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[Corrado]

I've got a problem with my interior light staying on perminantly rather than switching off after the 30 second time delay, and have had to remove the bulbs to stop it draining the battery.

It turns off when the engine is running and the headlights are turned on, but comes on again when the headlights are turned off.

I have checked the door pin switches, and these work normally and operate the lights in the door panels.

I have also checked that the headlight switch is pushed-in, as I know that pulling it out holds the interior light on.

The switched map-lights seem to function normally, and alarm and all other electronic functions seem to be fine.

Not sure if this is related, but the fault occured after I had been trickle charging the battery to keep it topped-up during the very cold weather. The car was outside, and I'm not sure if some rain found its way into the extension lead, but the RCD tripped-out. Once re-set, the charger seems fine, but could a power surge or over charging of the battery have caused the problem?

Any thoughts, suggestions on this would be appreciated - it's a bit irritating not having the light functioning on these dark days!

Thanks.   

[rustym95]

did you take the battery off for the trickle charge? as any charging should be done with the battery disconnected as will damage the alternator and other electrical parts.

[Shackeng]

did you take the batery off for the trickle charge?

I know that is recommended but is it essential :question

[rustym95]

did you take the batery off for the trickle charge?

I know that is recommended but is it essential :question

yes it is re read, ac to dc is not good, dc to dc is ok

[Andy B]

did you take the batery off for the trickle charge?

I know that is recommended but is it essential :question

I've left many car batteries connect while charging via a battery charger. It does the charging system no harm at all!

[rustym95]

yes it dose read the charger says will damage car units and charging systerm, ac volts to dc volts still has a small amout of ac in the volts, unless you have a start charger with a back up battery but hu has £600 for one at home, you have been lucky andy. ive seen cars set alight cos they put battery chargers on them over night and remove the battery, there is no money back on your insurance as you have started the fire your self. must always remove the earth wire of the battery when charging with AC apliance (charger) would recomend a jump starter has its on battery dont cost a lot but better than replacing your car. mine cost £20 from market.....

[feeutfo]

trickle charge will do no harm what so ever. Most bike trickle chargers come with a plug to fit to the terminals to allow plugging in witout removing any body work. The whole thing is designed to be connected in situ with easy access.

Cant be sure re. water in the works, but would think unlikely tbh.

[rustym95]

trickle charge will do no harm what so ever. Most bike trickle chargers come with a plug to fit to the terminals to allow plugging in witout removing any body work. The whole thing is designed to be connected in situ with easy access.

Cant be sure re. water in the works, but would think unlikely tbh.

go and look at basic battery basics, battery should not be charged connected to engine charging systerm, and also should not charge battery in frezzing condishions, only a few battery can be connected to the engine charging systerm and the are gel batterys, some other batterys have a stop charge in side them they can be charged wile conneted to systerm. but you must remove earth wire (negitive) when charging a battery, but it is up to you only stateing what is recomend by battery spec's.

[rustym95]

Trickle charge, Trickle charging is designed to compensate for the self discharge of the battery. Continuous charge. Long term constant current charging for standby use. The charge rate varies according to the frequency of discharge. Not suitable for some battery chemistries, e.g. NiMH and Lithium, which are susceptible to damage from overcharging. In some applications the charger is designed to switch to trickle charging when the battery is fully charged.

[Broomies Mate]

With VERY modern cars, you shouldn't charge the battery whilst connected to the car.  It can cause damage to the electrical systems.

I dont think this applies to any Omega.  I wouldn't recommend it with an Insignia though.

Anyways, RE the interior light....  I'll check the Haynes manual tomorrow, but I'm quite sure the only correlation with the Interior Lights and the Headlamps is through the Headlight Switch.  Without checking, I dont think they share any other 'common' area.

[Shackeng]

trickle charge will do no harm what so ever. Most bike trickle chargers come with a plug to fit to the terminals to allow plugging in witout removing any body work. The whole thing is designed to be connected in situ with easy access.

Cant be sure re. water in the works, but would think unlikely tbh.

go and look at basic battery basics, battery should not be charged connected to engine charging systerm, and also should not charge battery in frezzing condishions, only a few battery can be connected to the engine charging systerm and the are gel batterys, some other batterys have a stop charge in side them they can be charged wile conneted to systerm. but you must remove earth wire (negitive) when charging a battery, but it is up to you only stateing what is recomend by battery spec's.

What about Solar trickle chargers?

[Kevin Wood]

The only issue with charging batteries in-situ is the control of the charger's output voltage. Cheap and nasty chargers have no control over their output voltage and this can rise to 20 volts or more if the battery is dead and not taking charge current. This could damage electronics in the car, although most devices are fairly well protected these days.

A trickle charger will never be an issue because they don't provide enough current, neither will a decent quality automatic multi-stage charger.

It's the crude, cheap chargers that delver high currents you need to watch. Even then, if you keep an eye on the battery terminal voltage with a multimeter (essential with these chargers anyway as they are uncontrolled) you will be fine.

I've never bothered to disconnect a battery while charging it.

Kevin

[Entwood]

Back to the original problem .. my guess is the switch itself is fubarred, I'd get another switch from a breaker here and replace it ... cheapest and simplest option.... if that doesn't solve it THEN we start looking at complicated expensive ..

[rustym95]

timer chip in light switch has gone, say they should not receive more than 16volts, so would need new switch. 6 pin chip inside light control.