Page 1 of F&%*ing car!!!

Any mechanics/auto electricians about?
My faithful old escort, 98 (R) plate, doing funny things at the mo.
Instrument panel lights work sporadically, as do tail lights and rear wiper.
If I try turning them on and they don`t work, I flick the switch a few more times and eventually they come on. Occasionally I need to turn on the windscreen heaters to get it all to kick in. Confusing the hell out of me. All fuses intact.
Got it booked in tomorrow to be looked at, but realised I`m broke so gonna have to put it off a week. Anyone got similar experience? Is it gonna get worse?

I had a similar thing in a 1984 Fiesta...started off the rear windsreen wiper and back lights only worked when it felt like it and you had to keep flicking the switches to get them on, then started on my main beams...eventually, you had to have the switch jammed in exactly the right position to keep them on...was a nightmare, just gave up on the car in the end...mum`s mechanic reckoned I was looking at about £300 to get it sorted :(

Hope your`s is something else!

Don`t want to be the bearer of bad news but those escorts have a big fuse board thing that is prone to failure and would cause the problems you mention....you can get one off ebay but I don`t think they are that easy to fit.


why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

This is a common problem on escorts. I had it on a J reg, L reg and N reg. It is just a matter of replacing the indicator/lighting stalks. Inside the lighting stalk are small copper contacts which become corroded/burnt out and because it`s a sealed unit that can`t be fixed but must be replaced.

You have to take off the cover over the steering column and it is all one unit connected by a wiring plug. I got mine off a car parts website, can`t remember which. Cost about £30 odd delivered.

hope this helps.

This is the fuse board thing (this one os for a Mk6) ....if it`s not the stalks...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Ford-Escort-Fuse-Board_W0QQitemZ290176636037QQihZ019QQcategoryZ21654QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

Same thing happened to my (now departed) Escort, and also to my mate`s Mondeo. As the other poster said, it`s a case of buying a £30 stalk, which is a bit of a bitch to fit (horn keeps going off while you do it) but saves paying someone to do it for you. Wish I hadn`t bothered as I sold it for £120 a couple of months later...

I just had a look for the paperwork from the place I got mine, but I have a feeling I binned it on the weekend when I was having a clear out. You can get them from any breakers yard though.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 6th November 2007, 11:01

We call it the `Ford disco`
You`ll be sitting behind an old Ford, with every back light doing it`s own thing, like some s*** wedding disco.

Cheers for all the advice. Least it`s not terminal...

Took it to a garage today to find out what was up with it, I`m so cack handed I`d never have fixed it myself. It was the whole light switch apparently. I asked them to call me with a quote before they repaired it, but they went ahead and did it without telling me - I would`ve actually liked to take it elsewhere for a second opinion first, as I had the RAC have a look at it (waited till it got dark yesterday and then called them, is illegal to drive without lights after all...) they said it was probably just a loose wire behind the fusebox, so you can imagine my shock when the garage phoned and said it was ready, that`s £136 please. But what could I do...?

£136 is probably only two hours labour though.
In fact, that would be pretty cheap.
Not unknown for £80-£100 an hour.