Riddle me this!

A couple of days ago I thought there was a hornet (out early) under the bonnet of my P38. I courageously opened the bonnet to discover there was no hornet but a loud buzzing noise emanating from under the battery tray. The car started but warned of low washer fluid so I topped this up. No change, still buzzing and no water coming through, nor any motor sound from the washer. The rear wash wipe motor sounds but no water comes through and although the bottle is full the warning remains. I disconnected the battery and of course it stopped buzzing.

Returning a day later and re-attaching the battery, the buzzing has stopped but the washer doesn't sound or work and the warning of low fluid remains.

Now here's the weird bit!

The dashboard/ windows/ clock/ back lights remain constantly illuminated, ignition on or off, lights on and off.

The battery is disconnected again to save power from discharging.

Can anyone explain this? Thanks, Robin.

You have a short circuit somewhere.

The buzzing will be a relay not working properly

The buzzing could be a hornets nest under the battery. It stopped because they have gone to Benidorm for some winter sun. (Lucky bastards) Now seriously. Look at your fuse box check for burning around relay terminals.

Before I join the hornets in Benidorm (couldn't they go somewhere more exotic?) I will go and re-check the fuses and relays. I couldn't find anything obviously wrong when I looked before. Would RR be so cunning as to place a relay inaccessibly under the battery tray or would that be the washer motor?

I cant see the link between washer and dash illumination from the owners manual. The instrument lights are protected by a fused circuit under the drivers seat and the washer from the engine compartment fuse box. Thats what seems weird!

Crabbo said:

Before I join the hornets in Benidorm (couldn't they go somewhere more exotic?) I will go and re-check the fuses and relays. I couldn't find anything obviously wrong when I looked before. Would RR be so cunning as to place a relay inaccessibly under the battery tray or would that be the washer motor?

I cant see the link between washer and dash illumination from the owners manual. The instrument lights are protected by a fused circuit under the drivers seat and the washer from the engine compartment fuse box. Thats what seems weird!

Click to expand...

You'd be surprised what's linked through the BECM on the P38. It knows everything. It probibly knows what your shirt collar size is and what underpants you wear. Look at RAVE electrical troubleshooting for component locations.

Ha! I might have Kippel Feil Syndrome Klippel–Feil syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and go commando! I will look up RAVE but sounds like I might need a new BECM?

Crabbo said:

Ha! I might have Kippel Feil Syndrome Klippel–Feil syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and go commando! I will look up RAVE but sounds like I might need a new BECM?

Click to expand...

Nah it will just be something simple like a duff relay or bad connection. Keep looking.

Thanks Wammers, I too am usually the optimist! Although recent experiences with my
P38 have dented this outlook, having just replaced the entire cooling and air suspension system. Usual stuff I guess but only done 80k miles! Ho hum!

Crabbo said:

Thanks Wammers, I too am usually the optimist! Although recent experiences with my
P38 have dented this outlook, having just replaced the entire cooling and air suspension system. Usual stuff I guess but only done 80k miles! Ho hum!

Click to expand...

As Wammers said check the under bonnet fuse box for signs or smells of burning, blued relay contacts etc.