Problem with interior courtesy light

[Simonk]

Hi hope someone can help.

I have a problem with my front courtesy lights in my Altea XL. I can't switch them off apart from when I lock \ alarm the car with the ignition out.

One of my daughters friends messed about in the back ( boy did she get a telling off ) by switching the back interior light on and off many times very quickly and the pasenger door in the rear was repeatidly opened and closed.

After words the front interior light won't swicth off ( however it will switch off the rear light ).

My delaership is in Swindon and I'm in Bath, I can't get to the dealership before Christmas. Has anyone any ideas ?

Someone mentioned to me that there may be a way to reset the electronic controls ? Any help appreciated.

Cheers

Simon

 

[jtmac]

I've got the oposite (but less annoying) problem...
Front interior light can be switched on but doesn't come on with the open doors, back one works as it should.

I'll have a look in the manual for a reset... Unless someone on here can beat me to it.

 

[jurkas]

Jtmac, I've got the same problem, in addition there is no light also in luggage compartment. Of course all bulbs are OK. Front lights, when I switch them on manually, light on. No one can help me, maybe it is faulty front switch, but I don't have time to check it.

 

[altea phil]

You could try disconnecting the battery for half an hour or so, as I believe this will restore the electrics to the factory default settings ???

 

[nathan.]

It may have a faulty toggle switch on the light unit. Very common fault.

 

[Simonk]

Thanks all,

I may try disconecting the battery for 30 minutes see what happnes, otherwise cover it up until I can get to the dealers.....

 

[oldtimer]

Don't forget to have your radio code handy after disconnecting the battery.

 

[googies]

Not on an altea, toledo or new style leons, radio is coded to the ecu, disconnect all you want as it will reconnect to the ecu when restarted.

 

[PhilOfCas]

good info googies, cheers

 

[sosidge]

Strange coincidence!

I came onto the forum to ask a similar question and the topic is top of the list!

So, how can I get the interior light unit out (the one just behind the rear view mirror)?

I have a dodgy bulb/switch on the drivers side.

 

[gordie]

I've got the oposite (but less annoying) problem...
Front interior light can be switched on but doesn't come on with the open doors, back one works as it should.

I'll have a look in the manual for a reset... Unless someone on here can beat me to it.

Did you sort this out? I have the same problem on my Leon.

Same cause as above, switching light on and off quickly.

I'm worried that it might have spiked the door motor which I had problems with when I first got the car (new) causing the alarm to go off.

 

[lloydy007]

the courtesy light is fairly easy to get at, you have to flip out the opaque plastic "light" bit first with a flat blade screwdriver, then once thats out you can see four clips that hold the "unit" in place just unclip these with the same screwdriver and the whole lot will drop out, then remove the black back cover to get at the lights and the switches. I fixed mine with some Blu Tac wedged in the toggle switch to keep the metal prongs in place (one side had come loose as only melted plastic rivets hold them in place), this is a quick fix and the blu tac needs to be re-squidged in every few weeks, but simple enough if i had more patience id get my soldering iron out and melt something a bit more permanent into place

 

[gordie]

Thanks for the tip. I asked the main dealer to look at this last time the car was in. They didn't do anything the first time and fed me a line about remote diagnosis. They had me book it in again but the "diagnosis" seemed to indicate a problem with one (or more) bits of the door motor/ controller.

I'm not even sure the checked the light unit for a faulty switch (seems at least worth checking)

If these parts were faulty the bill would be huge and I expressed my dissatisfaction at their "worst case" estimate to repair the fault.

They now want the car back again to (I suspect) get somebody who actually knows about cars to look at it.

None of this is chargeable so I'll let them investigate.


If nothing good comes of that I'll be taking your advice about the switch mechanism.

Thanks for the advice

cheers

Gordie

 

[gordie]

It was the switch after all. Now fixed.

 

[lloydy007]

Great, glad it was sorted, they didnt charge the earth for finding out that it was the switch after all did they?

 

[gordie]

Well that depends on your definition of "the earth"

£27 for the new light fittilg and the labour, VAT etc made it up to £100.

I suppose I could have saved myself £70 by doing it myself but if it had been the door motor then I was going to have a go at them under the sale of goods act. The bit that says thet you might reasonably expect something like that to last for longer than 3 years. Up to 5 years (or 6, can't remember) the responsibility lies with the seller (as opposed to the manufacturer)

If I had tinkered with it myself that would have confused the issue.

Anyway I never realised how nice it is to have a light that works

Bloody rear washer has popped now and is leaking out of the sill when you use it.

Probably just let them fix that as well as I'll take an age to do it. Also they admitted that they had had a few in like this already

cheers

Gordi

 

[beechwood]

Got same problem with my 54 reg 1.9 sx tdi Leon. Problem was not total as front passenger door still worked courtesy light for a short while; and I think removing ignition key also put light on for a while before all automatic courtesy light function packed in (seemed to progressively occur over a 2/3week period!!) . Moving slide switch to manual works light fine.

Also got intermittent "limp home" probs!

 

[Seatmann]

I think you've probably got dicky door switches mostly. When I first got my Cordy the interior light didn't work right and niether did the boot one. I put a new switch in the drivers door and took off the boot lock, removed the micro switch and gave it a clean and all my lights work as they should now.
You should get your car hooked up beechwood, see what if any codes are logged. Could be a faulty n75 valve, turbo needing a clean, damaged vacuum line etc causing your limp mode issue.

 

[sosidge]

Strange coincidence!

I came onto the forum to ask a similar question and the topic is top of the list!

So, how can I get the interior light unit out (the one just behind the rear view mirror)?

I have a dodgy bulb/switch on the drivers side.

Took me a while but I finally got around to taking that interior light unit out. Mine has the U-shaped lens and the rocker switch.

Not easy to pry out, and I can see why it causes problems. The plastic it is made from is rather soft, and the reason mine doesn't work properly is that the pressure of pressing the switch alone has permanently distorted the housing! So no hope of fixing it without buying a replacement.

 

[mac music]

yep sounds about right mine drove me nuts in the end i got a vw polo 9n one went straight in and been fine since , ebay £16 i think

mm