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Brake lights


Eswyn

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Hi everyone, (me again)

 

Here is a poser, Swift Esprit 424 Fiat Ducato 2015 model Regd. Dec. 2014. I have noticed that the brake lights very faintly glow when everything is shut down, the `van is fitted with all LED lights. The dealer says speak to a Fiat main shop, needless to say the Fiat man says the fault is down to the converter (Swift), any ideas ?

 

grateful for your thoughts

Roger

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Rich is absolutely right. There is no way that you should be ducking and weaving between Fiat and your supplier. Give it to the dealer that you bought it from and tell them that you require it to be rectified within a specified reasonable amount of time or else!

 

This cannot be a Fiat fault. Just saying...

 

Nick

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Eswyn - 2015-04-16 5:05 PM

 

...the `van is fitted with all LED lights...

 

Roger

 

Are you certain that your Esprit’s brake lights are all LED-type, Roger?

 

It could be expected that a Swift Esprit might have headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lights, that the high-level 3rd brake-light would be an LED one and that an awning light might be LED-type, but it would be unusual (in my opinion) if an Esprit’s low-level rear lights contained LEDs rather than traditional bulbs.

 

Having said that, if - as part of the conversion process - Swift has indeed changed lights that would normally be bulb-type on a Ducato to LED-type, this might well impact on how the lights function. These are a couple of on-line discussions about tail-light assemblies permanently glowing faintly after LED replacements had been installed.

 

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?332884-does-anyone-have-a-fix-for-led-tail-light-glow

 

http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-type-s-type-r-supercharged-v8-x200-15/led-parking-lights-stay-30277/

 

As you have done as your vending dealership suggested and spoken to a Fiat main agent who has directed you back to Swift, it will be your dealer’s responsibility to progress this issue with the converter.

 

 

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Leds are polarity sensitive try reversing the lamps ...ie take them out and rotate them 180º.....worth a try before you go down the dealer /manufacturer route.......... had a similar problem with leds at home problem cured

 

Brian K

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I had that problem at home when some of the lamps stayed faintly lit, and not always the same lamps. I spoke to the technical department of the maker of the control units and was told it was due to slight current leakage from the dimmers combined with differences in the performance of the electronics in the lamps. The answer was to put some load in the circuit, a halogen GU10. That solved the problem, and also reduced the flicker from the AC.
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whiskers - 2015-04-18 8:17 PM

 

I had this problem on my Rio. Brownhills changed the Sargent lighting control which was fitted under the rear seat.

 

Would you confirm, please, that your problem related to your Rio motorhome’s rear lights?

 

I’m not challenging what you’ve said but, while I could understand a Sargent lighting control having a potential impact on a motorhome’s interior LED lights, It seems odd to me that the Sargent equipment could cause a motorhome’s brake lights to glow faintly when the vehicle’s ignition system was switched off.

 

 

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Yes, I confirm that it was the rear light leds which emitted a faint glow all the time.. Swift use the Sargent wiring system, and the rear light leds on the Rio are routed via a light control box, in my case it is fitted at the back of the vehicle. Brownhills liased with Swift and Sargent and changed the box and everything has been fine since. I believe that the Esprit has the same rear light cluster as the Rio.
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Excellent - if Roger directs his dealer to this forum thread and the dealer contacts Swift/Sargent the glowing problem should be cured.

 

As you say, the Rio and Esprit have similar rear-light clusters and the attached photo shows that they are LED-type. Presumably the Sargent light control box allows the LED light-unit to integrate satisfactorily (or almost satisfactorily!) with the Ducato’s CAN bus wiring technology that would expect bulb-type rear lights.

 

It might be worth knowing how much the LED light-unit would cost if a replacement was required.

Esprit-Rear-LED-Light-Cluster.jpg.e8880c88bfec6717b9d17ed5648587ef.jpg

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whiskers - 2015-04-20 8:46 PM

 

Yes, I confirm that it was the rear light leds which emitted a faint glow all the time.. Swift use the Sargent wiring system, and the rear light leds on the Rio are routed via a light control box, in my case it is fitted at the back of the vehicle. Brownhills liased with Swift and Sargent and changed the box and everything has been fine since. I believe that the Esprit has the same rear light cluster as the Rio.

 

So that seems to be the same sort of problem as we had with our domestic installation.

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It’s been recognised for quite a while that substituting LED ‘bulbs’ for traditional incandescent bulbs on modern vehicles can produce unpredictable results. Motorcyclists (inveterate customisers) liking the idea of a low-current bright dinky brake light would swap the traditional bulb for a LED version and find this would flicker madly. Trailers with LED lights may prove incompatible with certain tow cars and, if this happens, the tow car’s wiring may need to be adapted and/or a CAN-bus conversion module be added.

 

These links mention LED road lights, Swift caravans and Sargent equipment

 

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/topic/94042-flickering-led-road-lights/

 

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/community/discussions/information,-technical-tips-advice/towcars-towing/Tow-car-compatibility-with-new-led-rear-lights-on-/rt/1094934/

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