Renault megane 97 electrical problems HELP!!!!

mattyi85

I recently obtained a 1997 Renault Megane 1.4e (if any other info needed please ask), As i was driving it home i noticed that if i had my right indicators on and pressed the brake the indicators would either stop working completely or they would slow down and go intermitent, also one of the fog warning lights would come on too, if i pulled my foot off the brake the indicators would work fine.
If i was using the left indicator the same kind of thing would happen though when i braked they would ALWAYS stop working completely until i took my foot off the brake and also the fog light warning light didnt seem to come on like with the right side.

I did some reading and alot of people were saying that its a very common fault and is nearly always a bad earth and usually the ones at the rear with the rear bulbs and bulb holder board etc.... so i thought id give that repair a go.
Today i went out to the car had other things to look at so started the engine did a bit of tinkering and then thought id try and fix the lights whilst the engine was still running i undone the single black earth on the drivers side a few seconds after i got the wire off to check if it was corroded the engine cut off which i thought was because of something else so i returned to the drivers seat (earth wire still disconnected) and tried to start the engine again and it would just turn over but refused to kick in strange so just by chance i thought about connecting the earth wire by the lights again, Ignition completely off i went to connect the earth wire again only to be surprised with a small spark from it when i connected it again which i thought was strange coming from an earth but left it connected and went to try the engine again and it started first time no problem and there was no change with the lights.

I then turned the ignition off completely and thought id clean all the other wires etc... and see if that helped i was looking at the rear bulb holder circuit board and it looks like some of the wires have been purposefully snapped and bent round i was looking at boards for the 1999+ models on ebay (as cant find any for my year) and they look the same like some parts of it are not connected and only has one wire going across completely... this is the same on both boards i had been fiddling about seeing what connects to what etc... just trying to get the lights & indicators to work properly but nothing was working at one point when id done a few things i turned the ignition to 2 tried the indicators and pushed the brake i then heard CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK dash lights went off and i knew id blown some fuses.

I then turned the ignition off put everything back to how it was before on the rear light bulb holder boards etc... went to halfords got some new fuses and replaced the only 3 fuses i could find that were blown i checked them all (interiror mini fuses under steering wheel) all the dashboard lights worked again headlights etc... so i went to start the engine and again it turned over but refused to kick in i thought it might of been the earth connection at the rear on the drivers side again so i took that off put it back on etc.. didnt get a spark this time tried the engine again but still the same refuses to kick in, i checked all of the fuses again none of them are blown. i do have an imobeliser light on the dash that flashed when i put the key in bit on the faint side turn the key to 2 and it stops flashing try starting the engine but still nothing refuses to kick in at all and i am now at a complete loss as to what to do.

I dont have buttons on my key for central locking etc... but both my keys do have the little chips inside them.

If you need any other information please ask away any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

forgotmyname

Dodgy earth or wrong bulb fitted somewhere.

mattyi85

forgotmyname wrote: »

Dodgy earth or wrong bulb fitted somewhere.

all bulbs are correct checked and rechecked, all 3 earth wires at the back have been taken off checked nothing wrong with them and have been put back on as my post says i read that, that was a common fault and was the first things i checked plus incorrect bulbs wouldn't be stopping my car from starting lol

patman99

Welcome to the world of Renault. Their electrics are legendary for failing and costing the earth to fix.
I would suggest doing the following. Open bonnet, take jumplead and attach to engine & battery earth. Try starting car.

If that works, it proves one thing and that is the main engine earth strap is knackered. This will cause the problems you have described.

Also, get a workshop manual and work you way round the wiring diagram cleaning ALL the earth points in order to make sure they are clean and corrosion-free.

Also check the condition of the connectors and plugs on the lights as these can become corroded.

mattyi85

thanks for the advice ill try them things and see what happens though i have already done the rear lights checked them for corrosion but they wasnt that bad but i still gave it all a clean anyway..... i should of stayed with fords useless but easy fixes lol :-)

mattyi85

ive finally got everything working, I went out today done a fuse and relay hunt rechecked all the ones i already knew of they were fine tried engine again NOTHING.... decided to see if there was a relay or fuse near the fuel pump/sender unit so pulled out my back seats (great fun lol) i then discovered there was no fuse/relay near the pump but i unplugged it anyway left it for 30 seconds plugged it back in then went to try the engine and the gods must have heard my pleas as after a few seconds she started up fine left her running for a little while to charge the battery then turned it off and on a few times after and started every time :-)

As for the lights and indicators after a long time of fiddling with it all i got really annoyed so i just ended up chopping the plugs off and putting the wires directly onto the bulb holder board and everything seems to be working fine now i still need to solder the wires on properly to make it a more permanent fix but its looking good. Thank you for all your help and advice it has been much appreciated :-)