light switch

[indiaskr]

A weird thing happen to my '86 S3. While sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks, the exterior lights came on all by themselves, not the head light, but the others. I could not turn these lights off and the battery went dead. Did the switch short out? Where can I get hold of a new one if this is the case? thanks...

[slade]

switch is triumph TR7

But keep the housing and actual switch, as the TR7 version won't quite match the Esprit. Just switch the mechanism.

Had something similar happen a while back... Switch welded itself shut I broke it to turn them off

[martynv]

A weird thing happen to my '86 S3. While sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks, the exterior lights came on all by themselves, not the head light, but the others. I could not turn these lights off and the battery went dead. Did the switch short out? Where can I get hold of a new one if this is the case? thanks...

An easy test would just be to un-plug the switch from the wiring loom, if the lights go off then it's definitely the switch.

Martyn B)

[indiaskr]

An easy test would just be to un-plug the switch from the wiring loom, if the lights go off then it's definitely the switch.

Martyn B)

Stupid question: How do I unplug the switch from the wires? Thanks

[peteyg]

Lotusbits.com. Mike's got loads of them as they were used on the Elites and Eclats as well.

Pete

[TSD]

Stupid question: How do I unplug the switch from the wires? Thanks

undo the screws holding on the plastic dash mask. wrangle the switch panel out of the dash, careful not to scratch the dash covering. Probably not a bad idea to use masking tape or something to protect the leather. wriggle the switch plug out of the back of the switch.

If you need to remove the switch, there are little tabs top & bottom which need to be depressed slightly with a screwdriver or something and then the switch will come out. You can R&R the switch if it's not badly damaged with a dremel and small wire brush attachment.

assembly is reverse.

[indiaskr]

undo the screws holding on the plastic dash mask. wrangle the switch panel out of the dash, careful not to scratch the dash covering. Probably not a bad idea to use masking tape or something to protect the leather. wriggle the switch plug out of the back of the switch.

If you need to remove the switch, there are little tabs top & bottom which need to be depressed slightly with a screwdriver or something and then the switch will come out. You can R&R the switch if it's not badly damaged with a dremel and small wire brush attachment.

assembly is reverse.

Thanks. Will give it a try.

[WayneB]

When I first got my car the headlights would turn themselves on for no apparent reason.

Turned out to be the headlamp relays were submerged in water that had been leaking into the front compartment from a bad weatherstrip.

[jimmybondi]

When I first got my car the headlights would turn themselves on for no apparent reason.

Turned out to be the headlamp relays were submerged in water that had been leaking into the front compartment from a bad weatherstrip.

A wellknown issue with the PPW 306R but this was cured with the PPW307R

[indiaskr]

When I first got my car the headlights would turn themselves on for no apparent reason.

Turned out to be the headlamp relays were submerged in water that had been leaking into the front compartment from a bad weatherstrip.

This kind of makes sense to me. I did leave the car in the rain for a bit shortly before this problem happened. Where is the relay for the tail lights located? thanks...

[WayneB]

The relays for the lights are located in the front compartment to the left of the L/H headlamp pod.

If you look into that void, and follow the wiring loom, you will be able to fish the relay bank out.

On mine they just lie on the boot floor (where the water had pooled)

[indiaskr]

The relays for the lights are located in the front compartment to the left of the L/H headlamp pod.

If you look into that void, and follow the wiring loom, you will be able to fish the relay bank out.

On mine they just lie on the boot floor (where the water had pooled)

Thanks. Which one is for the tail lights?

[WayneB]

It should be the first relay in the row(headlights)

As the relay holders are slotted together they might be in a different order.

The wire colours that go to it are Blue/red, Blue /pink , White/blue.

On mine the headlights/sidelights/tailamps came on without the switch in the on position (the headlamps didnt raise though)

The short seemed to feed back into the sidelamp circuit.

Edited December 14, 2006 by WayneB

[1984_lotus_esprit]

As a WARNING...if you need to replace any of the relays in the left front corner of the car,

don't just buy and install any automotive relay...it MUST BE the TYPE WITHOUT AN INTERNAL

DIODE. Else the ISO diode will short the harness and damage the switching circuits in the

headlamp motor assemblies and a few other harness items (before the fuse blows).

In reading your newest comment...on my car the in harness diode went bad. It is in a black

plastic barrel encapsulation that is in the wiring harness bundle also at the left front corner of the

vehicle with a male and female spade terminal stick out the ends. Smell it to see if had over heated

and "let the smoke out". Disconnect it to see if your trouble goes away. If bad, it can be

replaced by any >15A >300V diode from an electronic store.

Edited December 15, 2006 by 1984_lotus_esprit

[USAndretti42]

undo the screws holding on the plastic dash mask. wrangle the switch panel out of the dash, careful not to scratch the dash covering. Probably not a bad idea to use masking tape or something to protect the leather. wriggle the switch plug out of the back of the switch.

If you need to remove the switch, there are little tabs top & bottom which need to be depressed slightly with a screwdriver or something and then the switch will come out. You can R&R the switch if it's not badly damaged with a dremel and small wire brush attachment.

assembly is reverse.

Be careful to pull on the plastic connector and not the wires or you may end up with the opposite problem. I used a jewellers' screwdriver to lever up the locating tags on the connectors (gently, in case they were brittle) and ease the connector back slightly one side and then the other. Swearing helps as well.

[indiaskr]

The relays for the lights are located in the front compartment to the left of the L/H headlamp pod.

If you look into that void, and follow the wiring loom, you will be able to fish the relay bank out.

On mine they just lie on the boot floor (where the water had pooled)

got the relay out. Any way to test it? Where can I get a new one? I live on the west coast of US. thanks

[dglotusltd]

If its got a diagram on top, take it to any good US auto store and they should be able to match it. I replaced the failed relays with ones from a local store. My price was $6 each. JAE wanted $60 for one of the real deals from the UK.

Works a treat.

DomG

[WayneB]

The lighting system on the Esprit uses 2 types of relay, changeover and double contact.

The holder bases for the changeover are black, and the double contact are blue.

To test them, I normally substitute the suspect one with a known good (and vice versa)

I obtained my replacement relays from Paul Matty Sportscars in England, I didnt find them all that expensive!

[indiaskr]

The lighting system on the Esprit uses 2 types of relay, changeover and double contact.

The holder bases for the changeover are black, and the double contact are blue.

To test them, I normally substitute the suspect one with a known good (and vice versa)

I obtained my replacement relays from Paul Matty Sportscars in England, I didnt find them all that expensive!

thank you all for your comments. I have question about the position of the light switch as I am trying to sort out the switch as well. There are 3 possible settings for the switch; top, middle, and bottom. Is the top position off? Middle for the running lights? Bottom for the dealights?

[WayneB]

Top=off

Middle=side (or running lights)

Bottom=headlights