light stalk?

[lee3]

Just picked up my new baby BX
Only issue is light stalk doesn't like clicking back from high beam and main light warning light on dash keeps disappearing?
Stopped and checked all were on but typically not only were they on but when I got back in dash main beam light was working again! Murphys law? Lol
Am guessing its the stalk but anyone had this before know any different?
Thanks
Lee

[adamskibx]

It's most likely the stalk. If not, it's a relay, but relays are generally very reliable. I would take the stalk out after removing the shrouding and give the contacts a clean. If you have switch cleaner or WD40 that might help.

[lee3]

Thanks, I've never come across an intermittent problem with a relay before so didn't think of that will try switching relay out first if it could be that
Also speedo rapidly shakes over a 10 mile per hour range and do sent settle, I haven't got a manual yet but am presuming its mechanical? Is this common? Any easy fix?
Thanks
Lee
Also is this the right place to post all this?

[KevR]

I've had problems with BX headlight switches before - fine on short journeys but get hot on long night drives due to internal corrosion and therefore increased resistance, then heat leads to mechanical failure.

Speedo problem is probably a sticky cable - mine squeaks and the needle flips up and down on cold mornings, then it settles down as it warms up. The cable on most models is in two separate parts with a join somewhere just on the engine side of the bulkhead. If you undo that junction you may be able to diagnose which part of the cable is at fault.

[adamskibx]

The shaking speedo is normal, but a new cable would cure it. It's not that it sticks; it's just that if a car is left still for a long time the inner spinning cable set's in the shape of the bent outer casing, so every time it gets to the point where it's nearly in line, it kind of springs itself round to fit the shape. I think other manufacturers (non-French) get around this problem by having dampened speedo heads.

[Way2go]

Speedo problem is probably a sticky cable - mine squeaks and the needle flips up and down on cold mornings, then it settles down as it warms up.

Although it could be the cable, in my experience it was to do with the gears and pawls of the mechanism just inside the speedo case associated with the trip counter. These presumably had become dry with the age of the BX causing rattling and jumping. A single sparing application of 3in1 oil has given me a smooth speedo for 2 years since.

[KevR]

That's worth knowing - need to take my speedo out to replace some backlight bulbs at some point anyway, so I'll add a little oil at the same time.

[Way2go]

PS: It is also possible to run some 3in1 oil down the top speedo cable to extend it's life while you have the dash pod out. I doubt the oil will gravitate through the fitting to the bottom cable but it's problems are likely consequentially caused by a poor top cable or speedo head anyway.

[lee3]

Thanks will look st that
Lee

[mat_fenwick]

There's no relay (as standard) in the headlight circuit, so my money would be on the switch. It sounds like it's not latching properly i.e. it's behaving the same when dipped beam is on (when it should latch on) as with sidelights on or lights off.

[HZman]

I was going to fit a new top section of cable but never got around to it. If fitted I think it should be re-routed to give a better curve in the outer cable. I have never seen this shake in French BX's as they are left hand drive and don't need the extra section.

Regarding relay faults I had a failure of the intermittent wipe on the Estate - the fuse box lid had come undone and the relay had partially popped out!

Also on the estate the tacho has never worked since I bought it and the speedo cable has recently sheared off at the back of the instrument. Just passed it's MOT. As long as the needle is intact and the dial lights work that is all that is required! Have sourced a top cable from a local garage so will replace but surprising how good one can become at guessing the speed - whilst glancing at the satnav and not bumping into the car in front!

[KevR]

The tacho on the grey one's never worked either - can't say I miss it much, but they can come in handy occasionally....
On the first BX I had, back in 1999 - a 1.6 TRS estate, given to me by a mate because it needed a complete repipe - the first trip I did in it was to the German motorcycle GP at the Sachsenring in the former East Germany (and quite a way to East even of that). I was racing in one of the support races, on an MZ Scorpion - the track's just down the road from the MZ factory. The day before leaving I took the dash out to replace a few bulbs, and managed to break the speedo cable retainer. So, 1000 miles each way with no speedo, but on the way there we got pretty good at working out the speed in a given gear/revs using a stopwatch and the km markers on the autoroutes and autobahns. On the way back I had nothing else to do - I was in the passenger seat with my horribly swollen foot sticking out the window (it was a stupidly hot summer) having crashed spectacularly on the last lap and bashed myself up quite badly. To add insult to injury, a large wasp bounced off my foot (excruciatingly painful in itself), then ricocheted into the car, landed in my lap and stung me several times below the plimsoll line.... Not my finest hour!

[Thread Bear]

PS: It is also possible to run some 3in1 oil down the top speedo cable to extend it's life while you have the dash pod out. I doubt the oil will gravitate through the fitting to the bottom cable but it's problems are likely consequentially caused by a poor top cable or speedo head anyway.

You require the balloon trick. Take cable off, or upper end for preference. Find a balloon, johhny or possibly a latex/Marigold glove. Load the cable with oil. Load balloon with a bit more, inflate and affix to the upper end of the cable so its airtight, cable ties can work. The pressure will blow the oil through the cable. I have resuscitated many iffy cables on classic cars doing this and saved a fortune.
Speedo cables are a good thing to use 'PTFE oil', it would seem, but I am still not sure it is as good as it claims, as PTFE is hydroscopic, as is WD40 by the way. You do not want water in there at all. PTFE sheathed brake cables have not lasted on Messerschmitts and I still run on my serviced originals, now over 50 years old. A broken brake cable on a Schmitt is brown trouser time so my rejection of the later technology is from bitter experience!

[HZman]

My top cable is sheared off at the back of the instrument anyway. The plastic end fitting broke. Should I do the balloon thing before fitting the new one? Will keep the neighbours amused!

[mat_fenwick]

WD40 Hygroscopic? That's a bit of an urban myth - I've yet to see any evidence supporting it. What it does is displace moisture, not absorb it!

Also, PTFE in itself is not hygroscopic. However, you may get items which are described as PFTE but are in fact made from another material (e.g. nylon, which is hygroscopic) with a percentage of PTFE added to help lubrication.

Anyway, this is getting away from the OP's question which was to do with the lighting stalk!