Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity

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Wed 27 Jan 2021 09:52
Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity - Willeth

Odd one here folks I'm hoping has a straightforward answer I simply can't see - like many others I imagine, my car (Seat Ibiza Mk III 2008) has been basically sat on a driveway for a year, so I've had battery issues. I bought a mains-powered trickle charger as a stopgap until it's safe to go out and get it either reconditioned or replaced.

The confusion I have is with my boot light. A few months ago while at the supermarket I noticed it was no longer working, and assumed the bulb had gone. I didn't bother to change it and put it on my list of to-do's for some future point. The other day, though, I happened to notice that it was working again - specifically when the trickle charger was connected.

It feels strange to me that there can be a situation where the car has high enough voltage to start but not high enough to run a little bulb, but that's the only conclusion I can come to. Has anyone got a more intelligent guess?

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Wed 27 Jan 2021 12:37
Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity - Andrew-T

Anything to do with the car being in Economy mode ?

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Wed 27 Jan 2021 13:19
Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity - elekie&a/c doctor
The boot light switch is part of the tailgate latch . There could be a problem here or the wiring within the tailgate to the body . The light operation will time out if you leave the tailgate open for too long .
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Wed 27 Jan 2021 15:40
Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity - Willeth

Anything to do with the car being in Economy mode ?

I don't think this model has an Eco mode does it? It's the Reference trim from 2008, fanciest thing on it is steering wheel controls for the radio. Regardless, I've changed no settings and this behaviour has cropped up.

The boot light switch is part of the tailgate latch . There could be a problem here or the wiring within the tailgate to the body . The light operation will time out if you leave the tailgate open for too long .

Would it being the latch or the wiring be consistent with seeing a difference between having the battery connected to the charger and not? I don't think it's related to the timeout as it's off immediately on opening the boot when not connected, and on immediately if it is.

Edited by Willeth on 27/01/2021 at 15:47

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Wed 27 Jan 2021 18:23
Seat Ibiza Mk III - Boot light curiosity - Andrew-T

My Peugeot is the same age and lapses into Eco mode if it's done nothing for a day or two, and especially if the battery is a bit down.

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