Stereo RPM whine, brakelights, fusebox cracked, AirCon switch

[teddyc1]

Hey everyone! Just asking for ideas on these 4 items, most seem to be electrical.
I could put each in its own thread, but I figure I'll put them all here in case they are somehow related:

Current issues:
A. Engine whine in Pioneer stereo: This, after many attempts to improve the earth connection.
Currently, stereo-system-ground runs to the accelerator plate. Engine whine appeared after the installer
switched the head unit without disconnecting the car battery. It is a high-pitch whine that matches the
engine RPM. Currently I’ve avoided the RCA triple-DIN plugs, using the standard harness outputs from the
head unit, together with a big filter to take the noise out. This means I have poor sound, plus no benefit
from using a triple-DIN head unit (separate controlled outputs for front, back, and subwoofer).

B. Brakelight burning out: rightside rear brakelight burns out every couple of weeks. Inside of bulb
turns black and one or both filaments disappear.
Pic might be hard to read, but the inside of the bulb is pretty smokey
black. I have no idea what causes this, but the plastic socket the bulb
fits into is cracked and loose. I've tightened it up with a plastic zip, but
with enough jiggling, the bulb gets loose.
[Image: qxwcwk.jpg]

C. Engine fusebox: plastic cover has a crack. No sign of moisture inside, however: we’ve got fairly
dry weather most of the year in Israel.
[Image: wuezcz.jpg]

D. Air conditioning:
When my friend and I checked the panel switch, he thought the problem was in the computer. Switch works,
but the computer would not turn the AC on. So we ran a wire for a new switch, to force-send power to the AC
compressor. That worked fine until the compressor croaked, and I had the diesel pump rebuilt. Diesel pump
had been leaking diesel onto the compressor - I hope the diesel leak didn't ruin the compressor! Compressor
replace later after MOT tests... maybe.

Fixed:
Horn fault. With info from the forum here, I solved this by grounding the steering shaft to the accelerator
plate.
Airbag warning fault: Solved again with Forum infos. I separated the under-seat connectors, sprayed in
a bit of contact cleaner, dried, and reconnected - great, no constant warning light.

not really fixed:
MC43: I think this refers to the earth connection to the roof sheet metal, just above (or behind) the center
interior light. To me, it looks like an arial (antenna) connector - and the arial itself is long separated from this
Lingo rooftop. Perhaps this was the earth problem causing the above horn fault (and maybe the radio earth as well)?
I notice there is a 2mm hole in the sheet metal, right next to the ground (arial?) connector bolt. If water got in
there (likely) then that may have corroded the connection (does it look bad?). Currently I’ve plugged the hole with
a bit of balled-up silicon, which you can see here behind the bolt:
[Image: 1z19yso.jpg]

So that's it - any ideas, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

[crickleymal]

A loose bulb will cause it to blow, it's the same as turning it on and off rapidly.

When you forced the AC compressor on did you check for correct coolant pressure? If you don't have enough coolant the compressor won't turn on and also I think the fluid lubricates the compressor so if there's not enough you will shag the compressor.

[brodfather11]

Get yourself a new bulb holder , common item so shouldn't be expensive. Check if the earth connection on the lamp unit is clean and sound.:thumbsup:

Get yourself a new roof aerial, should solve two issues , radio earth and water leak judging by the rust around the aerial connection in the roof. Should even stop the whine. :thumbsup:

As Crickleymal says , get the gas pressure in the AC system checked, there is a lubricant in the gas refrigerant and when the gas leaks out it usually leaves the lubricant but it doesn't lubricate anything . There is a pressure switch that disables the AC from working if the pressure is low. As he said forcing the compressor to work will probably have knackered it. The diesel leaking onto the compressor should not have damaged it , not like an alternator which would be damaged by diesel. tudy:

[teddyc1]

Crickleymal and brodfather11, thanks for your info.

I will look for a replacement light-bulb holder. I bet the constant heat and sun here really wears out those plastic parts.

We did check the freon amount and it was good when we started running the AC compressor this past summer. So I doubt it was a lack of freon. It's good to know it wasn't the leaky diesel either! Maybe just a 2004 compressor. Maybe 10 years of use 10 months out of the year is enough to wear it out.

As to the aerial, I can certainly check the junkyard for a replacement, also to plug that little hole properly.

Maybe restoring the radio earth to the proper location (further away from the engine) would get rid of the RPM noise in the sound system. I'm guessing.




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[teddyc1]

Bulb holder - maybe a common item, but even those seem costly here, outside of Europe.

I understand that the missing aerial can be a problem, as well as corrosion on the roof connection. But the RPM whine wasn't there before, and the aerial was missing then too. I think "hot-swapping" the audio connections on the Pioneer stereo broke the grounding in the stereo, and then the whining sound showed up. However, all attempts to seriously ground that stereo have failed.

My alternator belt is wearing out too fast - it shows cracks just a couple months after replacing the belt. This might mean that I need a new bearing (pulley). Could this be the source of the RPM noise in the audio?

Then there's grounding - what they're calling "the Big 3," i.e. properly grounding the motor and the chassis to the battery negative, and running a thick wire from the alternator to the positive. Guys are talking about using 4 gauge to 0 gauge wires to make these connections.

[teddyc1]

Here's my ghetto fix for the plastic fuse cover, which was badly cracked as you can see above:

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=9004

Next, I really must move on to more important priorities on my "Lingo list"... but this was a simple fix.

[teddyc1]

Brake lights: replaced bulb holder with a junkyard piece. Good so far!

Fixed the aerial ground to the roof, and also replaced the tensioner pulley. So now that belt should hold up more than 6 months. Remains to be seen if either fix has any bearing in the alternator whine issue.

Grounding battery neg to chassis, battery neg to motor, and battery positive to alternator all tested out fine! Car electrics guy got a reading "between 9 and 10" for all three tests with his whatever meter of some sort.


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The horn fault really should not be done with the "wire-to-the-accelerator-plate" fix. More, see my update on the "faulty horn" thread.


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