is no single fuse for all the lights but could pull separate ones for interior lights etc.  Make sure 'guide home' lights are switched off to stop the headlights staying on.  I'm also fairly certain you won't be able to cancel the indicator flash when using central locking.

This is an informal meet not a public event and only 3 or 4 cars there.

There seem to be a lot of lights that come on and off but many are not individually fused. The interior lights are not a problem as they can be disabled by holding the on/off button down.

Lights all seem to be controlled by the BCM module which has two 50A fuses to it. Wonder if I could put two 50A switches in line with the BCM supply?

Thanks

OrbInspector

18 hours ago, Orbinspector said:

 

This is an informal meet not a public event and only 3 or 4 cars there.

There seem to be a lot of lights that come on and off but many are not individually fused. The interior lights are not a problem as they can be disabled by holding the on/off button down.

Lights all seem to be controlled by the BCM module which has two 50A fuses to it. Wonder if I could put two 50A switches in line with the BCM supply?

Thanks

OrbInspector

The BCM controls most of the car's features, you're likely to cause upset by doing that.

I might be being too simple here, but why not simply arrive, unload everything from the car then only open it again when you leave?

44 minutes ago, Arwen said:

I might be being too simple here, but why not simply arrive, unload everything from the car then only open it again when you leave?

Yes its a bit more complicated than that as I use the car to store equipment otherwise its all out in the open and getting covered in dew on a clear night.

M

Cover the lights with cloths before locking.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

 

3 hours ago, Stoney871 said:

Cover the lights with cloths before locking.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)
 

Sounds like that might be the only answer!

Does the car have to be locked?

If you leave the car unlocked, then the doors opening should not cause any other lights to come on than the interior ones (which can be turned off beforehand)?

On ‎12‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 1:51 AM, Micro said:

Does the car have to be locked?

If you leave the car unlocked, then the doors opening should not cause any other lights to come on than the interior ones (which can be turned off beforehand)?

The exterior lights stay on the whole time the car is unlocked so that isn't a solution I'm afraid.

 

Does anyone thick I could take it to Ford's and get them to do a customisation of the lock/unlock behaviour so that the exterior lights only come on when you double lock the car and at no other time? Is this something Ford or any other company could do??

Orbinspector

reprogram your car just for an evening staring at the sky ?

the worlds gone mad lol

why dont you arrive just before it gets dark or is this too radical thinking ?

 

Take a few stones with you.
When you need to go in your car, chuck them at something in opposite direction. When folk turn to look where the noise came from, open your door.

On ‎16‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 7:36 PM, biff55 said:

reprogram your car just for an evening staring at the sky ?

the worlds gone mad lol

why dont you arrive just before it gets dark or is this too radical thinking ?

 

It's a weekend astronomy event with telescopes and I want to store stuff in the car such as eyepieces and star maps and the lights coming on will be a  big issue to those whose eyes are dark adapted- advanced amateur astronomers can get quite irate with things like that!

I will arrive well before dark and don't think your suggestion is radical enough....

I still reckon on cloths over the lights maybe combined with fridge magnets or suchlike to hold them in place.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

What would be the harm in disconnecting the battery for the weekend? I’ve never disconnected mine for longer than 45mins so a whole weekend may not be a viable option?? Also, what do the dealers do because the showroom cars don’t seem to function at all, do they pull a particular fuse or leave the battery disconnected? With the battery disconnected the central locking won’t work but it will lock/unlock manually using the key so you may just have to be a little flexible when opening other doors or leave things on the front seats if the boot is not accessible.

Also, I know the Mondeo has a ‘police mode’ you can put the car into via Forscan. I believe this does things with lights and door locks etc.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Now

On ‎18‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 7:39 PM, Stoney871 said:

I still reckon on cloths over the lights maybe combined with fridge magnets or suchlike to hold them in place.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)
 

Now were getting somewhere- good idea with the magnets

On ‎19‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 12:24 AM, Jonro2009 said:

What would be the harm in disconnecting the battery for the weekend? I’ve never disconnected mine for longer than 45mins so a whole weekend may not be a viable option?? Also, what do the dealers do because the showroom cars don’t seem to function at all, do they pull a particular fuse or leave the battery disconnected? With the battery disconnected the central locking won’t work but it will lock/unlock manually using the key so you may just have to be a little flexible when opening other doors or leave things on the front seats if the boot is not accessible.

Also, I know the Mondeo has a ‘police mode’ you can put the car into via Forscan. I believe this does things with lights and door locks etc.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good suggestions at last. Not sure I can lock the doors with the battery disconnected as only a key hole on the drivers door and no way I can see to mechanically lock the other doors. Indeed what do they do in showrooms.

Will do a search on Forscan- thanks.

Regarding locking with battery disconnected, I would suggest opening the bonnet and then locking the doors with a single blip on the key and then remove the battery. Keep all the things you require in the front seats within reach of the drivers door and that should be fine. Don't forget to have something to keep the bonnet ajar if you decide to go down this route.

7 hours ago, Jonro2009 said:

Regarding locking with battery disconnected, I would suggest opening the bonnet and then locking the doors with a single blip on the key and then remove the battery. Keep all the things you require in the front seats within reach of the drivers door and that should be fine. Don't forget to have something to keep the bonnet ajar if you decide to go down this route.

Good thinking through the issues. Much appreciated.

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 12:44 PM, Jonro2009 said:

Regarding locking with battery disconnected, I would suggest opening the bonnet and then locking the doors with a single blip on the key and then remove the battery. Keep all the things you require in the front seats within reach of the drivers door and that should be fine. Don't forget to have something to keep the bonnet ajar if you decide to go down this route.

Just tried this and unfortunately the doors unlock when the battery is disconnected. They probably unlock when you disconnect the battery if you have previously double-locked the car but you can't test this as it won't double lock with the boot open. 

I had hoped your suggestion would work- I didn't think I actually needed to keep the bonnet ajar as the bonnet is cable operated and the electrics play no part in the bonnet operation (apart from open/closed detection).

Any other suggestions?

OrbInspector

 

 

umm, thats interesting, with the locks being electrical thats a pretty neat trick!

Must be some backup or capacitor still charged up?

Car is now ready for the star party. This is what I do to make it dark;

1. Hold main courtesy light button on until it single flashes which switches them off
2. Black tape over indicators on wing mirrors and the rear number plate light
3. Open boot (it's an estate) and remove both rear light inspection panels with a small screwdriver. Disconnect lighting plug on both sides where it plugs into the lighting assembly
4. Switch off boot courtesy light with new rocker switches I have put in on each side
5. Open side flaps in boot and remove insulation. Then disconnect the 4 way in-line plug/socket pairs on both sides that I have put in to disconnect the rear outer light cluster. Putting these plug/socket sets in was the biggest job of all.
6. Reach in and disconnect the headlamp connectors on both front headlights- a bit fiddly but easier with clean socket plug.

 

That takes about 5 mins in all which is quite acceptable. Just have to remember not to miss reconnecting anything before I drive off at the end of the event!

Orb Inspector