|
Has anyone else noticed on their Ford that the Headlights flicker when you turn on the Heated Front screen or is something about to go very wrong with my car?
|
|
Do you mean they flicker all the time the HFS is on or just that they dim and recover as you switch on?. No expereince of Fords specifically but the latter is fairly common as the electrics react to the increased power demand, heated glass will be high consumption.
|
Flickering all the time
:(
|
|
|
|
|
Perhaps a corroded connection somewhere which would benefit from an application of switch cleaner (electronic or ham radio shop) and a few disconnect/connects?
|
|
|
On my Focus when you switch on the heated screen the entire dashboard illumination dims, and if the ventilation fan is switched on high-speed you can hear it slow down.
Methinks the heated screen drains ALOT of electrical power - probably why you can't switch it on without the engine running!
In relation to light dimming, I frequently notice the headlamps dimming for a second or so when I'm running the A/C and the condenser kicks in...
|
|
|
|
Sounds like the alternator is underated or voltage regulator not set correctly?
|
Heated rear and front screens are big power-drains - you'll notice that the handbook will advise you to turn on the heated window/lights/fan etc if you ever have to jumpstart a car. (decreases the possibility of surges which blow circuits).
But the problem sounds like an intermittent fault, as mentioned above.
A similar effect, with power drain & lights dimming, can be seen on the average kevmobile. Notice how the headlines discoflash in time to the megabass music...
|
Thanks everyone.
I could understand it if the lights just dimmed but they literally flicker when the HFS is on and just glow continually when it is not.
Clearly no-one else has quite this fault and there is something wrong with the alternator or something electrical.
|
|
|
|
Phil P
I get the same effect with the aircon, took me a while to put two and two together, but it is the power drain from the electromagnetic clutch on the condenser.
|
|
|
|
The clutch on the a/c compressor only takes about 3 amps, but the condenser fans (usually 2) that come on with the compressor take about 15 amps running at half speed. On some cars these run all the time the a/c button is in, some only when the compresor runs, and some only when the a/c system reaches a pre-set pressure, usually 17.5 Bar. Of course, the idle-up should also be operating to negate this, but it doesn't always all happen at exactly the same time.
|
|
|
My 89 Range Rover has an electric windscreen and has never shown this problem... the only thing that dims it's lights is the big electric Warn winch ... when it is run under load at night (normaly to pull some prat off the beach that thought that 4X4 was all he needed to go off road) the headlamps (and all other lights) dim for just a moment before something increases the idle speed automaticly...
~R
|
|
|
|
The lights on my Beetle dim whenever I use the electric windows. Not a fault says VW - they all do that (wasn't that what BL used to say?)
|
|
|
