Doing the annual pre-MOT checks on my S-Max, i have discovered that front side light & rear light on offside of the car are not working. (headlights / brake lights all OK) Checked the bulbs & all are OK. Cannot find any list of a fuse for side & rear lights, anyone have any suggestions ? Reluctant to take it into the local garage as still fighting with them over an issue they created at the last service.

front and rear light failure usually indicates a blown fuse, best check the owners manual to see which one :)

Yes, a fuse was my first thought, but as far as i can see from the owners manual only headlamps, brake & reversing lights have individual fuses.

I have same problem but with nearside front & back sidelights! Can't see from owners handbook which fuse protects this circuit. Unless anyone can help I guess I will have to inspect every fuse!

I have the same problem. Apparently its something do to with the terribly clever lighting control system (obviously not THAT clever) which needs to be reset. I was advised to disconnect the battery in order to reset the system, but that didn't work. If you can find the electrical connection into the ECU under the glovebox, this is also an option to reset the system. Alternatively it seems to be a common enough issue that any decent Ford garage ought to be able to fix it in about five minutes.

The rear and front sidelights are not fuse protected but controlled by the bcm (body control module) which is located under the glovebox. Pulling the supply for a minute resets the system but you will need to reinput the radio code after. The bcm "trips" whenever there is something wrong such as a short. My problem is that this is a temporary fix as the problem recurs soon after again / keeps tripping randomly. Anyone got any idea?

FIXED after a long and frustrating time. And simple once you know. The bcm  kept tripping and running a continuity test there was clearly a short somewhere. Most of the time this happens where cables are subjected to movement, such as from the body to the tailgate. Simply prise the rubber out of the metal to inspect the loom. In my case the rear windscreen wires had melted everything. So, if you have erratic rear lights, this could be it. There is a green plug behind the lhs panel ( high up) to isolate this loom. You will however loose the option to open the tailgate if you do. Just a few hours of soldering ahead now 😁

Hi, 

I have a 54 plate focus st170. My offside full beam and sidelight won’t come on. Also the cigarette lighters don’t work. Put that with my dash having a slight flicker and not showing when the headlights or full beams are on. A garage tried replacing the fuse for the cigarette lighter but apparently that blew instantly. Any ideas would be a life saver? 

thanks very much