Bamboozling Ticking

I picked up a new (to me) 2003 110 t'other day. Delighted with it but it has one really weird fault (the others are all normal faults!). Every now and again, if I have used the high beam switch, a ticking starts somewhere behind the dashboard. Then, if I put on an indicator, the indicator I put on will flash to one beat and the others to the beat of the mysterious ticking. The ticking carries on even if the engine is shut off but switches off when the ignition is turned on again.

As far as I am aware everything on the lighting circuits is standard other than it has had HID headlights fitted.

Any ideas before I start rummaging (not that I am sure where to start).

Rusty

Is the hazard flasher picking up a live ? Or has someone fitted a suppressor in the back of the dash ?

freelance said:

Is the hazard flasher picking up a live ? Or has someone fitted a suppressor in the back of the dash ?

Click to expand...

I don't think it can be the flasher as when I put the indicators on they are at a different rhythm (I am assuming there is only one but I cant even find that on the Haynes wiring diagram). Excuse my ignorance but not sure what you mean by a suppressor being fitted.

It sounds like a sticky relay ticking, if you have a towbar the indicator is meant to flash once with both direction lights on dash then normal flashing, when I first got my 2004 TD5 I used to get a rapid "clicking" behind my radio console now and again when I first started engine (or turned ingintion on) which only lasted a few seconds then stopped, it stopped happening before I could find out what it was, I put it down to a relay after standing idle for a while that free'd itself up after constant use, maybe something to do with radio.

Had a bit of a poke around behind the dash. Found the flasher unit and it is behaving itself. If the mysterious tick is going and I take out the flasher, the tick carries on. It appears to be coming fro the alarm control unit. I'm guessing it finds the load from the HID excessive and so puts the flashers on? Not sure where to go from here.