Ok here goes. One of my work vans is a ford transit connect and a couple of weeks ago one of our drivers reversed it into one of my favourite customers' wall. He broke the rear o/s rear fog light and put a dent about the size of a football just above the light.
The problem is, the monday after the 'accident' i took the van out and the o/s rear indicator stopped working. Got back to the depot, removed the bulb and noticed it was fine. When i put it back in, it worked fine. Then yesterday (after it had been repaired) i noticed the o/s rear reversing light was out, removed the bulb which was fine, replaced it, hey presto, it works. Then come home today and the f***ing thing has stopped working again. Took it out bulb was fine put it back in and this time it still doesnt work.
Any ideas what it could be?

Squashed loom or broken earth point?

[Edited on 27-2-07 by RazMan]

If it is we have a bit of a problem, its a freezer van so its insulated

Does it have a pcb in it connecting the bulbs?. The track could be cracked.

Whats a pcb?

iirc the wiring loom run down for the lights.
so it could be a crushed wire/s
check the multi plug, make sure it hasn't stretched the wire or they have come loose

[Edited on 27/2/07 by ch1ll1]

quote:

---

Originally posted by speedyxjs
Whats a pcb?

---

oh right no it doesnt have a pcb. Thanks for the comments i will look at it in the next couple of days. iv now got to prepare for a regional meeting tomorrow. what fun

[Edited on 27-2-07 by speedyxjs]

how old is the van? if its new then it may be a can bus electrical system in it, basically a computer controlls all the electrics. i had to go on a course for work and was scared at it all. 'IF' it is can bus then i wouldnt touch a thing as u will make it worse and cost £££.

Going to ramble on about can bus but u might not have it so sorry for the long post. If something has gone wrong on the lighting circuit the ecu will know and switches of that unit, so if your rear light isnt working but the bulb is fine then it could b a short on the wiring and the system switches it off to stop a fire. Cars with this feature useally switch on another light to compensate for the loss of function, thats why u see brake lights flash on some top spec cars because the indicator bulb has blown. But the brake lights still work as normal. Very clever indeed, but if u dont have the hack for the ecu and know how to reprogram the ec's then jo public is stuffed well and trully.

Its amazing what they can do with the whole car, we used an omega in the training and from the hand controller we could switch ANY electrical object on from it and we could switch the injectors on and off on each cylinder.

Anyone who uses this stuff knows how easy GPS road charging will b to intergrate into these cars and what the police could do regarding tracking the 'mods' on the car.

scary stuff. But really cool if you can hack into them, like personilising your pc u could do anything with it.

so regarding the OP i think you should first check to see if it is a can bus system, maybe from the handbook? if it is then its a dealer only thing, sorry. if not then some of the replies here might sort u out.

you've got me worried now, its '04'.

oooh 'eck

Stoopid question perhaps but have you tried the bulb in the other side just to make *sure* it works?