We have an R55 clubman mini and recently had a headlamp out. "No bother" me thinks! "WRONG!" says the mini!!
Long story short the bulb had blown AND there is now only 3.5 volts on the pins of the H4 connector and 10.8v on the other side. I've checked
all he fuses but don't want to be changing loads of parts to find the issue is something else. I'm thinking it could be the switch due to
the low voltage on the only working bulb!
Anyone have a mini that they can check the headlamp bulb voltage please? 10.8v seemed low to me but 14.x volts on battery terminals!
Thanks in advance
Is it running Canbus ? as i had very weird electrical problems with a washer motor on an old 2008 mondeo
my avo meter, showed, some very weird currents and voltages, and only once a genuine ford washer motor was installed (£39) did everything go back to
normal
I do believe that manufactures have "manufactured" the cars to only accept genuine "costley" parts
What happens if you put a new bulb in ?
Electronics, the new rust!
Yep, the new rust indeed and nothing used to rot quicker than a mini!
So to help me, if anyone has a mini that they can check the voltage from the bulb connector , than that would be great.
I thought it would have been close to battery voltage but there about 4v difference hence me thinking a relay issue or even the switch itself...
Thanks in advance any mini owners out there! 
[Edited on 15/12/20 by AndyGT]
The body control ecu (bcm) needs to see continuity before it will power the bulb, the voltages you are seeing are part of the continuity test and are
not relevant to the bulb operation.
Most vehicles with a bcm have a specific routine that needs to be followed after replacing a bulb, ie the ignition needs to be cycled or the car needs
to be locked/unlocked before it will enable the presently disabled circuit.
If it's not detecting continuity, there could be a fault with the contacts in the headlamp (not seen it on a mini but common on mercs and
vw's), or a wiring issue elsewhere.
Dave
I do believe that manufactures have "manufactured" the cars to only accept genuine "costley" parts
The following has nothing to do with a Mini but a Smart car and it must be true because I read it on the internet!
The owner of a Smart car suddenly found his car would not start, there was nothing no dash lights but the battery was fully charged. After spending
hundreds of pounds trying to find where the problem lay the garage asked him to tell them what had happened to the car before the failure to start.
The owner replied nothing, I only changed a brake light bulb. The garage replaced the bulb with a "genuine" one and lo and behold the car
started immediately.
As I said it was on the internet so it must be true.
quote:
Originally posted by mgb281
I do believe that manufactures have "manufactured" the cars to only accept genuine "costley" parts
The following has nothing to do with a Mini but a Smart car and it must be true because I read it on the internet!
The owner of a Smart car suddenly found his car would not start, there was nothing no dash lights but the battery was fully charged. After spending hundreds of pounds trying to find where the problem lay the garage asked him to tell them what had happened to the car before the failure to start. The owner replied nothing, I only changed a brake light bulb. The garage replaced the bulb with a "genuine" one and lo and behold the car started immediately.
As I said it was on the internet so it must be true.
Hence why i questioned Canbus. in my reply, as on my washer bottle wiring, the voltage was pulsating from .3 v to 4v (from memory) although the washer
motor is 12v, and feeds both and front, although but only two wires ?
I took advice from a friend who works at a local Car parts place, and he said dont bother with anything apart from a genuine Ford item, as they will
not work, and thats what i bought, and it worked fine, he was right!
steve
quote:
Originally posted by AndyGT
We have an R55 clubman mini and recently had a headlamp out. "No bother" me thinks! "WRONG!" says the mini!!
Long story short the bulb had blown AND there is now only 3.5 volts on the pins of the H4 connector and 10.8v on the other side. I've checked all he fuses but don't want to be changing loads of parts to find the issue is something else. I'm thinking it could be the switch due to the low voltage on the only working bulb!
Anyone have a mini that they can check the headlamp bulb voltage please? 10.8v seemed low to me but 14.x volts on battery terminals!
Thanks in advance