Handbrake indicator light & interior light not working

[kateralia]

Electrical problem??
1998 Ford Festiva 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 65000 miles

I know almost nothing about cars, & I cant find the answer in my cars manual.

A few days ago the interior light stopped working (the one that goes on when you open the door). I also noticed today that the light on the dash indicating that the handbrake is in use will not come on when I pull the handbrake up. (it was working this morning).
I was wondering if this is a fuse problem or something more serious.
Also the car has just been serviced & road-worthied by an authorised ford dealer.
Please Help!

[stefan]

Welcome to the site!

For both things I would check the light bulbs first.

The Dome light is easy. Pop off the clear lens and check the bulb, replace if nessasary. If its not the bulb, the second thing i would check is the electrical switches in the door jambs.

For the handbrake light, again, I would check if its the bulb. To do this you will have to remove the instrument cluster... 5 screws in the bezel, 4 holding the cluster in, pull out the cluster, and un-clip the cables.. you may have to un-do the spedo cable under the hood to pull it out. If its not the bulb I would remove the hand-brake console and check the switch.

[kateralia]

thnx. Ive just been down & yeah the interior light is blown, so i'll go replace that, but with the handbrake light, i dont think its a bulb problem cos as i turn the car on, the light is showing, but when the car is running, its not. so this would be a connection problem?

[stefan]

Ok, so you've ruled out the bulb. My next guess would be the switch that turns on the light. Take the hand brake console out (3 screws) And play around with the switch. It is a little cylinder type thing with a wire attached to it, you will see it. Its quite possible you have a bad connection or the switch is gummed up, exct

[elcamino1]

Where are you located?
No 1998 Festiva sold in North America.

[kateralia]

I live in Australia. my car was actually assembled in 1997, but sold on the market in 1998. I was actually tryin to prove my brother-in-law (its actually still his car, i'm just driving it) wrong by finding a solution on the web.
to stefan I think that sounds more like the problem. I'll ask my brother-in-law to find it, cos I wouldnt have a clue what i'm looking at. I did notice a couple of weeks ago (before it got serviced) that the light kinda went on & off as I pulled the handbrake up, so could be wear&tear.
thankyou so much for your help.
i'll post back when the probs sorted!

[GenevaDirt]

when you get a second....please add your location to your profile...will help....trust me. Also...welcome to the site!

[kateralia]

Sorry, i'm new to these forum things.
I have a new problem tho & it could be related.
I went to drive to work this afternoon & as I put the car into reverse & took the handbrake off (making sure it was down since the light wont tell me), I looked out the window & saw grey smoke. I shut the car down fast, got out & the air smelt like burnt rubber. I hadnt even moved an inch. What the heck could this mean? the brakes are stuck? would this have anything to do with the indicator light not showing up?
This is really frustrating as the car had a full service only 2 weeks ago!

[GenevaDirt]

where was the smoke coming from? If you were not moving the brakes are not going to smoke and it would not smell like rubber. If from under the hood....could be a belt slipping....frozen pulley....piece of rubber material (hose, wire) laying on a part of the engine that could melt it.

[kateralia]

Ok, as I have said previously, I know absolutely nothing about cars & the car isnt mine yet. I think i prematurely freaked yesterday.
The smoke is comming from the exhuast & its buey-grey (more darkgrey than blue). but i've started the car several times this morning & each time the smoke has gotten less & less.
My mind has been playing tricks on me, i thought it smelt like burnt rubber.
Oh & now, the handbrake light on the dash came on again! There mustve been something stuck down there.
Anyways, thankyou for all your help. I'll still be taking it back to the guys at the garage (or take it back to my brother-in-law) lol.
thankyou again.
(one embarrassed & typical girl)

[jglutz]

Welcome to the site.

The overhead cabin light has three common problems:
1) The the door switch located in the sill internals corrode. It can easily been removed, disassembled and cleaned up.
2) The plastic backing/mounting plate behind the lens cracks with age preventing proper allignment of the contacts for the internal switch.
3) The switch internal to the light also corrode.

For the parking brake indicator....I would examine the switch located in the hand asembly and make sure it is not jammed or the like.
The indicator lamp should illuminate when the ignition key is initially turend form off to run.

[GenevaDirt]

(one embarrassed & typical girl)

Embarrassed about what....asking questions and being able to admit you don't know....then putting the answers to use is how you learn to do things yourself. If not yourself at least you learn to notice when you are being taken and when you are being told the truth by stupid men that would take advantage of a female they thought was just a typical girl.