Hi all.....I am a newbie to your site so a big hello to all!

My name is John i am from Peterlee in county Durham and today I have acquired a 2001 ford focus diesel 1.8i....

It was a bit tatty so ive cleaned it up but theres a couple of problems I am hoping I can get help with. The main issue I have is all the lights apart from the front headlights dont work. Rear lights, rear registration light dashboard light interior light side lights all dont work. Ive been told it could be the fuse but are they all connected with the same fuse or different ones?....I know theres two fuse box areas one behind the glove compartment and one in the engine so not sure which one it will be. I got no book or anything with the car so any help would be appreciated......

also theres a slight noise from the front passenger side its like a humming sound if that doesnt sound too stupid.....

once again any help would be hughly appreciated

Hi John and welcome to the club. If I remember correctly, I think the lighting fuses are under the bonnet. I believe there will be a fuse for each side but it seems odd that they would both go. Could indicate another issue?

I've looked under the bonnet and the area where it says, two bigger fuses, seen to be empty......

I've looked at the fuse box diagram and it says f19 and f14 are for side lights 10amp fuse but there's nothing to click the fuses into....

if the noise is inside, it could be the passenger fuse board. Can you confirm if the indicators, wipers etc work? is it only the lights that dont?

It could be a wiring issue, or it could be as simple as the fuses, maybe something daft like a bit of moisture in the fusebox.

Okay...further information.....I've been to auto electrician he tested the fuses and there was no live to one of them...he joined the fuses with a wire and they came on...so he said it would be the switch...I changed the switch...and still nothing...

The noise isn't from inside it's from wheel.....the indicators ,wipers, reverse light and fog light all work

so one of the live wires is busted.

Dont suppose he helped to track it down?

nope just lit them up them let them dim again,i know he blew the 48 fuse while doing it lol

possibly shorted it by applying a wire from the live of fuse 48 to where the live should be on the other fuse...

its possibly the fuse board that needs replacing. Perhaps its corrosion or similar from one of the wires, but its hard to say. I would call him back and ask him to try and fix it long term and see what he says.

Yeah I think I will have to....only issue is cost...this kind of came nexpectedly, my previous car kinda died on me so funds are now short lol.....

know what you mean! I would start by seeing what he can do, if it is a new fuseboard, he might be able to wire in a short that allows it to operate in the meantime, allowing you to recover your funds in the long term.

...does the fuseboard drop down to get in behind it.......somebody suggested i bypass the problem and run a wire from the light switch to the fuse box.........which is the live wire in the switch...i understand theres two live connections going into the back of the fusebox...but im told this is the best way forward for me so.......

...just a quick footnote, the central locking doesnt work either.....coincidence?

ok....so an update...

Ive played around with the fuses over the weekend and put some charge into a dead battery,anyway, last night i got rear lights and dash lights and the alarm when you leave lights on....eureka i though......today i went to check see if i still had them all on and found three fuses melted......the one for the rear lights and the two side lights......so obviously its not sorted.....

......and....yes you'll be sick of me soon lol.....the boot now won't open with the button on the dash and the key won't open the boot or bonnet.....grrrrrrrrrrr

Sounds like you need a new fuse board at least matey. The rewiring clearly put more juice in there than the fuseboards could manage.

Yeah....I know lol....and I've never know a car without a bonnet pulley under the dashboard either....can't get under the bonnet to check the earth or in the boot to check the light cluster.....it gets better and better lol

ok gang so here's where we stand at the minute.....

I have 1 rear light, drivers side.....no light above the registration....full brake lights, reverse lights and fog lights.

I have dash lights and door window lights. cannot turn the key to open the bonnet and the boot wont open via the button or or the key and the door open indicator light remains on........i think thats everything ha....any insight will be helpful especially opening the bonnet etc.......cheers

......oh and the central locking closes from the passenger side then opens straight away and the electric windows dont work......thats all haha

try taking a look at the focus guides thread, there is something there for bonnet release. Although this is more applicable to the MK2 on, this might help you to get in to the bonnet for the earth check.

Cheers mate, thanks for the help

Okay......I've been to get a fuse board from scrap yard. All the sockets fit in the right places yet when I turn the key the engine fires without turning it the whole way but that's all, nothing else. Mine has a barcode with H2 on it but the one I got says H5.....I assumed that as long as the connectors were correct it would work.....

Sounds like a short on the starter relay?

And the starter relay is the big yellow thing on the fuse board is it not........I got a fuse board from scrapyard and the cluster fitting are the same and they fit....is it just a case of moving the fuses around to match the wiring......