Which bulb??!!
Our Mini has a really useful feature that tells you that a bulb has blown.
Trouble is, it doesn't tell you which one!
So for weeks now, it comes up with a warning every time you start the engine, but try as I might, I cannot find a blown bulb.
Headlights, sidelights, spotlights, front and rear indicators, indicators in the mirrors, rear lights, brake lights, fog lights, high level brake light, number plate light........all checked.
What can it be??!!
Comments
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It could be that one of the bulbs has developed a high resistance. If you examine each bulb you may find one that looks black inside and this may be the culprit. Sometimes bulbs need to be changed in pairs as the one on the other side, being older, has a higher resistance than the new bulb. The computer senses the difference in resistance and thinks one bulb has failed.
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The bulb check isn't going to monitor every single bulb/lamp on your car. It's likely to check the side lights front & back and headlights if they are normal filament lamps. As suggested above, it could just be a tired bulb or high resistance contact. Another suggestion is, are all the rear bulbs working as they should? eg some cars with CANbus will use an alternative bulb if one has blown, so though you have two/four working tail lights, the car will show up a fault as the incorrect bulbs are on. Not all faults need the relevent 'computer' ... just a little common dog
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Just in case it catches you out, be aware that some manufactures fit a single filament bulb to operate as 2 different lights by just changing the light intensity. Vauxhall did this on some models for the Stop & Tail lights. I've know it in the past for people to think the wrong bulb had been fitted.
Bulbs are cheap (cheaper than a Garage hourly rate) so it's worth taking the advice above and looking at, and changing any that look discoloured or damaged / corroded in any way.
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Fully agree with your above opinions Peegeenine. This can also happen on older vehicles as CAN-bus circuitry on vehicles has now been around since the early 2000's. The CAN-bus circuitry on older vehicles can deteriorate with age and cause changes in circuitry resistance and control signal problems just to mention a few. There are only a few ways of possibly curing said CAN-bus wiring age related problems. Very few dealers are able to find & cure such problems as most staff have no idea where to look as a Plug-in-job does not tell them. In many modern cars; bulb failure systems now detect LED lights as well, in your case, prime suspect to me (if not bulbs) is your highline-stoplight. Why do I say that? I've known on many occasions the high-line stoplight be found to have condensation trapped inside the LED unit. Possible cure! Try drying it out with a hairdryer both inside & out the best you can, then check to see if your bulb failure light goes out.
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In your list of bulbs you have checked, you didn't mention reversing light / lights, and interior courtesy lights, map reading lights etc etc etc, are there any in the luggage area? Recently one of my interior bulbs lead me on a merry dance for ages, tested ok but wouldn't work. The new one does.
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